League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Diego County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Proposition A Proposed San Diego County Charter Amendment to Ensure Fair and Open Competition for County Construction Contracts County of San Diego Majority Approval Required Pass: 614,744 / 75.8% Yes votes ...... 196,315 / 24.2% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition A

Arguments Against Proposition A

YES ON PROPOSITION A FOR FAIR AND OPEN COMPETITION Proposition A is fair and ensures that ALL qualified workers will get an equal opportunity to work on public projects. It is not fair to force someone who wants to work on a taxpayer-funded construction project to become a union member. Proposition A guarantees fair and open competition. With unemployment at 10% in the San Diego region, all qualified local workers deserve a fair and equal opportunity to compete for jobs on San Diego County construction projects. Proposition A ensures taxpayer dollars go further to create jobs. Proposition A protects taxpayers. Local government has been hit hard by the recession and by state government raids on local tax revenues. At this critical time, County taxpayers cannot afford to fund sweetheart deals for labor unions that can add millions to the cost of County construction projects. Proposition A will prevent these sweetheart deals and protect taxpayers. Proposition A ensures continued fiscal responsibility. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has a national reputation for fiscal responsibility, earning the highest credit ratings from Wall Street and recognition as one of the best run local governments in America. Proposition A locks in protections to ensure sound fiscal policies continue. Who supports Proposition A? The San Diego County Taxpayers Association, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and working men and women of San Diego County who want a fair and open opportunity to compete for construction jobs paid for with our tax dollars. Who opposes Proposition A? National and local labor unions are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to preserve sweetheart, union-only deals that can cost taxpayers millions. Vote to protect taxpayers and preserve equal opportunity for all workers. Vote YES on Proposition A. Support local companies and workers by visiting www.fairandopencompetition.com DIANNE JACOB San Diego County Supervisor LORI KNEEBONE Controller Pacific Rim Mechanical Contractors KATHERINE NAKAMURA Trustee, Board of Education San Diego Unified School District LAURA M. NELSON Treasurer/Co-Founder Cass Construction, Inc. LANI LUTAR President & CEO San Diego County Taxpayers Association Rebuttal to Arguments For WHO IS REALLY BEHIND PROPOSITION A? Government contractors and their lobbyists have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ballot measures like Proposition A. Bans like Proposition A prevent local governments from demanding accountability from the government contractors who make their livings off of your tax dollars. Who are these government contractors? The Associated Builders and Contractors is a powerful special interest group. Their members make up less than one percent of all the licensed contractors in California, yet they have a lot of influence over how your local laws are made. An Oceanside City Councilman allowed lobbyists for the Associated Builders and Contractors to write the City Charter within the last year. The Associated Builders and Contractors' former president is in charge of the committee that makes recommendations on ballot measures like Proposition A for the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. Now, the Associated Builders and Contractors have the chance for another giveaway if Proposition A passes. Vote no on Proposition A! PROPOSITION A IS A DISTRACTION FROM THE REAL PROBLEMS IN COUNTY GOVERNMENT Supervisor Bill Horn proposed Proposition A and Supervisors Ron Roberts, Dianne Jacob and Pam Slater-Price voted to put it on the ballot. Meanwhile, these Supervisors continue to oversee the largest county in California without a fire department even though they have all been in office since 1995 - enough time to bear witness to the 2003 and 2007 wildfires and to fix the problem. Proposition A does nothing to keep our county safe during fire season. ARACELI MARTINEZ, Esq Attorney and Small Business Owner TOM LEMMON San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council MARK R. BEVERIDGE President, National City Firefighters Association Local 2744

On the surface, "Ensuring Fair and Open Competition in Contracting" seems like an admirable goal for the County of San Diego. But that's not what Proposition A is about! Proposition A was put on the ballot by the same County Board of Supervisors who have spent $100 Million in taxpayer money on pet projects like the Ugly Dog Parade and office furniture for private organizations. Now, Supervisor Bill Horn proposed wasting $100,000 on Proposition A even though the County already has a law. Supervisors Ron Roberts, Dianne Jacob and Pam Slater-Price went along with the plan. Why should the County Supervisors care? It's not their money! But it's our money! The County Supervisors have been in office for so long, they forgot about that. So what does spending $100,000 on Proposition A get the taxpayers? Proposition A bans agreements requiring government contractors provide health care to workers on the job. That's bad news. Taxpayers get stuck holding the bill when construction workers show up to our already crowded emergency rooms for care because they have no insurance. Proposition A bans agreements that require government contractors to hire local workers. In these tough economic times, we need to make sure San Diego County tax dollars are spent putting San Diego County residents back to work - not people from out of state! Proposition A bans agreements that require career training for the workers on the job. We need to make sure there are educational opportunities for the workforce of tomorrow. Proposition A is a sweetheart deal for government contractors and a bad deal for taxpayers in San Diego County. Vote NO on the government contractor giveaway. Vote NO on Proposition A. TOM LEMMON San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council CAMILLE B. ZOMBRO Teacher CYNTHIA TURNER Registered Nurse Rebuttal to Arguments Against DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE LABOR UNION'S MISLEADING ARGUMENTS Unions are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to gain control of the Board of Supervisors. Organized labor wants control so they can hand out sweetheart contracts to union contractors. Proposition A locks in smart, fiscally responsible policies that ensure your tax dollars go further and create local jobs. Taxpayers are left holding the bag when unions get sweetheart deals. Those deals can stop the overwhelming majority of local companies from competing for County contracts and significantly increase construction costs. The Association of General Contractors, representing both union and non-union companies, supports Proposition A because it ensures that ALL qualified workers can compete for taxpayer-funded projects. With unemployment continuing to rise, it is more important than ever to make certain that no qualified worker, in San Diego County, gets barred from a job. It's not right to require a local worker to join a union in order to work on a project funded by local taxpayers. Proposition A ensures all qualified local workers can compete for jobs. Join veterans, the San Diego County Taxpayer's Association and working men and women of San Diego County in supporting fair and open competition. PROTECT TAXPAYERS VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION A BILL HORN Vice-Chair, San Diego County Board of Supervisors Bronze Star Recipient ALEX GALICIA Plumbing Contractor and Iraq War Veteran MICHAEL NEIL Brigadier General USMC-R (Ret) Navy Cross Recipient JOHN McCANN Councilmember, City of Chula Vista Iraq War Veteran MARGARET "MICKEY" McKENNA Treasurer, Oceanside Taxpayers Association

Full Text of Proposition A

Section 705.4: Prohibition on Requiring Project Labor Agreements. (a) For the purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) "Contractor" shall mean and include a contractor, subcontractor, material supplier, carrier or other person or firm engaged in the completion of a construction project; (2) "Construction project" shall mean and include any project for the construction, rehabilitation, alteration, conversion, extension, maintenance, repair, or improvement of any structures or real property; (3) "Project labor agreement" shall mean any pre-hire, collective bargaining or similar type of agreement entered into with one or more labor organizations, employees or employee representatives that establishes the terms and conditions of employment on a construction project. (b) Except as required by State or federal law as a contracting or procurement obligation, or as a condition of the receipt of State or federal funds, the County shall not require a contractor on a construction project to execute or otherwise become a party to a project labor agreement as a condition of bidding, negotiating, awarding or the performing of a contract. (c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as prohibiting private parties that may perform work on County construction projects from entering into project labor agreements or engaging in activity protected by law.