Oversight Subcommittee: Does the Administration’s “Mandate” on Project Labor Agreements Cost Construction Jobs and Taxpayers Money?

WASHINGTON, DC – Tomorrow, the House Committee on Government Reform will continue its examination of the regulatory burdens placed on private sector job creators.

By Executive Order, President Obama created a preference for government contractors willing to enter into pre-hire, collective bargaining agreements known as “Project Labor Agreements” or PLAs. PLAs establish the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project with one or more labor organizations. The President’s preference has translated into an award bonus essentially locking non-union competitors out of the market for federal construction work. Industry witnesses are expected to testify that PLAs result in increased costs to job creators and taxpayers because of payouts necessary to secure union cooperation.

“When you force union rules on all private sector construction firms, you are essentially locking over 80% of contractors out of the market for federal construction contracts. Even some labor unions have pointed out that PLAs disrupt government-mandated labor agreements already in place between unions and contractors,” Oversight Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said. “That means big labor wins, but taxpayers and private sector businesses lose.”

Chairman Jordan said he intends to seek answers from the administration witnesses: the head of the President’s office of procurement policy, the top public building official at the General Services Administration, and the Labor Department’s OSHA chief.

Hearing details are below. The hearing will be webcast at https://oversight.house.gov.

Title: “Regulatory Impediments to Job Creation: The Cost of Doing Business in the Construction Industry.”

Details: Wednesday, March 16, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. in room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

Witnesses

• Mr. John Ennis, Jr., CEO, Ennis Electric Company, Inc.

• Ms. Linda Figg, CEO, FIGG Engineering

• Mr. Maurice Baskin, Partner, Labor and Employment Group, Venable, L.L.P., and General Counsel to Associated Builders & Contractors.

• Mr. John F. Biagas, CEO of Bay Electric

• Dr. Dale Belman, Professor at Michigan State University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations

• Mr. Robert Peck, Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, U.S. General Services Administration

• Mr. Daniel Gordon, Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Executive Office of the President

• Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Health and Safety, U.S. Department of Labor

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