![]() Construction and professional business associations are vowing to spend time in court in the months to come challenging the newly implemented Project Labor Agreements signed into law by President Biden in December. The ruling is expected to immediately apply to up to 120 individual federal construction projects. Federal construction projects exceeding $35 million will be required to enter into a PLA to establish the conditions and terms for workers on such projects. It is estimated that nearly 200,000 workers on federal construction projects will be impacted by the PLA’s ruling. While the controversial ruling comes with some flexibility, allowing various federal agencies in some cases to opt out of adopting it, critics says the mandate is likely to significantly raise the costs of construction on the projects where it's implemented. The Associated Builders and Contractors has called the PLAs both anti-competitive and inflationary, charging that it will “reward special interests with government contracts at the expense of taxpayers and the principles of free enterprise and open competition in government procurement.” The Associated General Contractors of America isn’t too crazy about the ruling either. In a statement, Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer, said PLAs “discriminate against contractors and workers by essentially only allowing firms that employ union workers to compete for federal projects.” Sandherr also said the PLAs will “force taxpayers to pay more and wait longer to see new federal projects built.” In officially endorsing the PLAs rule, President Biden said the mandate means that projects funded via the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will “move faster and without delays, giving taxpayers better bang for their buck.” Biden added that “workers will have the security and peace of mind that collective bargained wages and benefits bring, better pathways to good-paying jobs, and stronger health and safety protections.” Biden’s move has won widespread support throughout most of the country’s labor movement. In a statement, Steve McGarvey, president of the North America’s Building Trades Union, asserted that PLAs have in the past prevented work stoppages, while also achieving “substantial, direct cost savings by standardizing contract items for highly skilled craft workers.” The PLA is set to go into effect on January 22. By Garry Boulard
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