WASHINGTON, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today announced another victory in its fight against government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal construction projects. As a result of a bid protest filed Oct. 18 with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a PLA mandate has been removed from the bidding process for the construction of a $50 million U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Research Office Building in Pittsburgh.
“PLAs are special interest schemes that force all bidders for construction projects to sign a labor agreement with construction unions as a condition of performing work,” said ABC President and CEO Kirk Pickerel. “This is the fourth successful bid protest that ABC has supported on behalf of one of its members against unlawful PLA schemes on federal construction projects. In similar protests filed on projects in New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey, federal agencies have withdrawn the PLA mandates. This case gives us the clearest indication yet that PLAs violate federal competitive bidding laws.”
ABC member company Bridges Construction of Pittsburgh, supported and assisted by ABC, filed a bid protest with the GAO. The protest challenged the VA’s PLA mandate that appeared in a September bid solicitation for the Research Office Building. The PLA requirement discriminated against qualified open shop contractors and their employees by imposing union dues requirements and inefficient and costly union work rules as a condition of performing work on the project.
During the course of the GAO protest, the VA revealed that its own PLA impact study found imposing a PLA on the project would increase costs by millions of dollars, would reduce the number of bidders and subcontractors, and would decrease the pool of skilled labor. In spite of this evidence, the VA claimed a PLA was supported by President Obama’s Executive Order 13502, which “encourages” federal agencies to impose PLAs on large construction projects if “consistent with law.”
After reviewing the facts of the case, the GAO strongly indicated it would sustain the protest of ABC’s member contractor under the federal Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), absent corrective action by the VA. In direct response to GAO’s action, on Dec. 21, 2010, the VA announced its withdrawal of the PLA mandate from the Pittsburgh solicitation. On January 5, 2011, the VA confirmed that adoption of a PLA would be completely “optional” for submitting offers. According to the VA, “No additional points or weight will be assigned to proposals submitted with a PLA.”
“This result confirms ABC’s position that the open competition requirements of the federal CICA law take priority over President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502,” said Pickerel. “The GAO agrees that no PLAs can be imposed on federal contracts in the absence of a compelling showing of need and evidence that PLAs will deliver increased economy and efficiency in federal contracting.”
“It’s time for the Obama administration to stop steering lucrative federal construction contracts to Big Labor – one of their largest political supporters – through unlawful government-mandated PLAs,” Pickerel said. “The American people deserve the best possible construction project at the best possible price. We can’t afford the increased costs, reduced competition and delays created by these special interest handouts. ABC will continue to fight for fair and open competition, and will challenge federal agencies attempting to impose unjustified PLAs on federal projects.”
Numerous studies show that PLAs discourage open shop contractors and subcontractors from competing for federal contracts, thereby increasing costs to taxpayers and discriminating against the majority of the construction industry workforce; or the 85 percent of the construction workforce that are not members of a labor union.