ASHLAND — PLA guarantees local workers hired

This is in reponse to the letter written by Billy Parsons, president and CEO of the Associated Builders & Contractors. Kentuckiana Chapter, that was published in the Sept. 2 Independent 

Mr. Parsons needs to get his facts together before attacking Carter County.

First, union contractors do not have the advantage over non-union conractors on the purchase of supplies and materials for the building of the new Tygart Creek Elementary School.

In reality, most state and federal projects have prevailing wage requirements for construction workers which is often at higher rates. Some open shop contractors manipulate this by paying their employees a different pay rate or job classification. In that way, this allows them to have an unfair advantage over union contractors on project costs

A project labor agreement (PLA) is in place to make sure a percentage of workers are hired locally, either union or not. It does keep contractors from abusing the rights of people. With union contractors, employees are guaranteed to receive 100 percent of the wage rate plus benefits.

Some contend members of the Carter County Board of Education should not have been allowed to vote on the PLA issue because they are union members. This is discrimination.

When you’re an elected official, you take an oath of office to vote in the best interests of the people you serve. By voting for the PLA, the school board guarantees that local contractors and local people are used on the job. This keeps out-of-state contractors from coming in and taking our work and jobs away.

At least on this project, the issue was equal pay for equal work. All it took was a signature — a choice available to everyone who picked up the plans.

Charles Wallace, Judge-executive,  Carter County

 

Tax hikes hurt small businesses

 In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, our government is making haste to raise taxes on oil and natural gas companies. That’s a big mistake. Among other out-of-pocket impacts, such rash action could damage small businesses here in Kentucky that continue to struggle in the current economy.

 The oil spill disaster has made the energy industry an easy target for Congress and an administration that is hunting for handy budget offsets. On the table is a so-called loophole, a tax credit American companies can claim on foreign-generated earnings to avoid being taxed twice on the same revenue.

 However, this is not a tax loophole. It’s a necessary measure taken by the U.S. to level the international playing field for our domestic energy companies. If the U.S. has to pay taxes to a foreign government and their own on the same money, they will not only have little to invest in new jobs and expansion; they will have to raise their prices on the American people in order to keep their heads above water.

Here’s the rub: I can’t afford to pay higher energy prices to operate my company and neither can other Kentucky small business owners who are trying to keep their doors open and their lights on. These are still tough economic times out here.

 Because the government has set out to get richer by squeezing the oil companies, you and I and millions of other hard-working Americans could get poorer. We should make it clear to our president and our legislators that eliminating tax credits in the energy industry is a bad idea at a bad time.

  Danielle Smith,  Versailles