Type of compact allowing trade unions to edit US federal project contracts
A Project Labor Agreement (PLA), also known as a Community Workforce Agreement,[1] is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor unions that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.[2] Before any workers are hired on the project, construction unions have bargaining rights to determine the wage rates and benefits of all employees working on the particular project and to agree to the provisions of the agreement.[3][4] The terms of the agreement apply to all contractors and subcontractors who successfully bid on the project, and supersedes any existing collective bargaining agreements.[3] PLAs are used on both public and private projects, and their specific provisions may be tailored by the signatory parties to meet the needs of a particular project.[4] The agreement may include provisions to prevent any strikes, lockouts, or other work stoppages for the length of the project.[3] PLAs typically require that employees hired for the project are referred through union hiring halls, that nonunion workers pay union dues for the length of the project, and that the contractor follow union rules on pensions, work conditions and dispute resolution.[5]
PLAs are authorized under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 151–169. Sections 8(e) and (f) of the NLRA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 158(e) and (f) make special exceptions from other requirements of the NLRA in order to permit employers to enter into pre-hire agreements with labor unions in the construction industry.[6] The agreements have been in use in the United States since the 1930s, and first became the subject of debate in the 1980s, for their use on publicly funded projects. In these instances, government entities made signing PLAs a condition of working on taxpayer funded projects. This type of PLA, known as a government-mandated PLA, is distinct from a PLA voluntarily entered into by contractors on public or private work—as is permitted by the NLRA—as well as a PLA mandated by a private entity on a privately funded construction project.
Presidential executive orders issued since 1992 have affected the use of government-mandated PLAs for federal construction projects. Executive Order 13502, issued by President Barack Obama in February 2009,[7] encouraged federal agencies to consider mandating PLAs on a case-by-case basis for federal contracts of $25 million or more. President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14063, which revoked Obama's executive order,[7] requires PLAs on federal construction contracts of $35 million or more.
The use of PLAs is opposed by a number of groups,[8] who argue that the agreements discriminate against non-union contractors and do not improve efficiency or reduce costs of construction projects. Studies of PLAs have mixed results, with some studies concluding that PLAs have a favorable impact, while others find that the agreements can increase costs, and may negatively impact non-union contractors and workers.
^Associated Builders and Contractors, Community Workforce Agreement Passed in New Mexico’s Largest County; ABC Advocates Repeal, published 23 September 2020, accessed 3 June 2023
^"Executive Order: Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects". whitehouse.gov. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009 – via National Archives.
^ abc"Johnston-Dodds, Kimberly. Constructing California: A Review of Project Labor Agreements. California State Library, California Research Bureau Reports, CRB 01010" (PDF). Retrieved 29 July 2009.
^ ab"Fred Kotler, Cornell University, ILR School. Project Labor Agreements in New York State: In the Public Interest (March 2009)". Retrieved 29 July 2009.
^"David G. Tuerck, PhD and Paul Bachman, MSIE, Beacon Hill Institute, "Project Labor Agreements and Financing Public School Construction in Massachusetts" (December 2006)" (PDF). Retrieved 29 July 2009.
^"Building & Constr. Trades Council of the Metro. Dist. v. Ass'd Builders & Contractors of Mass./R.I., Inc., 507 U.S. 218, 231 (1993) (The "Boston Harbor" case)". Retrieved 30 July 2009.
A ProjectLaborAgreement (PLA), also known as a Community Workforce Agreement, is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor unions...
Construction began in early 2002 after Polk County reached a project-laboragreement with local labor unions that guaranteed favorable wages and working conditions...
values Prior learning assessment, in education ProjectLaborAgreement, a collective bargaining agreement Pulau Aie railway station in Padang, West Sumatra...
Critique of work Enterprise bargaining agreement Freedom of association Labour economics Labour law ProjectLaborAgreement Right to Organise and Collective...
inspectorate List of trade unions Progressive Librarians Guild ProjectLaborAgreement Salt (union organizing) Smart contract: can be used in employment...
ballpark laboragreement". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Akers, Mick (April 22, 2023). "The A's and the Southern NV Building Trades reach a projectlabor agreement...
Executive Order 14063, officially titled Use of ProjectLaborAgreements for Federal Construction Projects, was signed on February 4, 2022 and is the 79th...
public entities beginning a construction project to enter into a ProjectLaborAgreement (PLA), an agreement that establishes the terms and conditions...
throughout Boston including mapping feasible locations, preparing a project-laboragreement, and planning the citywide bulk purchase, financing, and installation...
environmental, faith-based and labor organizations. In the United Kingdom, Section 106 agreements and in Canada, "Section 37" agreements similarly require certain...
power plants, including new solar and other clean energy projects, to sign "projectlaboragreements", which require construction be done by union workers...
Market-preserving federalism National Policy Not invented here ProjectLaborAgreement Protected Geographical Status Protection or Free Trade Protectionism...
positions regarding the Davis-Bacon Act and ProjectLaborAgreements often pit them in political battles against labor unions from the building trades. The Center...
turns around and disappears when a projectlaboragreement is signed. Then it takes credit for improvements to the project to justify its existence," he said...
their parents. The backers of Project 2025 also want to target the private sector by reversing "the DEI revolution in labor policy" in favor of more "race...
business and project management practices impacting electrical contractors. Research focuses on improving productivity, projectlaboragreements, and benchmarking...
the addition of two side agreements, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation...
The Single Economic Space Agreement (SES) or Common Economic Zone Agreement (CEZ) is an international agreement on the intention to create conditions...
grassroots labor activists. Though officially titled the Labor Education and Research Project, the project is best known by the title of its monthly magazine...
LaBarbera negotiates projectlaboragreements (PLAs) with city agencies and private construction firms, notably Hudson Yards labor disputes. He has negotiated...
(15 January 2020). "Meretz approves agreement with Labor". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 14 January 2020. "Photo: Labor-Gesher-Meretz party submits its list...
application for CHIPS Act grants, which encourages fab operators to use ProjectLaborAgreements for facilitating union negotiations during construction, outline...
vote in approving a ProjectLaborAgreement that required half of the jobs created by the $65 million Measure A bond be union labor. In 2018, Svonkin ran...
Global Information