Vote on Government Mandated Project Labor Agreement Expected in House

Later this evening, Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) is expected to offer an amendment to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA) Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2013 (H.R. 5854) that would remove a provision that eliminates government-mandated project labor agreements on federal construction contracts. AGC sent this letter to the House today urging  opposition to the amendment. While AGC neither supports nor opposes PLAs in general, AGC strongly opposes government mandates for PLAs on publically funded construction projects.  AGC is committed to free and open competition in all public construction markets and believes that publically funded contracts should be awarded without regard to the lawful labor relations policies and practices of the government contractor.  AGC will continue to work with Congress to encourage free and open competition on all federal contracts. Two weeks ago, the House Appropriations Committee passed an amendment, by voice vote, to the Milcon/VA Appropriations bill, which was offered by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), that would prohibit the federal government from mandating the use of a PLA or favoring a contractor because of the signing of a PLA. The Grimm Amendment would strip this language from the bill. To send a letter to your representative, please use AGC’s Legislative Action Center. For more information, please contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.