Project agreements and government procurement

A paper discusses the recent proliferation of mandatory project labor agreements (PLA) in government procurement, some of the ensuing litigation, and the effects of such agreements on contractors, workers, and the public. Since PLAs generally require that all or most workers on the project be hired through the union hiring hall and that all workers pay union dues, these arrangements are a way for unions to increase their influence, membership, and incomes. Mandatory PLAs limit competition. The practical effect of a mandatory PLA is to make a project union only. The popularity of PLAs on public projects emanated from a case now known as "Boston Harbor." Since Boston Harbor determined only that the National Labor Relations Act did not preempt a PLA requirement by a public owner, subsequent challenges to PLA requirements were made under state competitive bidding laws, state constitutional provisions, and state administrative procedure acts. The results have been mixed.