AGC of America and AGC of South Dakota express concerns with new PLA mandate.

On June 3, the Associated General Contractors of America and the AGC of South Dakota participated in a congressional briefing hosted by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform about the new mandate for project labor agreements (PLAs) on major federal construction projects (AGC Memo). The PLA Mandate requires every federal prime contractor and subcontractor to engage in negotiation or agree to PLAs on federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more, with limited exceptions. AGC of America and AGC of South Dakota voiced the direct concerns of AGC member companies, including how the mandate reduces competition and imposes sweeping labor policies that undermine current labor agreements.

AGC of America neither supports nor opposes contractors’ voluntary use of PLAs on government projects, or elsewhere, but strongly opposes any government mandate for contractors’ use of PLAs. AGC is committed to free and open competition for publicly funded work. AGC of America submitted extensive comments opposing the rule when it was first proposed in 2022. AGC members sent more than 8,500 communications against the proposal via formal comments and messages to their elected officials.

AGC has long maintained that the federal government should not mandate PLAs.  The use of government-mandated PLAs hurts both union and open-shop contractors, and fails to promote economy and efficiency in federal procurement.  According to an AGC analysis of data obtained via a Construction Advocacy Fund-financed lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, the Department of Defense federal construction agencies rejected PLAs 99.4 percent of the time even when encouraged to do so under the Obama-Biden Administration.

For more information, contact Jordan Howard.