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 […]
More Data: Project Labor Agreement Schemes Hurt Vast Majority of U.S. Construction Workforce
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com previously reported that more than 88% of the U.S. construction industry workforce does not belong to a union. Government data collected and published by UnionStats.com provides this information for each state’s construction industry workforce. How does your state rank? In More Than Half of U.S. States, at Least 90% of the Construction Workforce Does […]
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 […]
Coalition Questions Project Labor Agreement Scheme in CHIPS Funding for Semiconductor Plant Construction
On March 7, a diverse group of 17 construction and business associations urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to ensure taxpayer investments in the semiconductor industry are not needlessly constrained by anti-competitive and inflationary project labor agreement schemes imposed through after-the-fact regulatory action by the Biden administration. According to the coalition letter, a project labor agreement preference […]
Fair and Open Competition Legislation Combating Inflationary Project Labor Agreement Schemes Introduced in 118th Congress
Associated Builders and Contractors and a broad coalition of construction industry stakeholders voiced its strong support for the Fair and Open Competition Act (H.R. 1209 / S. 537), which has been reintroduced in the 118th Congress by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., in the U.S. Senate, and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., in the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 27. […]
BLS: A Record 88% of America’s Construction Industry Does Not Belong to a Union
According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual Union Members Summary released Jan. 19, 2023, the percent of construction industry wage and salary workers belonging to unions dropped to a record low of 11.7%, a decline from 12.6% in 2021. Analysis of BLS data found that a historically high 88.3% of the […]
97% of ABC Contractors Say Biden’s Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement Policies Would Make Federal Construction More Expensive
According to a September 2022 survey of ABC contractor members published Sept. 28, 2022, 98% oppose President Biden’s proposed rule mandating project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more. PLA schemes needlessly increase costs and exacerbate the construction industry’s skilled labor shortage because they exclude almost nine out of 10 workers […]
Construction and Taxpayer Coalitions Opposes Biden’s Pro-Project Labor Agreement Proposal
An ABC-led coalition of 22 organizations and associations representing thousands of companies employing millions of workers in the construction industry submitted a comment letter, Oct, 13, 2022, in opposition to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s Aug. 19 proposed rule implementing President Biden’s Feb. 4 Executive Order 14063 requiring controversial and inflationary project labor agreements on federal construction contracts […]
U.S. Lawmakers Voice Concerns with Biden’s Project Labor Agreement Mandates on Federal and Federally Assisted Construction Projects
Congress has been busy holding President Biden accountable for inflationary and controversial policies benefiting union donors following the Biden administration’s Feb. 4 release of Executive Order 14063 and the related Aug. 19 FAR Council proposed rule to require project labor agreements on federal construction contracts of $35 million or more. The communications from lawmakers also […]