SWACCA joined with its allies in the Construction Employers of America (CEA) in a letter to President-elect Donald Trump urging him to reject a request from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and other organizations to rescind President Biden’s SWACCA-supported Executive Order (EO) creating a presumption that project labor agreements (PLAs) will be used on large scale federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more.
In the letter, SWACCA and the CEA explain that “nothing in [President Biden’s EO] or the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council rules implementing it prevents any contractor from submitting a bid on a large-scale federal construction project.” The letter also notes that to the extent that PLAs facilitate employment of union craft workers, they promote economy and efficiency. The letter cites data that “found a 14% work output productivity advantage for all union projects over non-union projects.” It also explains that the data “confirms the productivity advantages union craftworkers have over their open shop peers” including “lower staffing levels (10% below the open shop).”
The full letter is available here.