Posted on 02/05/2011 9:12:32 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Three California unions are accusing a rival labor coalition of using "shameful" tactics to win exclusive contracts for building renewable power plants — tactics they said delay new jobs and add to each project's costs.
Unions representing carpenters, laborers and operating engineers criticized California Unions for Reliable Energy for challenging construction projects on environmental grounds — then dropping objections after its main affiliate, the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California, wins lucrative contracts to supply workers.
Since 2000, CURE has participated in environmental hearings for all 12 renewable energy projects proposed for the Southern California desert, filing more than 1,300 requests for data about water, air pollution and endangered animal species, .. California Energy Commission.
To date, the building trades council has signed contracts to build one geothermal project and seven solar projects, and CURE has dropped objections to those plants. CURE has suits pending against two developers that did not sign labor agreements, ..
The contracts give the council control over setting work rules, including hiring. The council enlists members of CURE's affiliated unions — boilermakers, electrical workers, plumbers and pipefitters — and, if needed, other, less costly union workers such as carpenters.
Some deals come with payments of as much as $400,000 to CURE for a trust that promotes the industry. CURE and the council operate out of the same Sacramento office and have the same top executive, Robert Balgenorth.
State Energy Commissioner Jeffrey Byron said that CURE is entitled to participate in power plant licensing proceedings ..
"It does strain credibility when you have an organization called CURE that is concerned with the desert tortoise and wildlife habitat and turns around and disappears when a project labor agreement is signed. Then it takes credit for improvements to the project to justify its existence," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Ecofreaks and those who vote for their misguided and disguised agenda opened up all kinds of Pandora's boxes with their little energy schemes and scams .. and opportunities for interlopers to prosper... on our dime.
I am sure our state leaders are going to aggressively oppose this kind of stuff and step in to fix it. Right? lol the hardened left is a deceitful schemeing conniving group.. The Fleecing of our Global Oyster continues..
when GREEN groups complain about "their own" you know there is trouble in River City.
Until we have legislation or perhaps a constitutional amendment to prevent these lobby groups from having standing to sue the states or the Federal government without being involved in the case itself (but because “they speak for the Earth”, yuk), we will continue to have no end of trouble from overreaching big government, powered by the greenie Communist movement.
It all sounds exactly like a “gang war”!!!
How many union bosses does it take to supervise a dozen illegal aliens doing actual work?
I know there’s a punchline in there somewhere
At some point, these unions need to be disbanded and their leaders JAILED.
These projects in the California desert actually DO have some economic merit...and these clowns get away with these tactics.
Shame on them (as a liberal would say).
Correct. Denying the green marxist left access to the courts is the most important action that must be accomplished to halt our slide to energy oblivion. Not sexy but it is the crux of the issue. Unfortunately few understand it.
Get the government out of it! Forget Green! Drill here! Drill now! Drill everywhere!
I know this sounds stupid in today’s political climate but we don’t have to just tolerate today’s political climate! We can stand up to it! We can have our say but we must say it! Speak out now, not just at election time.
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