A project labor agreement (PLA) is a pre-hire agreement between labor and management that establishes the terms and conditions of employment on one or more construction projects. In short, they are basically a mini-collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry. Naturally, Republicans have banned government mandated project-labor agreements in Missouri and Kansas in order to weaken labor unions.
One of the primary reasons that PLAs are utilized by business and labor is to coordinate the numerous construction workers under a single umbrella contract for the project. PLAs are mainly used on large and complex construction and maintenance projects. For almost one hundred years, both public and private projects have used the PLA model for their original construction as well as maintenance. Notable PLA projects include Grand Coulee and Hoover Dams, Kitsap Naval Base, Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Plant, Hanford Nuclear Site, Plant Vogtle, LAX Airport, every NFL stadium, countless K-12 schools and higher education campuses, Walt Disney properties, NASA facilities, Limerick Generating Station, the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement and clean energy projects such as offshore wind farms.
PLA projects save taxpayers and investors billions of dollars. As such, private and public sector owners increasingly favor PLAs because they reduce the uncertainty inherent in large-scale construction projects and increase on time and budget completion. This is because the PLA model guarantees a highly-trained and skilled project workforce. The positive impact of such extends beyond the integrity of the project and also has implications for job site safety. Recent data shows that workforce safety is better on PLA projects. Part of the reason is that PLAs include language establishing labor-management committees that deal specifically with the project’s safety and health issues.
The United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters and Mechanical Contractors Association of America worked together in 2022 and found that union labor is 14 percent more productive, and projects with collective bargaining agreements experience lower turnover, fewer shortages, and an average overall reduction in project cost by 4 percent compared with projects without these sorts agreements.
Similarly, the Economic Policy Institute says that, “evidence shows that PLAs do not increase construction costs. For example, New York City embarked on a $5.3 billion project in 2009, and the use of four PLAs was estimated to lead to 1,800 new jobs while saving the city approximately $300 million. A study from the Berkeley Labor Center also found that projects with PLAs attracted a “similar number of bidders” and “came in at a slightly lower price” when compared to projects without PLAs in place. Another 2015 paper from University of Utah economists compared nine PLA affordable housing projects with 121 affordable housing projects built without PLAs and found that the PLA projects were not more expensive to build.”
PLAs also encourage veteran and local hire. In addition, this model is also used to increase the employment of women and people from communities of color that have PLA projects in their area that could provide a pathway to a career in the skilled construction trades.
The Biden-Harris Administration, as part of their Good Jobs Initiative, put out “Six Key Facts about Federally- Funded Project Labor Agreements”. The Biden-Harris Administration strongly supports project labor agreements because of their demonstrated success in completing construction projects with a quality, trained workforce on a timely, cost-effective basis.
- Any contractor—both union and non-union—can bid and win federal contracts and grants requiring or preferencing the use of a project labor agreement. Non-union contractors can bid on and win these projects. If the successful bidder, they would be required to enter into, or sign onto, a project labor agreement as a condition of getting the work, meaning that they would be bound by the terms of a project labor agreement for that particular project. Project labor agreements are project specificÑtheir requirements do not automatically carry over to other projects.
- Small and disadvantaged businesses can bid on, and participate in, projects requiring a project labor agreement. If successful, these businesses would be required to enter into, or sign onto, a project labor agreement as a condition of getting the work, meaning that they would be bound by the terms of a project labor agreement for that particular project. Project labor agreements are project specific—their requirements do not automatically carry over to other projects.
- Workers are not required to join unions to work on a project using a project labor agreement. Under U.S. law, no worker is required to join a union as a condition of employment. In fair share states, workers choosing not to join the union may be required to pay a fair share fee equivalent to dues to defray the union’s costs of negotiating and enforcing the collective bargaining agreement and providing representation. Unions operate hiring halls that refer workers to construction jobs, and they are required by law to operate these hiring halls in a non-discriminatory manner.
- Project labor agreements are legal in so-called “Right to Work” states. “Right to work” refers to states that don’t allow employers and unions to negotiate fair share arrangements where all workers in a bargaining unit contribute to the cost of union representation regardless of whether they are union members. The fair share issue has nothing to do with project labor agreements, which are collective bargaining agreements between contractors and/or project owners and unions. “Right to work” laws do not prohibit collective bargaining agreements without fair share requirements. There are hundreds of examples of successful project labor agreements in Nevada, Michigan, and other so-called “right to work” states.
- Project labor agreements open doors for women and people of color. Project labor agreements often include hiring goals, local hire requirements, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship commitments, and other provisions that create opportunities for women and people of color to get family sustaining union jobs in the construction industry.
- Project labor agreements apply only in the construction industry. PLAs are authorized by a specific provision of labor law that allows for pre-hire agreements (collective bargaining agreements before the workforce is hired) in the construction industry. This pre-hire provision is specific to the construction industry; PLAs are not allowed for manufacturing workforces or other non-construction workforces.
Tristin Amezcua-Hogan is the Editor of The Labor Beacon and a member of LIUNA Local 264. Tristin also serves as the Director of Communications for the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO and the Chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
Tristin grew up as the son of a UA Local 669 member in Tecumseh, KS and the great-nephew of George C. Amis, longtime leader of the United Rubberworkers (now USW Local 307) in Kansas. Growing up in rural Kansas as the child of teen parents, Tristin quickly came to appreciate the life-changing benefit of a union job.
Tristin and his partner, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, are residents of the Westside, Kansas City, MO's historic Mexican neighborhood. They are proud members of Kansas City's New Reform Temple.
