Trump Administration Fails To Rescind Biden’s Anti-Merit Labor Mandate
Associated Builders and Contractors today responded to the announcement from the Office of Management and Budget that President Donald Trump’s administration will continue to enforce former President Joe Biden’s anti-competitive policy mandating project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more.
“This decision cannot be reconciled with the president’s philosophies of merit, fairness and nondiscrimination because it inhibits fair and open competition and prioritizes special interests over taxpayers and workers,” said Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. “Today’s memorandum doubles down on an unfair, wasteful, anti-competitive, Biden-era policy that inflates costs and delays critical construction projects, including those important to the defense of our country.
“It is unfortunate that this guidance states that maintaining Biden’s PLA mandate final rule is necessary because the Trump administration ‘supports the use of PLAs when those agreements are practicable and cost-effective,’” said Bellaman. “To be clear, this policy is not needed to allow the use of PLAs on federal construction. At no point, under any administration, have federal contractors ever been prevented from voluntarily entering into a PLA when such an agreement makes sense for their workforce. Fair and open competition works because it not only preserves worker choice but also gives contractors the freedom to choose to enter or not enter into a PLA. At the end of the day, it is based on merit and nondiscrimination. Every qualified contractor should have the opportunity to build America.
“This policy effectively excludes the 90% of the U.S. construction workforce that does not belong to a union from nearly all large-scale federal construction contracts, regardless of whether PLAs are ‘practicable or cost-effective’ on a given project,” said Bellaman. “The ongoing confusion and legal uncertainty this policy creates will result in unnecessary delays and cost increases to critical national security projects needed to protect our border and rebuild our military, including land ports of entry and military bases.”
ABC has long opposed government-mandated PLAs, which force contractors to sign union agreements in order to win federal work. This policy keeps merit shop contractors from bidding on infrastructure projects in their own communities. While ABC members won 54% of federal construction contracts of $35 million or more by value during fiscal years 2009-2024, today’s guidance prevents many of these experienced and qualified contractors from delivering public works projects safely, on time and on budget.
“ABC will continue to fight the Biden-era illegal and anti-competitive PLA mandate in court and support our federal contractor members in opposing PLA mandates on any project where they are implemented,” said Bellaman. “The administration should rescind this PLA mandate executive order immediately.”
