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ACCNJ ALERT |
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Dear {{CFirstName}}:
ALERT: Federal PLA Ruling
Over the past year, government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on large federal construction projects have been subject to debate. As you know, the ACCNJ continues to see favorable results from the implementation of PLAs and remains an advocate for them to be considered for use on both state and federally funded projects. However, on Sunday, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled in favor of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in their consolidated bid protest case that challenged the Biden administration’s efforts to impose PLAs on all federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more.
AGC’s Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Shoaf, issued the following statement in reaction to the Court’s decision,
“[l]ast night’s ruling vindicates the novel approach AGC put in place to challenge the Biden administration’s unlawful project labor agreement mandate. It was and is AGC’s understanding that by requiring a project labor agreement for all federal construction projects worth $35 million or more, President Biden was creating a new federal set aside program without the required Congressional authorization. That is why we encouraged and supported seven bid protests challenging the mandate from our member firms which were consolidated into the single case that was ruled on favorably last night…This bid protest approach provided a quicker, and more effective way to challenge the outgoing president’s anti-competitive and illegal Executive Order. As a result of last night’s ruling, the mandate to use project labor agreements on federal projects worth $35 million or more is no longer legal.”
The AGC claims this ruling will help level the playing field and allow all construction workers and their employers to compete on large federal construction projects, regardless of whether they are union or open shop. With the recent change in administrations, the AGC plans to continue their conversations with the Trump administration about revoking President Biden’s (now) illegal PLA Executive Order and FAR Rules. |
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Regards, Jon Slater Associated Construction Contractors of New Jersey |
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Associated Construction Contractors of New Jersey |