The Truth About Project Labor Agreements

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently published two surveys requesting information about the potential use of controversial government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on four construction projects located in Hawaii and at Ft. Rucker and future projects located within the USACE Mobile District in Alabama.

All ABC members, employees and construction community stakeholders are encouraged to respond to the requests for information. Tell the USACE that government-mandated PLAs injure competition, increase costs, and will not advance economy and efficiency in government contracting. It is important to express your opposition to government-mandated PLAs today before they are mandated or encouraged on future USACE and other federal projects. 

Stakeholders interested in USACE Hawaii projects must submit responses to the 11/17/10 questions via email to [email protected] no later than 1:00 PM Hawaii Standard Time on Tuesday, 11/23/10.  Stakeholders can also attend an open forum on Wednesday, 11/24/10 from 9-11 AM at the Corps of Engineers Building 230, Conference Rooms 322/323, Fort Shafter, Oahu, Hawaii.  For directions to the Bldg 230, please contact Kent Tamai @ (808) 438-9700 or at [email protected].

Stakeholders interested in the USACE projects at Ft. Rucker and projects in the USACE Mobile, Alabama district should respond by Friday, 11/26/10 to to U.S. Army Engineer District Mobile, Attn: CESAM-CT/Mr. Carl Wade, P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, AL 36628 or [email protected].

The USACE and other federal agencies have issued PLA surveys as a result of President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502 and federal regulations implementing the discriminatory and illegal order. The order and regulations encourage federal agencies to mandate anti-competitive and costly PLAs on a case-by-case basis on federal construction projects exceeding $25 million. The survey results are an important source of information used to determine whether a PLA is appropriate for a federal project. 

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com readers may recall that ABC National sent an Oct. 18 letter in opposition to government-mandated PLAs on USACE projects in Hawaii in response to the USACE Honolulu District’s Sept. 24 request for information about PLAs on large scale construction projects (exceeding $25 million) within the State of Hawaii (Sources Sought Notice W9128A-PLA-INFO). This new survey, issued 11/17/10, asks news uestions and is specific to four projects in Hawaii identified in the solicitation.

UPDATE: Here is ABC National’s 11/23 response to the most recent PLA survey from USACE Honolulu District.

UPDATE #2: Here is ABC National’s 11/24 response to the PLA survey from the USACE Mobile District.

The USACE recently issued three surveys requesting information about the potential use of PLAs on construction projects in the Savannah, Georgia district; at Fort Campbell in Kentucky; and at the Newtown/Bridgeport Armed Forces Reserve Centerin Danbury, Connecticut. A number of construction stakeholders responded to these surveys.

Here are ABC National’s responses to the USACE’s RFI on PLAs in these markets:

• Letter to USACE Louisville concerning Danbury, CT project  (11/4/10)
• Letter to USACE Louisville concerning Ft. Campbell, KY area projects (11/1/10)
• Letter to USACE Savannah District (10/28/10)

For contractors, taxpayers and construction professionals unfamiliar with the problems with federal PLAs and regulations implementing President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502, please review the letters sent by ABC National to the USACE, which may be helpful information for contractors to review before responding to the USACE PLA surveys.

Responding with accurate and timely information is important. The USACE recently removed government-mandated PLAs from the Army Reserve Center in Los Alamitos, Calif. and the Patrick Air Force Base in Brevard County, Fla. after a strong grassroots response and survey participation from the contracting community. The USACE removed a PLA mandate on the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Camden, N.J. following a legal challenge and robust grassroots response from the construction stakeholders.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to these surveys. Your responses will help maintain an open and competitive environment that will allow all qualified contractors to fairly compete for contracts to build the best possible construction projects at the best possible price.

Additional helpful links:

• PLA Final Rule Takes Effect Today: Let the Waste, Cronyism and Discrimination Begin (provides a helpful overview about the current state of federal PLAs and the Obama order.)
• Project Labor Agreement Basics: What is a PLA?
• Get the Truth About PLAs
• ABC National’s Main Comments to the FAR Council’s Proposed Rule 
• ABC Member Survey/Comment Supplement to Main Comments
• ABC National Comments Specifically Addressing the Regulatory Flexibility Act