The Administration is one step closer to requiring project labor agreements on direct federal construction projects and AGC is prepared to stop it.  

On August 18, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council released a proposed rule—in line with President Biden’s PLA Executive Order (EO)—requiring every prime contractor and subcontractor to engage in negotiation or agree to project labor agreements (PLAs) on direct federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more (click HERE to see AGC’s Memo). Rest assured, AGC of America has spent months preparing for legal action to block this proposal from going into effect.

The proposed rule sets the stage for the repeal and replacement of the Obama-Biden Administration’s 2009 PLA EO once the FAR Council issues a final regulation, which is expected to take several months. AGC will offer its members resources to weigh in on the proposed rule and to contact Congress.

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 has long maintained that the federal government should not mandate PLAs. 

The use of government-mandated PLAs hurt union contractors, open-shop contractors, and fails to promote economy and efficiency in federal procurement.  According to an AGC of America 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 PLA mandates 99.4 percent of the time even when encouraged to do so under the Obama-Biden Administration. 

For more information, contact Jordan Howard at [email protected] or (703) 837-5368.