Another US builders’ association sues Biden over PLAs

The White House in Washington DC, US. (Image: Adobe Stock)

Near the end of 2023, Biden released his final rule on an executive order that made mandatory the use of PLAs for federal projects costing more than US$35 million.

Project Labor Agreements, also known as Community Workforce Agreements, are US federal government pre-hire collective bargaining agreements that establish terms and conditions for a specific federal construction project. Projects mandated by a PLA in the US typically necessitate the use of unionised firms, contractors, and workers. PLAs may also control, among other details specific to each case, the wages paid and benefits provided to workers and timelines for the project.

ABC called PLAs ‘anti-competitive’ following the release of the executive order.

Another US-based trade association – Associated General Contracts of America (AGC) – filed a similar lawsuit in January with a state chapter in Louisiana.

ABC called the order “unlawful” and its complaint asserted that Biden lacks the “legal and constitutional authority” to impose it. The organisation said it believes the order ‘illegally steers construction contracts to certain unionised contractors’. ABC said union contractors employ approximately 10% of the country’s construction workforce.

The organisation estimated the PLA policy will affect at least 180 federal construction contracts valued at $16 billion on an annual basis, “including several federal construction contracts for projects in Jacksonville and dozens of projects in Florida and the Southeast.”

ABC estimated that mandated PLAs increase construction costs by 12% to 20%.

Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labour and state affairs, said, “ABC has heard from large and small federal contractors — including firms signatory to union agreements — and concerned federal agency contracting officers that the Biden administration’s controversial PLA policy has already stifled competition and raised costs on federal construction contracts in Florida and across the country.”

ABC and its Florida First Coast chapter filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville.