'Quite An Unrighteous Move': Clay Higgins Dunks On Biden's Project Labor Agreement Executive Order

3 months ago

During a House Oversight Committee hearing last week, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) spoke about a Biden executive order that would force contractors to prioritize using unionized labor.

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Transcript

00:00I appreciate you being here.

00:02Just to clarify for the American people,

00:04what we're dealing with is an executive order from the president

00:08which has resulted in rules being written and mandated

00:12through government projects, major government projects,

00:15that impact every state

00:18and have forced contractors to submit bids

00:24with union workforce as their primary workforce.

00:30And many states don't have that workforce infrastructure,

00:33including the state of Louisiana that I represent.

00:38So according to the January 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics,

00:44only about 10% of the workforce is unionized.

00:48So it's quite an unrighteous move

00:51by the executive of our country.

00:55The president of the United States issued an executive order

00:58saying 90% of the workforce of the American people doesn't qualify

01:03for these government bids.

01:05It's quite unrighteous.

01:07Twenty-four sovereign states have right-to-work laws,

01:11including Louisiana.

01:13We offer fair and open competition for all companies,

01:17including union labor, to bid on contracts.

01:21But it shouldn't be mandated either way.

01:25I'm quite sure that my colleagues that represent union districts,

01:33which I respect, I don't have a problem with that.

01:37I don't oppose unions.

01:39I support freedom.

01:41I don't oppose our president.

01:45I oppose oppressive actions out of our executive branch.

01:50And I'm quite certain that my colleagues that represent union districts

01:55would have an issue with the president reversing an order,

02:00saying you cannot allow union workforce to bid on these projects.

02:10Mr. Ledeck, congratulations.

02:13We've arrived at the point where someone can pronounce your name.

02:17Mr. Ledeck, would this violate Louisiana law in your assessment

02:21and disadvantage Louisiana-owned and operated non-union companies

02:26that you've historically partnered with to rebuild the Louisiana coast

02:30and protect Louisiana communities from flooding?

02:34Thank you, Congressman.

02:35As you indicated, we think it violates the spirit of the law.

02:38As you said, we have a right-to-work state.

02:40Only 3% of the Louisiana workforce is union labor.

02:44The other 97% is non-union labor.

02:47And so this mandate discourages them from being able to work

02:50on these major infrastructure projects to protect our citizens.

02:54In your experience, Mr. Ledeck, again,

02:56to clarify for Americans witnessing this hearing,

03:00is there any law in Louisiana that denies unionization?

03:07No, there's not.

03:08Thank you very much.

03:09So our free citizens, by a ratio of 97%,

03:16choose to work for companies that are not involved with union labor.

03:20They have the right to unionize.

03:22We certainly wouldn't stop that.

03:24Go ahead.

03:25That's called freedom.

03:26Once again, we don't oppose unions.

03:29We support freedom.

03:31We oppose oppression of rights and individual liberties.

03:37Mr. Ledeck, again,

03:39what would be the real-world implications of this rule on CPRA

03:45and the Army Corps projects in South Louisiana?

03:50Would you address that, please?

03:53Bring it home.

03:54Yes.

03:55In my remaining minute here,

03:57what's the real-world impact of projects that we have ongoing in Louisiana

04:03with CPRA through the Corps of Engineers for coastal reconstruction

04:07and flood mitigation?

04:09As a great example, if we're talking about cost increases,

04:12we have the $3.7 billion ongoing West Shore Lake Pontchartrain project.

04:18That could result in cost increases of anywhere from $400 million to $700 million

04:23if those statistics are correct.

04:25And then the State of Louisiana has to pay 35% of that cost share.

04:29Could you even bid it out?

04:32I mean, can you get a workforce?

04:34Is there a Louisiana workforce, a contractor,

04:36that could even effectively respond to that bid,

04:39the contractors that you've historically successfully done business with?

04:44Yeah, there's uncertainty there.

04:45The first project that we've encountered after this mandate has been put in place

04:49is we only received one bid.

04:51One bid.

04:54Well, gentlemen, and Mr. Snyder, this includes you.

04:58I thank you for being here.

04:59I respect your representation.

05:01We just disagree in principle on government mandates

05:04that oppress the freedoms of Americans' right to work.

05:07So I do appreciate you being here.

05:09We have some questions to submit to you in writing, good sir,

05:12and the other panelists as well.

05:14Madam Speaker, Madam Chair, I apologize.

05:17Thank you for holding this hearing.

05:19It was very important.

05:20I spoke Louisiana good today.

05:21I said LaDay.

05:22I did a good job.

05:23I think I got mostly right.

05:25I like to recognize Ms.

'Quite An Unrighteous Move': Clay Higgins Dunks On Biden's Project Labor Agreement Executive Order

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