Keystone Patriots Newsletter

6-13-2010

Fellow Patriots,

Our next general meeting will be held Monday, June 14, 2010 at the Slovak Band Hall, 716 Chestnut Street, Johnstown, PA at 7:00 p.m. Our speaker for the evening is Dave Show from the Fayette Patriots. Dave will speak about the importance of patriots like yourself being involved to monitor what goes on in the polling places. I'm sure some of our members will be able to contribute some "horror" stories as well.

There is still room available on the bus to Washington, D.C. for the Restoring Honor Rally at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, August 28. The cost of the bus ride down (metro ticket included) is $40. We will leave at 4:00 a.m. and will return that evening.

Contact Dave Rose to reserve your spot, send payment to:

Dave Rose
718 Penrod St.
Johnstown, PA 15902

Sincerely,

Mike Vatavuk, editor

newsletter@keystonpatriots.com

Community Calendar:

July 3, 2010 – Somerset TEA Party, 7:00 p.m., Somerset Co. Courthouse, sponsored by the Roof Garden TEA Party

July 3, 2010 – Southwest PA Tea Party http://www.southwestpateaparty.webs.com/

July 5, 2010 – Blair Co. Tea Party Freedom Fest 2, Legion Park, Hollidaysburg 1-5 p.m.

August 28, 2010 – Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC – Keystone Patriots will be taking buses.

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Rick Janus, sent the following message to some members of Western Westmoreland 9.12 Action Group:

I received this from George Dunbar. PLAs increase costs and prevents open competition for projects. We cannot afford them in local or state government projects. Please contact your state representative and urge him to vote No on House Resolution 761.


Dear Friends,

I write to you today not only as a candidate for State Representative, but also as a concerned businessman. It was with a great deal of disappointment that I read the attached article in today’s Daily News entitled, “Gergely bill urges use of project labor agreements for construction.” The proposed resolution (House Resolution 761) passed by a vote of 21- 5 (with one of the yes votes being my opponent Jim Casorio) in the House Labor Relations Committee and will go to the floor for further action.

Representative Gergely urged the passage of PLA’s for not only upcoming projects in McKeesport Area School District but statewide on all taxpayer-financed or guaranteed public works construction, alteration, demolition, excavating and paving projects. His reasons for proposing and supporting this are just flat out wrong. One of his excuses for supporting a PLA in McKeesport is, “so that local construction companies have a fair chance to win the bids and the construction jobs go to local workers.” I have no idea what Representative Gergely bases this outlandish comment on, but I work for a McKeesport based Construction Company, and passing a PLA here would not allow me to use my own labor force on the job. We employ 150 local plumbers, who all pay taxes to McKeesport , we pay taxes to McKeesport and we have a work study program with the school district. We have worked on numerous public jobs, and rarely do we see any out of state contractors. His comments are nothing more than scare tactics.

If a project has a PLA all contractors are forced to use union labor, even if they are a non-union company. This does nothing but protect union workers. On public work under a PLA or not, union employees and non-union employees would all receive the same pay and benefits under the Prevailing Wage Act. So if I am paying my LOCAL plumbers the same as a union company why would the School District force me to use outside labor?

Gergely also trots out the old tired union mantra that only union companies are reputable and PLA’s would protect the schools from dishonest companies. Oh give me a break, there is no difference, the free market system eliminates all bad contractors be they non-union or union. Bad company’s reputations precede them, and they are debarred from working on public projects. More often than not they are precluded from bidding because they cannot get bonded to do the work.

I do not believe that the taxpayers of McKeesport and across the Commonwealth prefer higher taxes to support PLA’s. I am not anti-union, we work with many excellent union companies, but picking winners and losers is not Governments role. Let’s have a balanced playing field and let the open bid competitive process dictate who does the work, not legislators looking for campaign contributions. I urge all of you to contact your legislators and tell them to oppose this resolution if and when it comes up for a vote.



George Dunbar