Non-union and union contractors, business and community leaders, and taxpayer advocates recognized Project Labor Agreements as a looming threat to fiscal responsibility, fair and open competition, and freedom of choice in training in California. In May 1998, state leaders attended a strategic conference in Sacramento to develop a plan to protect fair and open competition in the awarding of construction contracts.
By the end of the year, the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction (CFEC) was incorporated. Its sole responsibility is to protect fair and open bid competition on construction contracts through education. When the California Supreme Court in 1999 permitted the San Francisco Airport Commission to continue its Project Labor Agreement mandate, the educational role of CFEC became extremely important in stopping this union favoritism.