The Truth About Project Labor Agreements

On March 11, 2025, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy (D) issued Executive Order No. 641 Using Project Labor Agreements to Promote Successful Delivery of Major Projects. The EO, announced at the Massachusetts Building Trades Annual Convention, seeks to encourage government-mandated project labor agreements on state construction projects estimated to cost $35 million or more. The EO […]

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The 119th Congress has introduced the Fair and Open Competition Act with a record-breaking number of original cosponsors and broad construction industry and pro-taxpayer stakeholder support. Urge your lawmakers to cosponsor this important legislation prohibiting anti-competitive and inflationary government-mandated project labor agreements on federal and federally assisted construction projects via this grassroots campaign today. ABC […]

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A record-high 89.7% of the U.S. construction workforce does not belong to a union. In 41 states, at least 80% of workers in the private construction industry did not belong to a union in 2024. At least 90% of workers in the private construction industry did not belong to a union in 29 states in […]

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The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs announced the reversal of a controversial Biden administration policy mandating project labor agreements on solicitations for construction contracts of $35 million or more. The policy change is expected to restore merit-based competition for taxpayer-funded construction contracts to build Veterans Affairs hospitals, outpatient facilities, office buildings, national cemeteries and other […]

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Associated Builders and Contractors celebrated a Feb. 7 decision by the U.S. Department of Defense, released to the public Feb. 11, that will restore merit-based competition for taxpayer-funded construction projects procured by military agencies. “The DoD’s new policy effectively eliminates President Joe Biden’s controversial rule requiring anti-competitive, inflationary, union-favoring project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or […]

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently canceled its solicitation for the construction of a $500 million to $1 billion federal currency printing plant in Beltsville, Maryland, on behalf of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing. According to its Jan. 13, 2025, notice canceling the solicitation, the USACE Baltimore District cited “budgetary […]

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According to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2024 Union Members Summary released Jan. 28, 2025, a record low 10.3% of the U.S. construction industry belongs to a union, a decrease from the prior historic low of 10.7% in 2023. BLS reports that 7,978,000 construction industry workers were […]

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On Jan. 20, Associated Builders and Contractors celebrated a decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that rules in favor of ABC members that filed bid protests challenging former President Joe Biden’s controversial policy requiring anti-competitive, inflationary, union-favoring project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more. Judge Ryan T. Holte’s Jan. 19 ruling in favor […]

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The Oregonian editorial board had some choice words about Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s (D) gift to construction trades unions in the form of a new executive order requiring controversial project labor agreements that are sure to inflate the cost of state and state-assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers (“Editorial: Merry Christmas, Labor Unions! Love, Gov. […]

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