ABC strongly opposes union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) on construction projects. These agreements not only exclude open shop contractors from bidding on projects paid for by their own tax dollars, but also drive up the cost of construction by reducing competition for the work.
A union-only PLA is a contract that requires that the project be awarded only to contractors and subcontractors who agree to:
- recognize unions as the representatives of their employees on that job
- use the union hiring hall to obtain workers
- pay union wages and benefits
- obey the union's restrictive work rules, job classifications and arbitration procedures
On February 17, 2001, President George W. Bush signed Executive Order No. 13202, “Preservation of Open Competition and Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors’ Labor Relations on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects.” This Executive Order was subsequently amended with Executive Order No. 13208, which exempts any project which has had at least one contract awarded with a PLA from Executive Order 13202.
Additionally, legislation has been introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate during the 110th Congress that would codify President Bush's open competition executive orders.
Click here for a detailed breakdown of all federal and state activity.
Eight state governments have taken action either encouraging or limiting the use of PLAs.
Click
here for a detailed breakdown of all federal and state activity.
Find out more information on project labor agreements including why ABC opposes them. ABC National has many resources to assist members, the public and elected officials on union-only PLAs including studies, sample public relations materials and information regarding Executive Order 13202 which bans PLAs on federally funded construction projects.
The Strategic Guide to Defeating Union-Only PLAs includes background information, outlines the arguments for and against union-only PLAs, and explains how you can fight back. The Appendix section provides several important resources such as Construction Legal Rights Foundation (CLRF) applications, model legislation, talking points, and sample public relations materials. Contact the ABC Government Affairs Director of Labor and State Affairs at plainfo@abc.org.
The
Construction Legal Rights Foundation(CLRF) assists chapters by providing matching funds for public campaigns against (or related to) union-only project labor agreements (PLAs). The CLRF Trustees will: (1) determine the relative priority of those PLA-related matters; (2) assess the probability of "favorable" results through issue advocacy; and (3) support those actions with the greatest weight given to those with the highest probability of favorable outcome. Visit Resources in the Chapter/Staff Login area for access to the Issue Advocacy Application or contact your
local chapter.