A Project Labor Agreement used on a US Department of Defense project in Maine is drawing praise for saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

A lot has been written about the efforts to repeal Michigan's prevailing wage statute.  But until now, nobody has done as good a job as Eric Anders in lifting the veil away from the purposeful and shameful deceit that is at the heart of these efforts in a piece he wrote for the Midalnd (MI) Daily News.

As an effort continues to eradicate Michigan's state prevailing wage law, union millwright Ingird Young took to the pages of the Detroit News to share her story of how earning a prevailing wage is enabling her to re-build a neighborhood.

The San Diego Union-Tribune recently published a column by conservative columnist Steven Greenhut criticizing several California State Building and Construction Trades Council-sponsored bills to encourage project labor agreements on school construction projects. Council President Robbie Hunter submitted a scathing response to the newspaper, pointing out the flaws in the column and the merits of those bills.

Here is the Steven Greenhut column, followed by President Hunter’s response.

WASHINGTON -- Carhartt, America's premium work wear brand since 1889, today, donated $100,000 to Helmets to Hardhats, a nonprofit program designed to help active-duty military service members National Guard, reservists and veterans successfully transition back into civilian life by offering them the means to secure a quality career in the building and trade industry. The company has committed to donating $100,000 annually to support the organization's mission to train transitioning vets for careers in the trades.

In his monthly column for the Building Trades News, Ron Miller - Executive Secretary of the Los Angeles/Orange County Building Trades Council - compares and contrasts the approach to career training and education taken by Starbucks and North America's Building Trades Unions...

The rush to repeal state prevailing wage statutes has some people wondering if our nation's governing elite sincerely believe that hard-working Americans are simply living too well.

Dale Belman, a professor in the School of Labor and Industrial Relations & Department of Economics at Michigan State University, offers a compelling defense of prevailing wage laws.

American political and media elites and their disdain for blue-collar workers.

The following statement was released today by North America's Building Trades Unions in reaction to passage by the U.S. Senate of legislation providing the President with Trade Promotion Authority:

WASHINGTON, DC -- The following statement was released today by North America's Building Trades Unions in reaction to the agreement reached on the framework for a reformed 421-a program that ensures the payment of prevailing wages for New York City's construction workforce:

Agreement to ensure "maximum economic benefit" for the local economy.

This week "Operation Exit" held a graduation ceremony for 15 students who completed the 3½-week apprenticeship-readiness program for people who have been in the criminal justice system or are considered to be at high risk.

The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners overwhelmingly approved an update to its "responsible bidder" policy.  The policy gives higher consideration to contract bidders who have a large percentage of local workers and participate in apprenticeship training programs.

Outlines plan to offer businesses a tax credit of $1,500 for each trainee.

More than 59 percent of likely voters support maintaining Michigan's prevailing wage, a more than 2-1 advantage over the 25 percent of voters who want the law scrapped, according to a statewide poll released exclusively to The Detroit News and WDIV-TV.

Former President Bill Clinton appeared on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" where he discussed the partnership between the Clinton Global Initiative, the Building Trades, AFT, and the AFL-CIO to invest pension funds in commercial building retro-fits that create jobs and provide opportunities for apprenticeship training.

Building Trades Leaders, NAACP, and St. Louis Mayor hold press conference to announce first graudation class from Building Union Diversity (BUD) program, and announce launch of website to connect jobseekers to jobs.

Only weeks after Governor Brian Sandoval signed into law a bill to remove prevailing wage protections for school construction, the State Legislature reversed course and reinstated those protections.

NABTU President Sean McGarvey participated June 2nd in a forum at the Newseum in Washington, DC that was sponsored by The Hill newspaper, and which was titled, "Amercia's Nuclear Energy Future."