Friday, January 31, 2025

Judge Rules Against Biden PLA Mandate A U.S. Federal Claims judge has ruled in favor of a group of construction companies that filed protests against the implementation of former President Joe Biden’s December 2023 executive order that mandated project labor agreements on federal contracts over $35 million. In a briefing earlier this month, Judge Ryan Holte of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims said the implementation of the mandate on seven contract procedures last year ignored federal agencies’ own research indicating PLAs would be anti-competitive and relied on “arbitrary and capricious” presidential policy. The Jan. 21 ruling only impacts those specific bid protests filed in 2024, but construction employer groups touted it as a win for the entire industry. It opens the door for more challenges and puts the future of the rule in question, said Dirk Haire, Washington, D.C.-based partner at Philadelphia-headquartered law firm Fox Rothschild, which represented some of the plaintiffs. Story

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Changes to Retention Proposed Senator Dave Cortese is author of Senate Bill 61, which applies the limits on retention on public works to private work. Existing law mandates that an owner must pay retention withheld from a direct contractor for private work within 45 days after completion. SB 61 introduces a limit on retention payments for such contracts. It prohibits the retention held by an owner from the direct contractor, by the direct contractor from any subcontractor, and by a subcontractor from another subcontractor, from exceeding 5% of the payment for the private work. Let WECA know if this is a good idea.

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Apprenticeship for Teachers? Assembly Member Mike Gipson introduced Assembly Bill 291. Current law mandates the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to set standards for issuing and renewing teaching credentials, certificates, and permits. This bill expresses the Legislature's intention to develop future legislation focused on establishing requirements for apprenticeships for credentialed educators. Gipson may not be aware that college graduates can quickly become credentialed teachers through a network of private and public training programs.

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Let’s Go to the Fair! Assembly Member Laurie Davies wants to change existing law that requires school districts to inform local apprenticeship programs about their career or college fairs and encourages them to host apprenticeship events. Assembly Bill 296 changes the encouragement into a requirement for schools to host at least one apprenticeship fair annually, creating a state-mandated local program. Additionally, if a school district requires community service for high school graduation, the bill mandates that students receive credit for attending fairs.

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No More Battery Fires Assembly Member Dawn Addis thinks burning lithium batteries are a bad idea. Less than two weeks after the huge fire at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants in Moss Landing, scientists affiliated with San Jose State University have discovered unusually high levels of toxic metals in soils at Elkhorn Slough, roughly a mile away. Her answer? No more battery energy storage systems! Her Assembly Bill 303 requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to reject pending battery-related applications. Furthermore, it prohibits development projects with such systems within 3,200 feet of sensitive receptors or on environmentally sensitive sites. This applies statewide, even to charter cities, and is an urgency statute, which would take immediate effect.

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Nuc, Baby, Nuc! California may ban battery energy storage systems, but Assembly Member Juan Arambula wants more nuclear reactors in California. Sure to be a popular bill among the never-nucs. Current law in California restricts the certification and land use of nuclear fission thermal power plants, except for certain specified facilities, unless specific technological conditions for nuclear fuel processing and waste disposal are met. Assembly Bill 305 proposes to exempt small modular reactors from these restrictions. In addition, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulates electrical and gas corporations, and the state's existing policy aims for 100% of electricity retail sales and procurement for state agencies to come from renewable and zero-carbon sources by 2045. The bill also mandates that by January 1, 2028, the PUC must develop a plan to increase electricity generation from nuclear facilities while phasing out reliance on natural gas power. Why, you ask? Artificial intelligence is an energy hog, and every query to ChatGPT is like running a lightbulb for 20 minutes, a research scientist recently told NPR. More

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Workforce Development Assembly Member José Luis Solache wants more jobs in the fire zones. The California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act establishes the California Workforce Development Board to assist the Governor in improving and aligning California's workforce and education systems with modern economic needs. His Assembly Bill 338 proposes to allocate $50 million from the General Fund to this board, specifically for the South Bay Workforce Investment Board and the Economic Development Collaborative. The funds aim to train and retrain individuals who are underemployed or unemployed, focusing on rebuilding areas in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties affected by the 2025 wildfires. This initiative targets employment in fields like construction, firefighting, healthcare, and other emergency response sectors. Participants are promised expedited licensing and certification. The bill emphasizes the need for immediate implementation due to the urgency of recovery efforts in these counties.

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In related legislation to Speed Apprenticeship Program Approvals, Assembly Member Corey Jackson is the author of Assembly Bill 345, which mandates the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations to verify the completeness of new apprenticeship program applications within 30 days of receipt! If the Chief doesn't make a final decision on a completed application within six months, the program can operate conditionally if it meets specific criteria, including U.S. Department of Labor approval. The Chief must make a final decision within a year. Oh, and this bill excludes building, construction, and firefighter programs. Damn!

Next time, we will cover some new Senate bills.

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Last time we mentioned that Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) was circulating a framework for potential labor law reform legislation, which includes the laundry list of labor asks. WECA is a member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), which is pushing back.

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NLRB General Counsel Abruzzo and NLRB Member Wilcox Fired On January 27, 2025, Jennifer Abruzzo was terminated from her role as National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel. While her term was not scheduled to end until July 2025, former President Biden set a precedent for terminating NLRB General Counsels of the opposing party in 2021 when he terminated then-General Counsel Peter Robb within hours of his inauguration. It is likely that most, if not all, of Abruzzo’s memos will be withdrawn in the coming months. Deputy General Counsel Jessica Rutter is now Acting General Counsel until a replacement is announced. In addition to terminating Jennifer Abruzzo, Trump also fired Democrat NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox, despite a law that forbids the firing of NLRB members without evidence of neglect or malfeasance. This leaves three seats open on the NLRB and a lack of a quorum, leaving the Board unable to issue new decisions or regulations. President Trump is expected to fill at least two of the seats with Republican nominees.

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Senator Paul Signals Opposition to Chavez-DeRemer Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) told an NBC political reporter that he plans to vote against the confirmation of Department of Labor Secretary Nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer, citing her support of the PRO Act. According to the reporter’s post, Paul expects that DeRemer could lose the votes of around 15 more Republicans, but gain the support of some Democrats. DeRemer’s confirmation hearing is expected to take place in the next couple of weeks.

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94% of Incumbent State Legislators Won Re-Election State legislative sessions are in nearly full force - but Ballotpedia took a break to look back at the final figures for how incumbents performed in the 2024 election cycle. In total, 303 incumbents lost, representing about 6.2% of the 4,853 who ran. In other words, 94% of incumbents won re-election. This was the fewest incumbent defeats in any even year since 2012. 408 incumbents lost in 2022, and 382 lost in 2020. Between 2010 and 2022, the average number of overall incumbent defeats was about 445.

·        169 (or about 3.5%) of incumbents who ran in primaries were defeated

·        134 (2.9%) of those who ran in general elections were defeated

2024 was the third presidential election year since Ballotpedia started collecting this data. Over that time, the number of incumbent defeats in presidential election years has fallen.