On February 17, 2001, President Bush issued Executive Order 13202 reversing former President Clinton's policy of promoting union-only PLAs on federally funded construction projects. The Bush Administration order prohibits executive agencies from requiring bidders or contractors to adhere to PLAs and from discriminating against bidders for declining to adhere to such agreements. On April 6, 2001, the Bush Administration issued an amendment to Executive Order 13202 (
Executive Order 13208), which exempts from the ban any project which has had at least one contract awarded with a PLA. Executive Order 13202 effectively blocked a government mandated union-only PLA on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that spans the Potomac River.
On April 26, 2001, the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department, along with the Contra Costa Building Trades and the city of Richmond, CA, filed a lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the original order. ABC filed an amicus brief in the case as a means of supporting the Bush Administration to defeat the lawsuit. On August 13, 2001 Judge Emmit Sullivan sided with the AFL-CIO and granted a preliminary injunction against the Executive Order, allowing Maryland to attempt to reincorporate a PLA on the Wilson Bridge project. The PLA was rejected, however, by the Federal Highway Administration on December 7, 2001, clearing the way for construction of the remainder of the project without a union-only PLA. But on November 29th, 2001, Judge Emmit Sullivan permanently barred enforcement of the order on the grounds that it violates the NLRA. The Justice Department appealed this decision.
In February of 2002, ABC filed a joint friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in support of the Justice Department. On July 12th, 2002 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld Federal Executive Order 13202 prohibiting mandatory project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal and federally funded projects. The appeals court overturned the ruling of the earlier court, stating that the government's role was proprietary, not regulatory. "The government unquestionably is the proprietor of its own funds, and when it acts to ensure the most effective use of those funds, it is acting in a proprietary capacity," the appeals court wrote.
On October 17th, 2003 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule implementing President Bush's Executive Order 13202. ABC National continues to work with other executive departments and is encouraging the adoption of similar rules throughout the federal government.
Between 2001 and 2008, Executive Order 13202 has protected more than $147.1 billion in federal construction spending from discriminatory and wasteful union-only PLAs. The actual value of construction projects protected by Executive Order 13202 is exponentially larger, as the above figure does not include state and local construction spending from 2001-2008 that received federal funding or assistance. It is estimated that free and open competition saved American taxpayers between 14 percent and 20 percent on federal construction spending and provided women, minorities and other qualified craft professionals the opportunity to work in their communities.
Executive Order 13202 and 13208 were repealed on Feb. 6 2009 by President Obama's Executive Order 13502. You can learn more about PLA executive orders and legislation at the federal and state level
here.
Executive Order Legal Resources