New legislation would ban project labor agreements

June 27, 2003
In the past few weeks, two separate bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives that ban project labor agreements (PLAs) on projects that use federal funds or are federally assisted. Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) recently introduced H.R. 2269, which modifies the Federal Acquisition Regulations and is a complete codification of the President’s Executive Order. “PLAs discriminate against

In the past few weeks, two separate bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives that ban project labor agreements (PLAs) on projects that use federal funds or are federally assisted. Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) recently introduced H.R. 2269, which modifies the Federal Acquisition Regulations and is a complete codification of the President’s Executive Order.

“PLAs discriminate against employees who choose not to join unions, limit competition in the construction industry, and cost taxpayers hard-earned money,” says Rep. Sullivan.

Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) introduced the second bill, H.R. 2293, which amends section 8(e) of the National Labor Relations Act.

While both bills propose making it unlawful to require PLAs on federal and federally assisted projects, each bill would accomplish this goal in different ways. The Sullivan bill basically amends the federal contracting requirements and regulations, making it unlawful for a PLA to be implemented. The Johnson bill amends the National Labor Relations Act, and in particular a section that pertains to restrictive contracting agreements, thereby outlawing PLAs on federal and federally assisted projects.

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