A Project Labor Agreement sometimes referred to as PLA, is an agreement between an owner (or their representative) and a labor organization. It provides a level playing field for all contractors and workers on the job, regardless of union affiliation. The intent of the agreement is to ensure the efficient, timely and most cost effective completion of a construction project.
The PLA sets work schedules and general terms that are uniform among all the crafts on the project. It ensures an adequate supply of workers from all trades and sets mandatory procedures for dispute resolution so that labor and contractual disputes do not create disruptions or work stoppages. The PLA prohibits strikes and lockouts.
PLA’s are open to all contractors, union and nonunion.
PLA’s can and do contain requirements to meet local minority and women owned company participation. The same can be said of actual employee participation on the jobsite. The PLA sets a standard for wages and benefits for all workers. That means that contractors compete on their ability to perform the work rather than on the basis of how little they can pay their workers. Statistics will show that minorities and women have been exploited on that basis throughout history.
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"As I have said many times, and believe with all my heart, the coalition that can have the greatest impact in the struggle for human dignity here in America is that of the blacks and forces of labor, because their fortunes are so closely intertwined."
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In a major 1993 decision (the Boston Harbor case), the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of public sector PLAs, affirming that private and public owners can decide for themselves when a construction project should utilize a PLA.
Project Labor Agreements have been used in the construction industry dating back before World War II and have been used on federal projects since the 1930’s. Hoover Dam (1931-1936), the Grand Coulee Dam (1937-1938), Shasta Dam, Kennedy Space Center, Nuclear missile sites, Disney Word, the Trans Alaska Pipeline, were built with project labor agreements. General Motors, Toyota, British Petroleum (BP) have all used PLA’s.
