House Defends Principles of Fair and Open Competition with Passage of Amendment Restricting Government-Mandated PLAs on NDAA Authorized Projects
It was a historic week for the merit shop contracting community in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thursday, by a bipartisan vote of 211 to 209, the House passed an amendment offered by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and cosponsored by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 […]
Oklahoma Becomes 13th State to Ban PLA Mandates; State Leaders Continue to Stand Up for Free Enterprise
On April 25, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed H.B. 3043, which bans wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on taxpayer-funded construction in the state. Oklahoma is the ninth state to ban these Big Labor handouts since January 2011, and the 13th state to do so overall. While Oklahoma does not have […]
ABC Members Testify in Support of Legislation Restoring Fairness in Federal Contracting
On June 3, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform Subcommittee held a hearing, “H.R. 735 and Project Labor Agreements: Restoring Competition and Neutrality to Government Construction Projects.” The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), heard testimony about the negative impact of President Obama’s controversial Executive Order 13502 […]
Coalition Supports Legislation Creating Fair And Open Competition For Federal Construction Contracts
Jan. 25, Sen. David Vitter (R.-La.) introduced the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (S. 119) (pdf), a measure that will protect taxpayers and ensure fair and open competition on government construction contracts by prohibiting the government from mandating anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal and federally assisted construction projects. Today, the following groups […]
U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to Examine Costly Government-Mandated PLAs
Today at 1:30 PM, the House Oversight and Government Reform (OGR) Committee’s (chaired by Rep. Issa of California) Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending Subcommittee (chaired by Rep. Jordan of Ohio) is holding a hearing called, Regulatory Impediments to Job Creation: The Cost of Doing Business in the Construction Industry. The hearing will focus […]
House Legislation Will Create Fair and Open Competition for Federal Construction Contracts
On Wednesday, Feb. 16, Congressman John Sullivan (R-Okla.) introduced the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (H.R. 735) (pdf). The legislation will protect taxpayers and ensure fair and open competition on government construction contracts by prohibiting the government from mandating anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal and federally assisted construction projects. The Government Neutrality in […]
Executive Order No. 13502 Does Not Require Any State or Local Government To Impose Union-Only Project Labor Agreements On Construction Projects Built With Federal Assistance
This post addresses the question of whether President Obama’s Executive Order No 13502 (Feb. 6, 2009) requires state or local governments to impose union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) on construction projects built with federal assistance. As further explained below, the Executive Order is quite clear on this point: Nothing in the Executive Order requires any […]