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February 2021 Update: ABC’s Fight Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
Among the many anticipated policy changes that will impact the construction industry following the November 2020 elections, the Biden administration and the 117th Congress are likely to attempt to enhance and expand the federal government’s current controversial policy of promoting costly government-mandated project labor agreements on taxpayer-funded construction projects. Doing so would create a rigged […]
Biden Stimulus Plan Pushes Costly Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
On March 31, the Biden administration released the American Jobs Plan, which proposes more than $2 trillion in federal spending over the next eight years to improve the nation’s infrastructure, including investments in transportation, broadband, energy, and drinking water as well as funding for schools and child-care facilities, affordable housing, workforce development and manufacturing. Of […]
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 […]
USACE Baltimore District Issue Project Labor Agreement Surveys for Maryland & Virginia
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued two surveys soliciting comments from the construction industry about the potential use of a government-mandated project labor agreement for multiple construction projects in Maryland and Virginia. The USACE Baltimore District is soliciting comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of a PLA for large-scale, general […]
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 […]
Op-Ed: Build Back Better U.S. Infrastructure with Fair and Open Competition, Free From Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
The Washington Times published this March 16 op-ed expressing concerns about the expansion of government-mandated project labor agreement policy on taxpayer-funded federal and federally assisted construction projects. Build back better U.S. infrastructure with fair and open competition Taxpayers must hold lawmakers accountable for delivering cost-effective infrastructure projects that will last. Americans are in strong bipartisan […]
Setting the Record Straight: Do Government-mandated Project Labor Agreements Really Improve Safety Performance?
Supporters of government-mandated project labor agreements often claim these controversial schemes ensure the safe delivery of construction projects, and therefore, it’s in the public interest for lawmakers to mandate PLAs on construction projects funded by hardworking taxpayers, resulting in reduced competition from local firms, increased construction costs by 12% to 20%, and fewer local construction […]
Coalition To President Biden: Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements Reduce Competition, Raise Costs on Taxpayer-Funded Construction
On March 5, ABC and a coalition of 14 industry and employer groups sent a letter to President Biden raising concerns about the expansion of policies encouraging or mandating project labor agreements on federal and federally assisted construction projects. ABC and the coalition are monitoring Biden administration executive actions, federal agency policies and legislation introduced in the 117th Congress that […]
Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement Failures on Federal and Federally Assisted Construction Projects
ABC supports fair and open competition and opposes government-mandated project labor agreements on federal and federally assisted projects because hardworking taxpayers deserve more efficient and effective policies that will encourage all qualified contractors and their skilled workforce to compete to build long-lasting, quality projects at the best price. Just 12.7% of the U.S. construction workforce belongs […]
Union Leaders and Contractors Oppose Government-mandated Project Labor Agreements Too
The debate surrounding controversial government-mandated project labor agreements is often framed by the media, elected officials and policy wonks as a dispute pitting construction unions against nonunion contractors in a battle about whether the government should be enacting PLA preference and mandate policies that ultimately steer taxpayer-funded construction contracts to unionized contractors and create jobs […]