Posted on 02/05/2010 5:24:20 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
The Obama administration is considering a proposal that would heavily favor government contractors that implement policies designed by organized labor.
The “High Road Contracting Policy” would give preference to companies that adopt practices above and beyond existing labor laws. Multiple sources have confirmed the discussions, which are part of the White House’s attempt to spur economic growth through procurement reform and are driven by the Center for American Progress and the Service Employees International Union.
The proposal would advantage contractors that provide hourly workers with a “living wage”, health insurance, an employer-funded retirement plan and paid sick days. Contracting officers would weigh a company’s labor policies as a criteria for awarding the contract, along with the standard metrics: price, past performance and the ability to meet the contract’s requirements.
As part of the implementation, the Department of Labor would be responsible for collecting and scoring the labor records of all federal contractors, giving the department an unprecedented amount of influence in deciding who receives federal contracts. Each agency would be required to establish a labor advocate, who would have the discretion to increase a bidder’s labor score based on the company’s commitment to implementing the new labor standards. Professional Services Council Vice President Alan Chvotkin said such an arrangement would effectively make the Department of Labor the gatekeeper to the $523 billion federal marker.
“I think Senator Collins and the others are rightly concerned about that,” Chvotkin said. “I can’t think of another example where a [separate] federal agency rates a company in advance of a procurement.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
“The proposal would advantage contractors that provide hourly workers with a “living wage”, health insurance, an employer-funded retirement plan and paid sick days. “
Really an incentive to hire more workers...(sarc/off)
More featherbedding for the corrupt Unions
Oh boy, here we go. DOD contracting is shady already. Looks like it’s going to get even more nasty.
I’m going to try and not purchase any union made products ever again.
Unions and the federal government will control every aspect of private business if this goes through because many businesses are sub contractors, just what Zer0 is after.
How much more will this cost? Any guesses? I would throw out an additional 10% to 25%. A great deal of value for our union friends.
As terrible as this sounds, it’ll never actually be implemented like they went. The number one thing the government cares about in contracting is saving money. It’s not a joke that contracts typically go to the lowest bidder (this is coming from someone who was in the military and now works for a contractor). When the “union” bids come in at a much higher dollar amount than the “non-union” ones do (as they almost certainly would), they won’t win.
No idea but it’s plain it’s a ploy to force unions into business and industry, a payback for the hundreds of millions unions paid to help elect Zer0.
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