Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects
Executive Order 14063 directs federal agencies to use project labor agreements (PLAs) for large-scale federal construction projects as a standard approach to promote economy and efficiency. A PLA is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations that sets the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project. The order creates a presumption that, on large-scale projects meeting a cost threshold (currently $35 million, adjustable for inflation), contractors and subcontractors must negotiate or join a PLA for that project, with specified exceptions. It also requires certain PLA terms (dispute resolution, no-strike/no-lockout guarantees, worker protections, and cooperative labor-management provisions) and mandates reporting and regulatory actions to implement the policy. The order is intended to reduce labor disruptions, stabilize labor costs, and improve project efficiency on federal construction, while preserving agency flexibility to grant justified waivers. It also revokes a prior executive order (EO 13502) once final regulations are in place.
Key Points
- 1PLA Presumption for Large-Scale Projects: For large federal construction projects, contracting agencies are to require every contractor or subcontractor to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement for that project, subject to the order’s exceptions (Sec. 3).
- 2Definitions and Threshold: Defines terms (labor organization, construction, large-scale construction project) and sets a cost threshold of $35 million for what counts as a large-scale project (adjustable for inflation by the FAR Council) (Sec. 2(c)).
- 3Requirements of Project Labor Agreements: PLAs must bind all contractors/subcontractors on the project, allow competing for bids regardless of existing CBAs, prohibit strikes/lockouts, provide prompt dispute resolution, include labor-management cooperation provisions, and conform to applicable laws (Sec. 4).
- 4Exceptions Authorized by Agencies: Senior agency officials can grant exceptions if a PLA would not advance economy/efficiency, based on factors such as short project duration, single craft, specialized work with limited bidders, unusual urgency, or other regulatory guidance; or if an inclusive market analysis shows that requiring a PLA would unduly reduce bidders or otherwise be inconsistent with laws/regulations (Sec. 5).
- 5Reporting and Transparency: Agencies must publish data on PLA use and exceptions on a centralized public website and report quarterly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (Sec. 6).
- 6Regulatory Implementation: The FAR Council must propose regulations within 120 days; OMB will issue guidance to implement the handling of sections 5 and 6 (Sec. 8-9).
- 7Training for Contracting Officers: Agencies’ contracting officers must receive a coordinated training strategy to implement the order, with a progress report to the White House on training contents (Sec. 9).
- 8Revocation of Prior Orders: EO 13502 (2009) will be revoked when final FAR regulations are issued under this order; agency heads should consider revoking related orders/regulations (Sec. 10).
- 9Effective Date and Applicability: The order takes effect immediately and applies to solicitations issued on or after the final regulations’ effective date; for solicitations issued before that date but after the order, agencies are encouraged to comply (Sec. 12).
- 10General Provisions: The order does not impair Congress’s or agency heads’ authorities, does not create legal rights enforceable in court, and is subject to applicable law and appropriations (Sec. 13).