April 2022 Update: ABC’s Fight Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements Continues
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 […]
President Biden’s Project Labor Agreement Executive Order Will Increase Costs to Taxpayers and Exacerbate Construction Industry Skilled Labor Shortage
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 […]
BLS: 87.4% of Construction Industry Does Not Belong to a Union
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 […]
Nonunion Workers Suffer Up to 34% in Wage Theft Under Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
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 […]
Advocacy Campaign Opposes Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement Schemes in Infrastructure Bill
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 […]
Biden and Treasury Promote Project Labor Agreement Schemes on Taxpayer-funded Construction Projects in American Rescue Plan
The Biden administration and U.S. Department of the Treasury have taken another unfortunate step promoting anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements on taxpayer-funded construction projects. The latest effort to steer public works construction projects to unionized contractors and union labor at the expense of taxpayers and fair and open competition is sure to create […]
ABC, Coalition Alarmed by Government-mandated Project Labor Agreements in Biden Administration’s American Jobs Plan
On May 5, ABC and a coalition of 16 industry and employer groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden raising concerns about the administration’s direct expansion and support of legislative policies encouraging or requiring controversial government-mandated project labor agreements on federal and federally assisted construction projects. The Biden administration’s March 31 release of the American Jobs Plan, an outline of $2.25 trillion worth of government […]
Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements Exacerbate Construction Industry’s Skilled Labor Shortage
The construction industry needs to hire an additional 430,000 craft professionals in 2021, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released March 23 by Associated Builders and Contractors. Yet federal, state and local lawmakers continue to push anti-competitive and costly policies promoting controversial government-mandated project labor agreements on taxpayer-funded construction projects, […]
Do Project Labor Agreements Stop Strikes on Construction Jobsites?
Some construction union lobbyists and bosses market anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements to public and private construction owners as a tool to guarantee labor peace on construction jobsites by prohibiting union-led strikes that can delay a project and increase the cost of construction. PLA advocates know that strikes, work stoppages, slowdowns and other labor unrest authorized […]
Taxpayer Bailout of Multiemployer Pension Plans and Government-mandated Project Labor Agreements
On March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) into law, including a controversial provision providing a Congressional Budget Office-estimated $86 billion taxpayer bailout of struggling multiemployer pension plans. The COVID-19 relief bill’s sudden bailout of some MEPPs has been disheartening to some small businesses and firms not affiliated […]