November 2022 City of San Diego Measure D: Righting a Wrong to Build the Future

A decade ago reactionary business entities in the city of San Diego successfully campaigned for Proposition A, the Fair and Open Competition in Construction, an initiative appearing on the primary ballot.

This was back in the days when right wingers would put questionable items on the June ballot to take advantage of a predictable lower and more conservative turnout. Also in this primary was so-called pension reform, a move that will cost taxpayers millions of dollars for years to come, from the costs of undoing the damage and the difficulties it fostered in recruitment for city employees.

2012’s Proposition A prohibited Project Labor Agreements (PLA) on City of San Diego construction projects, except where required by state or federal law, or as a condition of the receipt of state or federal funds.

Here’s a definition of PLAs from the Working Economics blog:

• Project labor agreements (PLAs) are used primarily in the construction industry to establish the terms of employment for all workers on a project. Generally, PLAs specify workers’ wages and fringe benefits and may include provisions requiring contractors to hire workers through union hiring halls, otherwise establish a unionized workforce, or develop procedures for resolving employment disputes. PLAs often include language that prevents workers from striking during the project while also preventing employers from locking workers out.

• PLAs are effective mechanisms for controlling construction costs, ensuring efficient completion of projects, and establishing fair wages and benefits for all workers. PLAs also help ensure worker health and safety protections while providing a unique opportunity for workforce development. These agreements can be written to engage local populations, provide jobs for underrepresented groups, and develop experience for apprentices.

A concept originally thought of in the private sector as a tool for managing complex construction projects, PLAs became the focus of anti-union groups seeking a method to dull the impact of organized labor in the public sector during the 1980s. 

A shift in corporate management culture marked the end of a post-WWII consensus linking wage and productivity growth in private industry and the start of an ever growing era of economic inequality.   

The growing political influence of public sector unionism presented a counter narrative to the ascendance of a market-first economy as the preferred solution to societal challenges, so the fight against PLAs became an ideological necessity. 

Government, as in “Big Government” became the bad guy, characterized as trampling the rights of the “Little Guy.” So the framing of arguments against PLAs became about “Fairness,” portrayed in propaganda as Union Bosses denying gainful employment to hapless workers.

The pendulum has begun to swing the other way now, particularly as people left behind by “trickle down” are increasingly challenged to just get by. The drive to organize newer workplaces has led to surprising victories, and public opinion of organized labor in general is the highest it’s been in decades.

Measure D: Will the City of San Diego have the legal option of using project labor agreements (PLA) on construction projects?

The arguments for Measure D center around the potential for exclusion of state financial aid for infrastructure projects. And while it is true that 2012’s measure made an exception for state funded improvements, legal uncertainties have stymied projects like Pure Water, the $5 billion sewage recycling system that would produce one-third of the city’s water.  

From the Union-Tribune:

• Mayor Todd Gloria, who endorsed Measure D Thursday, left no doubt that he believes the measure is crucial to maintaining San Diego’s eligibility for state construction funds.

• “San Diegans have been waiting a long time to see progress on addressing the backlog in repairs, improvements and new facilities that improve how our city functions and the quality of our neighborhoods,” Gloria said. “But San Diego’s big plans rely on state funding to make them reality, and the only way to make sure we remain eligible for funding is by saying yes on Measure D.”

• Gloria said the $130 million in Pure Water cost increases, which will be passed on to city sewer and water ratepayers, could have been avoided if San Diego’s PLA ban were not in place. 

Measure D simply allows the city to consider using PLAs, without contentious legal battles.

• Opponents say the PLA ban has reduced city costs for projects and created fair and open competition for city contracts.

• They also say eliminating the ban would discriminate against the roughly 80 percent of the local construction workforce who are not union members. In addition, they characterize PLAs as backroom deals that enrich “special interests.”

The case against Measure D is built around “takeaway” arguments, suggesting that jobs will be only available for union members and tax payers will see additional costs for infrastructure projects. This is a variation on fear-based propaganda techniques, ones that typically flip the script by damning opponents for deeds actually being done by the accusers.  

Perhaps the best known contemporary use of such accusations that are actually confessions are the tales of voter fraud peddled by the far right (See: DeMaio, Carl), although politicians being sanctimonious about family values is certainly a contender. (See: Gingrich, Newt)

If past experience is any guide, Measure D opponents will feature lots of black and brown faces in their ad campaigns, the suggestion being that somehow white union members are the beneficiaries of PLAs.

San Diego’s Measure D requires tough anti-discrimination measures as part of any contract and opens the door for apprenticeship training opportunities. It requires public disclosure of contacts, and tracking of local hiring.

The straw man argument involved in opposition to PLAs is the contention that they cost more. The problem here is that there are conflicting studies. Since no two projects are alike either in scope or design, exact comparisons are not possible.

What I do know is that Southern California is a hotbed for wage theft complaints, home to six of the top seven cities in the state. San Diego had 1143 such claims in 2021. And it’s important to remember that workplace violations are underreported, since claims are difficult to collect on.  

From McCall magazine’s website:

• “Retaliation is a persistent and urgent problem in American workplaces,” said U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chairwoman Charlotte A. Burrows. “Charges alleging retaliation have increased as a percentage of the total number of charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission every year for the last 20 years.”

• While wage theft costs American taxpayers and unprotected construction workers, another group bears a burden: legitimate contractors. These business owners will fail to win a bid for a project because of a lowball quote by a contractor skirting the rules.

• Because material costs are relatively similar, the low bidder shaves off the bid price at his most pliable expense: the exploited worker. Contractors who play by the rules and exhibit the best qualities of fairness in the construction market fall prey to a system that allows their disreputable counterparts to flourish.

Get ready for a tidal wave of TV ads about Measure D.

San Diegans Against Discrimination, Opposing Measure D, Sponsored by the Associated General Contractors of America San Diego Chapter, Inc has filed paperwork over the past month showing $653,000 in contributions.

YES to Safeguard San Diego Infrastructure, Sponsored by Labor & Community Groups has filed paperwork over the past month showing $660,000 in contributions.

The bottom line here is that we’re all better off when unions are stronger. So vote Yes on D.

Measure D - Ballot Title, Summary, and Impartial Analysis

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Next Up– Measure H, Opening Up City property for childcare facilities 

Previous voter guides:
(More coming soon)

California State Officials
California’s DC Delegation
State Senate Races
State Assembly Races
SD County Supervisors
County Sheriff, Assessor, and Treasurer Races
SD Measure B: Cash Meets Trash 
SD Measure C: Reach for the Sky! Or Else?

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Boards of Education Contests:
Analysis by Thomas Ultican

2022 School Board Contests, Part 1
County, SD Unified, Sweetwater Union, Poway Unified

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Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com