A Project Labor Agreement – or PLA – is an agreement between an owner and local trade unions that provides for the hiring of qualified construction workers and guarantees labor stability on a construction project. A PLA provides for the hiring of qualified construction workers and forbids strikes or lockouts, guaranteeing labor stability, while requiring employers on the project sign collective bargaining agreements with the appropriate trade unions for all work.

Academic research and legal opinions have determined that PLAs are good for public- and private-sector construction projects – and particularly larger projects. What’s more, the validity of PLAs has consistently been upheld in both federal and state courts.

While research shows that the use of PLAs does not adversely affect the costs of construction projects, other issues that research says PLAs positively influence include project timeliness, quality, safety, training, minority employment, employee benefits and labor peace.

Examples of the research conclude:

“We do not find evidence that the presence of a project labor agreement increases school construction costs in cost models that account for school complexity and differences in location. … The current research finds no statistically significant evidence that PLAs impact the actual cost paid by taxpayers for school construction projects.”
The Effect of Project Labor Agreements on the Cost of School Construction in New England
Dale Belman, Michigan State University, et.al

“There is nothing inherently wrong with PLAs in the public sector. They have a well-established place in the law and in the effective performance of the projects to which they have been applied. The use of legal process should be saved for the bona fide abuses of the competitive bidding laws and not become the vehicle for waging a campaign rooted in the wholesale elimination of public sector PLAs.”
Legal Considerations Affecting the Use of Public Sector Project Labor Agreements: A Proponent’s View
Bradford W. Coupe, Esq., Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, New York

“Given the substantial benefits PLAs provide, the failure of their opponents to articulate or prove any sustainable challenges, and current market conditions driving an increased reliance on prudent, common-sensed based project planning – PLAs will continue to serve as a productive and stabilizing force in the construction industry.”
Project Labor Agreements: The State of the Law
Brian Powers, et. al, O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue, Washington, D.C.

“In the construction industry, Project Labor Agreements have become important as a type of collective bargaining or ‘pre-hire agreement.’”
Constructing California: A Review of Project Labor Agreements
Kimberly Johnston-Dodds

Click here to read about the history of Project Labor Agreements.
Click here for research reports on Project Labor Agreements.

Project Labor Agreements Links
For additional information, use these links:

National Alliance for Fair Contracting
Cockshaw’s Construction Labor News & Opinion “Evaluating PLA Performance"