The sudden need to have the infrastructure repaired, something that was supposed to happen with the first stimulus, seems to come at a time when Obama needs Union support for his re-election. I found this very interesting assesment and copies of the EOs on line.

What happens in a Right to Work State when the Federal hiway contruction contracts are mandated to be done by Union labor???

President Obama Issues Fourth Pro-Union Executive Order
Date: 2.9.2009

Project Labor Agreements Can Be Mandated for Federal Contractors

In another boost to organized labor, President Barack Obama on February 6, 2009, signed an Executive Order, effective immediately, authorizing executive agencies of the federal government to require every contractor or subcontractor on a large-scale construction project to negotiate or become a party to a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with one or more labor organizations. This is the fourth pro-labor Executive Order signed by President Obama since January 30th.

A PLA is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement between contractors and one or more unions that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project. The stated rationale for this Order is that a PLA can promote the “efficient and expeditious completion of Federal construction contractsâ€