Washington, May 19—Associated Builders and Contractors today responded to a May 16 decision from the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia that grants a preliminary injunction to the North America’s Building Trades Unions that reinstates project labor agreement mandates on certain U.S. Department of Defense and General Service Administration construction contracts over $35 million.
“ABC respectfully disagrees with the court’s reinstatement of illegal and costly project labor agreement mandates on a wide range of federal construction projects critical to America’s national security,” said Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of government affairs. “Instead, all government-mandated PLAs should be entirely rescinded by the Trump administration to prioritize efficient use of taxpayer dollars on high-quality, safely built projects over steering contracts to special interests. Rescinding this mandate would build on the administration’s ongoing efforts to reward merit in federal contracting—a significant victory for taxpayers that would reduce federal construction costs by up to $10 billion annually.
“By discriminating against the 89.7% of the industry workforce that is not unionized, PLAs discourage competition by forcing contractors to sign 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, and 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,” said Swearingen.
“Taxpayers lose when responsible, qualified contractors are effectively and unfairly excluded from bidding on contracts to build essential infrastructure,” said Swearingen. “Americans deserve long-lasting construction projects built safely, on time and on budget by the best contractors and workers, regardless of labor affiliation. ABC will continue to fight for fair and open competition that allows the most qualified contractors and workers to bid for federal work on a level playing field.”
This PLA mandate has been widely criticized by the construction industry, taxpayer watchdogs and lawmakers for needlessly inflating construction costs, delaying projects and effectively steering contracts to unionized firms and union labor.
About ABC
Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2025, Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and more than 23,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC helps members develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work. Visit us at abc.org.
