ABC strongly opposes anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs). They are special interest schemes that end open, fair and competitive bidding on public works projects. PLAs drive up the cost of construction by reducing competition and effectively excluding merit shop contractors and their skilled employees from building projects paid for by their own tax dollars

ABC opposes government-mandated PLAs on federal and federally assisted construction projects.

In 2012, just 13.2 percent of the U.S. private construction workforce belonged to a union.

Learn more via ABC's 2013 issue brief on government-mandated PLAs.

ABC National joined ABC of Michigan as they filed an amicus brief Jan. 24 urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to uphold Michigan’s Fair and Open Competition Act in response to a challenge filed by construction unions. The act ensures nondiscriminatory procurement of state services in public construction.

ABC Jan. 30 offered strong support for the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (H.R. 436/S. 109), a measure introduced by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that would ensure fair and open competition on federal and federally funded construction projects.

Despite a decline in the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the last quarter of 2012, the Bureau of Economic Analysis Jan. 30 reported nonresidential fixed investment increased 8.4 percent for the fourth quarter as investment in equipment and software jumped 12.4 percent, which outweighed a 1.1 percent decline in investment in structures.  For the year, nonresidential fixed investment increased 7.7 percent, with investment in structures up 9.6 percent and investment in equipment and software up 6.9 percent. 

The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace Jan. 25 won a challenge to President Obama’s Jan. 4, 2012, recess appointments to the NLRB. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the president violated the Constitution when he bypassed the Senate to fill NLRB vacancies with Democrats Sharon Block and Richard Griffin

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is requesting comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of PLA on large-scale construction projects exceeding $25 million in New Jersey and Virginia.

ABC members that attend 2013 BizCon Feb. 19-20 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., will hear from major land developers who will use relevant statistics and draw on expert knowledge to offer a glimpse into future areas of expansion.

GM Fleet and Commercial wants to hear from businesses that have a compelling success story and use GM vehicles in their daily operation. Winners will be chosen and filmed for the 2013 “Stories from the Road” campaign used in GM’s advertising. 

CNA will hold a free webinar Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. for ABC members only on incident investigation in the workplace. Gary Murral, CNA’s EPL risk control director, will help members identify underlying causes that may lead to an unexpected event and will define the steps used to complete effective investigations.