Newsline

13 House Republicans Warn OMB About PLA Mandate Rulemaking

On June 16, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer, Ky., and 12 other House Republicans sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget raising concerns about the implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order 14063, “Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects,” highlighting concerns that the proposal will raise taxpayer costs, cut nonunion workers out of federal projects and force right-to-work states to freeze local workers out of cooperative federal projects. The executive order mandates PLAs on federal construction projects of $35 million or more.

ABC and Members of Congress Slam Biden’s PLA Executive Order in Congressional Hearing

On April 27, ABC sent a letter to a congressional subcommittee warning of the negative impacts of imposing government-mandated project labor agreements on infrastructure spending. 

ABC Pushes Back on Biden’s Pro-PLA Policies Through the Media

ABC continued to fight against government-mandated project labor agreements through a media campaign publicizing a letter recently sent to the White House with more than 1,200 signatures from members and chapters. The campaign garnered coverage of the importance of fair and open competition for construction projects on Fox Business (reach: 13.5 million) and in The Washington Post (67.7 million), among others.

ABC Advocates for Worker Freedom, Against PLAs in Letter to Congress

On March 30, ABC sent a letter to a Congressional subcommittee cautioning that more regulations and less worker freedom, combined with the construction industry shortage of 650,000 workers in 2022, will make it harder to fill any jobs created by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

ABC Partners with Congressional Leaders to Oppose Biden PLA Mandate, Advocate for Fair and Open Competition

On March 7, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., wrote letters to the White House in opposition to President Biden’s executive order 14063 requiring federal construction contracts of $35 million or more to be subjected to project labor agreements.

ABC, Coalition Support the Fair and Open Competition Act in Letter to Congress Opposing PLA Mandates

On Feb. 23, ABC and a coalition of 19 associations and organizations representing the construction industry and business community sent Congress a letter of support for the Fair and Open Competition Act (S. 403/H.R. 1284), sponsored by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. and Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C.

ABC, Coalition Argue Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements in Letter to White House

ABC joined a diverse coalition of more than a dozen associations and organizations representing millions of workers in the construction industry in a letter to President Joe Biden opposing the administration’s new executive order mandating project labor agreements on federal construction contracts of $35 million or more. Executive Order 14063 was signed on Feb. 4.

ABC: President Biden's Pro-PLA Executive Order Will Increase Costs to Taxpayers and Worsen Skilled Labor Shortage

White House Union Report Fails to Create Opportunities for All of the Construction Industry

On Feb. 7, the Biden administration’s White House Task Force On Worker Organizing And Empowerment issued its report on how to boost union membership in the federal government and public and private sectors.

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Signed into Law

On Nov. 15, President Biden signed H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, into law at the White House. The IIJA authorizes nearly $550 billion in new federal money for infrastructure projects, while renewing approximately $1.2 trillion for existing programs that were set to expire.