FEATURED
A Win for Fair and Open Competition: Wyoming Passes Law Restricting Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
Associated Builders and Contractors praised the Wyoming legislature and Gov. Mark Gordon for enacting SF 147, the Fair and Open Competition Act, which protects Wyoming taxpayers by ensuring all of the state’s skilled construction workforce can compete on a level playing field for contracts to build state, state-assisted and local public works projects. Once in […]
Lawsuit Flushes Project Labor Agreement Scheme on Massachusetts Wastewater Facility
ABC’s Massachusetts chapter and a coalition of local merit shop contractors successfully blocked the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission’s scheme for a project labor agreement mandate on a $325 million water filtration plant. “Notwithstanding the lip service the PLA pays to being open to all bidders, it most assuredly is not,” wrote Hampden Superior Court […]
DC Council Saddles More City Construction With Project Labor Agreement Schemes
On May 7, 2024, the D.C. Council approved controversial legislation, the Revised Labor Agreement Cost Threshold Amendment Act of 2024. Bill 25-469 lowers the cost threshold from $75 million to $50 million for the required use of inflationary and anti-competitive project labor agreements on construction contracts procured by the District of Columbia. D.C. Council Chairman […]
Op-Ed: Project Labor Agreements Discriminate Against New Jersey’s Minority Businesses and Workforce
A powerful Black History Month op-ed by the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey CEO John Harmon makes the connection between New Jersey’s project labor agreement policy and discrimination against minority businesses and workers. It’s a common complaint against PLA schemes echoed by the National Black Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders. Check […]
BLS: A Record 89.3% of the U.S. Construction Industry Is Not Part of a Union
According to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2023 Union Members Summary released Jan. 23, 2024, a historic low of 10.7% of the construction industry belongs to a union, a decline from 11.7% in 2022. BLS reports that 7.9 million construction workers were not members of a union in […]
December 2023 Update: ABC’s Fight Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
Since President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, on Feb. 4, 2022, mandating inflationary and anti-competitive project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more, numerous lawmakers and taxpayer and construction industry groups have renewed fierce opposition to the Biden administration’s push for […]
Biden’s Project Labor Agreement Schemes Aggravate Construction Industry’s Skilled Labor Shortage
The construction industry is projecting a historic shortage of more than half a million skilled workers in 2023. It is also facing serious supply chain disruptions unprecedented materials cost inflation of 39% since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty caused by a tsunami of Biden administration regulations impacting the construction industry. The Biden administration […]
April 2023 Update: ABC’s Fight Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements Intensifies
Since President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, on Feb. 4, 2022, mandating inflationary and anti-competitive 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 […]
New Jersey Court Rules Toll Bridge Commission’s Project Labor Agreement Scheme Illegal
On April 4, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled (pdf) that a commission authorized by New Jersey and Pennsylvania law to build and maintain Delaware River bridges lacked the authority to require controversial project labor agreements. At issue were a contractor’s allegations that the Delaware Joint Toll Bridge Commission violated its […]
Biden’s Project Labor Agreement Schemes Exacerbate Construction Industry’s Skilled Labor Shortage
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 […]