The entire Arizona Republican congressional delegation sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commending its decision to move forward with construction of the new control tower at Tucson International Airport under a competitive bidding process.
Every Democrat in Arizona’s Delegation signed a letter to the FAA requesting that it impose a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on contractors building the facility.
The Democrats’ letter read in part: “We have heard from another number of constituents and labor leaders in our districts on the importance of Project Labor Agreements. As you know PLA’s are strongly encouraged by President Obama’s Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies choose PLA’s on large scale construction projects.”
Every Republican member of Arizona’s Delegation signed the letter, including Reps. Trent Franks (AZ-08), Matt Salmon (AZ-05), and David Schweikert (AZ-06) as well as Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ).
The Republicans’ letter read in part: “We understand that the FAA’s decision process included a public call for input from the construction community regarding the potential use of a PLA. In a community where less than 3% of the construction workforce belongs to a union, the careful consideration of the specific needs of the project and Tucson area workforce are highly appreciated,”
After the letter was delivered, Rep. Gosar criticized the Democrats’ efforts, calling for an end to the “reckless efforts to increase federal spending.” Gosar said, “One of the best ways to put our nation back on a fiscally sustainable path is to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. Part of eliminating waste is discontinuing the use of frivolous, Democrat-advocated labor agreements, which do nothing but line union pockets with taxpayer money.”
As stated in the letter spearheaded by Gosar, PLAs typically increase construction costs by 12-18 percent.