The Truth About Project Labor Agreements

The construction industry is projecting a historic shortage of 650,000 skilled workers in 2022. It is also facing serious supply chain disruptions, unprecedented materials cost inflation of 44% since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and declining investment in nonresidential structures. The Biden administration is aware of these problems that stand to undermine taxpayer investments in […]

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Since President Biden signed Executive Order 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, on Feb. 4, 2022, mandating project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more, numerous lawmakers and taxpayer and business groups have renewed fierce opposition to the Biden administration’s push for government-mandated PLAs on both federal […]

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Yesterday, Associated Builders and Contractors issued this press release in reaction to President Biden’s long-rumored executive order (see White House fact sheet) pushing government-mandated project labor agreements on certain federal construction contracts. This policy is bad news for taxpayers and the construction industry. President Biden’s Pro-PLA Executive Order Will Increase Costs to Taxpayers and Exacerbate […]

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The rate of union membership in the construction industry dropped slightly in 2021, from 12.7% to 12.6%, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual union members summary report published on Jan. 20, 2022. However, construction unions added 31,000 members, growing from 993,000 in 2020 to 1.024 million in […]

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mobile District has issued two surveys soliciting comments from the construction industry about the potential use of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLA) for multiple large-scale projects at Redstone Arsenal in Madison County, Alabama. ABC National encourages the merit shop contracting community to respond to these PLA surveys. Tell […]

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 22—Associated Builders and Contractors today calls attention to a new report that highlights the negative economic impact of controversial government-mandated project labor agreements on nonunion construction workers, who comprise 87.3% of the construction industry workforce. The study found that the limited number of nonunion craft professionals permitted to work on construction projects subject […]

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A study published in August by the Rand Corporation found that a bond measure passed by voters in 2016 failed to deliver on its intended results, largely because of the existence of a project labor agreement. In 2016, voters in Los Angeles approved a bond measure, formally known as Proposition HHH, which allowed city housing […]

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Los Angeles District has issued a survey soliciting comments from the construction industry about the potential use of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) for a large scale construction project (greater than $25M) at Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada. This project is for the design and construction […]

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As Congress continues to craft legislation implementing a bipartisan infrastructure framework, ABC  issued a July 13 press release announcing a digital advocacy campaign opposing costly government-mandated project labor agreement schemes on the federal infrastructure legislation. ABC-Led Coalition Announces Six-Figure Advocacy Campaign Build America Local, a coalition of construction industry and business organizations led by Associated […]

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