Lame-duck leftist ABQ City Council Democrats Give Gift to Unions

Acting VERY quickly and at the behest of some of New Mexico’s most entrenched and powerful special interests (labor unions), the Albuquerque City Council passed its own Project Labor Agreement (PLA) law on Monday evening.

The bill was formally introduced after the election on November 15 and was not heard by a city council committee ahead of December 6 vote.

The bill passed 6-3 with the leftists and lame-duck councilors all voting “YES.” The bill was sponsored by outgoing councilors Borrego and Sena with Davis, Benton, Gibson, and Peña supporting.

Assuming Mayor Keller signs it, the legislation would require union labor be hired for public works projects if any part of them are paid for by the city. One study found that such agreements increase construction costs by 13 percent. Numerous other studies show that such agreements are unfair to the 92% of workers who are NOT union members and they jack up construction costs for no benefit.

There MAY be legal challenges due to the way it was passed without the usual procedures being followed, but the easiest way to overturn the law is for a 6-3 “conservative” majority to repeal it outright.