Government-Mandated PLAs
DON’T WORK
FOR AMERICA.
Here’s Why.
PLAs DENY QUALITY CONSTRUCTION JOBS TO LOCAL WORKERS.
PLAs exclude 9 out of 10 members of the U.S. construction industry workforce from rebuilding their communities.
PLAs DRIVE UP COSTS FOR TAXPAYERS.
PLAs increase construction costs for taxpayers by 12% to 20%.
PLAs MEAN FEWER INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
Fewer construction projects mean fewer jobs. We must ensure quality work and protect future local infrastructure investments.
PLAs CREATE A RIGGED BIDDING PROCESS.
Government-mandated PLAs create a rigged process that steers taxpayer-funded construction contracts to special interests.
PLAs LACK OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
We must build top-quality projects designed to last and get more value for our tax dollars.
PLAs CAN LEAD TO WAGE THEFT.
Nonunion employees experience a 34% reduction in their paychecks while working on government-mandated PLA projects.
President Trump –
END THE PLA MANDATES
PLA mandates kill jobs. 90% of workers are shut out.
Illegal PLA mandates have delayed and canceled projects impacting 65,000 jobs.
Roads, housing, and military construction - PLA mandates make life less affordable.
Merit Shop. Employee Owned. Safe. Still shut out of federal work.
PLAs MAKE LIFE
LESS AFFORDABLE
August 2024
Project Labor Agreements and Affordable Housing Production Costs in Los Angeles: Revisiting the Effects of the Proposition HHH Project Labor Agreement Using Cost Data from Completed Projects. Study on the effects of controversial government-mandated project labor agreements on taxpayer-funded affordable housing projects found that the total development costs of projects subject to PLAs were 21% more expensive, on average, than non-PLA projects. The study also found that the PLA projects took 27% longer to complete, on average, compared to similar non-PLA projects.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1362-2.html#citation
January 2020
“The Effect of Project Labor Agreements on Public School Construction in Connecticut” , found that Connecticut schools built under controversial government-mandated project labor agreements cost 19.8% more than schools that were bid and constructed through fair and open competition without PLA requirements.
https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A738a42b2-0ccb-4050-bbeb-48ca6aa88a37
April 2025
MOCA Systems, Inc. study commissioned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) to provide a third-party review of the Military Construction (MILCON) Cost Premium and underlying cost drivers found a cost premium due to factors like restrictive requirements, anti-terrorism standards, and labor market constraints, with Project Labor Agreements being a significant contributor, potentially adding 10-50% to labor costs by restricting bidding to union-friendly firms and increasing labor expenses.
https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/ARMYCOE/2025_MOCA_Report_Quantifying_MCP.pdf
Government Mandated PLAs:
INFLATIONARY.
DISCRIMINATORY.
ILLEGAL.
Arguments Against: Government-mandated Project Labor Agreements on Taxpayer-funded Construction Projects
READ MORETell Your Elected Leaders to
SUPPORT
LOCAL
WORKERS
AND
BUSINESSES
American Workers & Taxpayers First.
End the PLA Mandate Today.