On May 19, 2012, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2013 (H.R.4310) that would prohibit the federal government from mandating the use of a project labor agreement (PLA) or favoring a contractor because of the signing of a project labor agreement (PLA). AGC sent a letter to the House today in support of the amendment. The vote passed (211-209) mostly along party lines with most republicans supporting it and all but one democrat opposing.
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 on encouraging free and open competition on all federal contracts.
In addition, the House Appropriations Committee passed an amendment, by voice vote, to the FY 2013 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill which was offered by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and is similar to the passed Bartlett amendment. AGC sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee, urging support for the amendment. The bill is expected to see a vote in the House in the next several weeks. An attempt to strip the Flake amendment during the debate is expected.
For more information, please contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.
Associated General Contractors of America