Project Labor Agreement

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.