Trump Rescinds Certain Failed Biden Policies on PLAs, Apprenticeships

Associated Builders and Contractors today issued the following statement applauding President Donald Trump’s recent executive order rescinding harmful Biden administration executive actions that needlessly increased costs, restricted competition, exacerbated construction’s labor shortage and delayed taxpayer-funded construction of critical infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy projects.

“President Trump’s elimination of President Joe Biden’s failed policies is a win for America’s taxpayers and construction industry,” said ABC Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck. “ABC is particularly pleased about the revocation of an outrageous Biden EO pushing project labor agreements and other union policy priorities on federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers.

“ABC has testified before Congress that, when mandated by government, PLAs increase construction costs by 12% to 20%, reduce competition from qualified contractors and their employees, steal money from the paychecks of token nonunion workers permitted on PLA projects and exacerbate the construction industry’s worker shortage,” said Brubeck. “Typical PLA mandates discourage competition from some of the best bidders and 9 out of 10 U.S. construction industry workers by forcing contractors to sign special union collective bargaining agreements, hire workers from union halls and apprenticeship programs and accept compulsory union representation on behalf of any members of their existing workforces. This exposes those workers to union wage theft of up to 34% of their compensation unless they join a union and vest in union benefits plans.

“By revoking these failed Biden policies, President Trump is restoring the ability of all of America’s construction workers to rebuild their communities and providing opportunities for contractors to compete based on merit for taxpayer-funded construction contracts procured by private developers and state and local governments,” said Brubeck. “This commonsense EO will help alleviate red tape, inflation and labor shortages undermining taxpayer investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy projects that have been scaled back, delayed and canceled.

“Unfortunately, President Biden’s pro-PLA EO 14063 and the related FAR rule mandating PLAs on federal construction projects of $35 million or more remain in effect for certain federal construction projects following a decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that ruled in favor of experienced ABC members,” said Brubeck. “ABC will continue to advocate for a fair and open competition EO and legislation that would save taxpayers $10 billion annually by eliminating all of Biden’s pro-PLA policies and preventing PLA mandates by recipients of federal funding.

“ABC is also pleased with President Trump’s elimination of an ABC-opposed Biden EO pushing government-registered apprenticeships on federal and federally assisted construction projects and the revocation of an EO related to minimum wages for employees working on federal contracts,” said Brubeck. “While ABC supports government-registered apprenticeship programs and offers more than 450 of them through ABC chapters as part of its all-of-the-above approach to meet construction’s workforce needs, apprenticeship mandates undermine the voluntary nature of the system that is already failing to keep up with industry demand for labor.”

President Trump’s March 14 Executive Order 14236, Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, revoked 19 Biden administration EOs and actions, including the following ABC-opposed policies: