HB 1010, introduced by Rep. Torr, would prohibit a government entity awarding a public works contract from making certain labor friendly provisions part of the bid or contract requirements.
Specifically, it couldn’t require a contractor to enter into or comply with an agreement with a labor organization on the same or a related public works project and it couldn’t require employees of the contractor to become part of a union or pay extra fees to the labor union.
Some of this makes a certain amount of sense to me, but it sounds like this would prohibit a government unit from penalizing a contractor even if the contractor was breaching its existing union contract.
But sensible or not, at the end of the day, I think it probably boils down to a general antipathy to unions.
Update There is almost always a backstory to these bills, and I just go along aware that I don’t usually know what they are. Reading this post over at Advance Indiana leads me to believe that this bill has to do with Marion County and Wishard Hospital construction.
If the contractor is breaching an existing union contract, shouldn’t the remedy come from the courts, and not the contracting process?
Well, that’s certainly one remedy. But, government can decide for itself whether, it ought to do business with certain people. Among other things, I suppose it could be considered good public policy not to do business with people who breach their contracts.
You suppose? Where is the collections agent in you? Stuffed down to the bottom of your shoe? :-)
Oh, on collections day, nothing is more holy than the sacred bond of contract.
If they are truly in breach, I can see your point.
I was not reading closely enough, and was thinking that a contractor could be penalized based on an accusation, or for a relatively minor matter.
Its reasonable to take reputation into account, as well as ability to perform – both of which could well be compromised by breaching a contract, and having to deal with the aftermath.
Does this come under the general heading of ‘moral turpitude’?
(I think that’s a bad thing…)