Project Labor Agreements (PLA) are special interest schemes that discourage competition from nonunion contractors for taxpayer funded public sector construction projects.
In order to bid on a local, state or federal project, nonunion contractors must agree to recognize the union as representatives of their workers on that job; hire workers from union shops; obey union rules and regulations; and contribute to union pension plans, from which they will never benefit. They can increases construction costs by nearly 20%.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 14% of the 2011 private construction workforce belong to a union. This means that PLAs discriminate against 86% of construction workers.
PLAs are special interest handouts that taxpayers can no longer afford.