LETTERS
Labor Agreement
This is a response to the Aug. 25 letter in which union boss Jim Adams attacked Orange County Treasurer John Moorlach for his opposition to the union-only Project Labor Agreement. It would appear Mr. Adams has a problem with a duly elected county official calling the Orange County PLA what it is: a payoff to unions at the expense of worker’s rights and taxpayer’s pocket books.
Three years ago, when Orange County signed its PLA, it was recognized by most as an attempt by three of the members of the Board of Supervisors to curry favor with a few unions, so as to help get El Toro International Airport off the ground. The three years hence have borne witness to the questionable wisdom of that decision, with the overwhelming defeat of the airport, and both a reduction in bidders and an accompanying increase in costs for county projects across the board, as well as the voters’ ouster of one of the three supervisors who supported the PLA, Cynthia Coad.
With a new conservative majority on the Board of Supervisors, and with the possibility that Moorlach might be retained as the county CEO, the days of the OC PLA are surely numbered. It’s time for Mr. Adams and other union bosses to move on to other enterprises.
Art Pedroza
Director of Government Affairs,
Orange County Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction
Santa Ana
Class-Action Suits
The U.S. Senate has the opportunity to stop the avalanche of lawsuit abuse,if they have the courage to do the right thing and vote for the Class Action Fairness Act of 2003.
A class-action lawsuit is one of a few legal procedures that allow consumers to band together and seek relief from defective products, misleading advertising, and civil rights violations. Unfortunately, a handful of wily lawyers who specialize in driving huge lawsuits through even larger legal loopholes have destroyed the fairness and credibility of this important procedural safeguard.
The biggest violation is a practice called “forum shopping”, where most class actions are jammed into the dockets of a few carefully chosen local courts, such as Madison County, Ill. These so-called “magnets” are often chosen by plaintiff’s attorneys because of the reputations that certain local judges have for allowing questionable cases to go to trial, issuing “plaintiff friendly” judgments, and approving settlements that provide millions in attorneys’ fees, yet virtually nothing for the plaintiffs.
The bipartisan solution Class Action Fairness Act (S. 274/H.R. 1115) reforms the current law and closes loopholes to ensure that class actions are decided in a fair manner that is consistent with the size and scope of each case.
It would move multi-state lawsuits involving more than $5 million to federal courts. It also establishes a “Plaintiff’s Bill of Rights” that would ensure consumers can easily understand their rights, and are protected from unfair settlements. This provision would require settlement notices to be written in easily understandable language, ensure stricter judicial scrutiny of settlements that provide few actual benefits to plaintiffs (such as coupon settlements) and prevent settlements that distribute awards unequally among class members.
This legislation has already passed the House of Representatives, and was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee thanks in large part to the support of California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. The measure now moves to a vote on the Senate floor.
Unfortunately, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy is trying to undermine these reforms by circulating an alternative proposal that creates a series of loopholes that can ultimately be manipulated to keep class actions in the “magnet state courts” and out of federal court jurisdiction.
We urge Sen. Feinstein to stay strong on this issue and use her leadership to pass real reform.
Jack M. Stewart
President
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
Sacramento
Slices of SoCal
Re the Aug. 4 “Slice of Orange” item in the OC Insider about a woman driver curling her hair:
Not to be outdone by Orange County, my most memorable “Slice of L.A.” was an attorney-type driving in his Mercedes on the 405 northbound by LAX, one hand to drive, one hand to play the trumpet!
Dan Siwulec
Marketing consultant
Pacific Palisades
