LOVETT PETERS of the Pioneer Institute is correct when he states that only 20 percent of the construction workforce is unionized in Massachusetts ("Paying the bills," Op-ed, Nov. 24). That figure comes from US Department of Labor and US Census Bureau data for 2006.
Mary Vogel of the Construction Institute is wrong when she tries to correct Peters by citing conflicting statistics and claiming the source is state government ("Benefits of project labor agreements," Letters, Dec. 5). I was informed last year by a Department of Workforce Development official that it does not separately track union membership, but instead relies on the aforementioned federal data.
Vogel is a cog in a union campaign to persuade public officials and private businesses that it is fair to discriminate against 80 percent of the construction workforce by adopting union-only project labor agreements. PLAs stifle competition and dramatically increase costs, as shown in studies by the Beacon Hill Institute and the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.
Vogel cites a study by ELECTRI International, without telling anyone it is funded by and dependent on labor unions. Indeed, Vogel's organization, the Construction Institute, sounds as impressive as the Pioneer Institute, but only one is a well-respected think tank, while the other is a union-funded propaganda machine. You can figure out which is which.
RONALD N. COGLIANO
President, Merit
Construction Alliance
Kingston
rising
falling 