Looks like the new Californian governor is beginning to fall to the demands of "private interests" (namely the Association of Builders and Contractors (ABC); a lobby group funded by construction companies that do not employ unionized labour) by reducing the funding given to the Institute for Labour and Employment (ILE).
For a governor that stated that he wouldn't be influenced by private interests and lobby groups, this is a rather interesting turn of events. Even more so, because it is a clear attack on the working middle class in California.
Here's a quote which pretty much sums up ABC's attempt to kill the ILE:
Quote:
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The ABC in particular has been gunning for the ILE for two years, since it conducted a survey in 2001 of "project labor agreements" (or PLAs)--arrangements in which wages, benefits and union status are hammered out before work begins on major construction projects. The ILE published its findings in a working paper. This sounds pretty innocuous, but PLAs are a big roadblock to the growth of nonunion construction. Builders are so incensed about them, and so powerful, that the agreements were actually banned by President Bush as one of his first acts in office (facing Congressional opposition, he later allowed agreements for then-current projects to continue, but prohibited PLAs on new federal projects).
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It's even more unfortunate that this attack is being conducted at the Federal level as well.
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