Project Labor Agreements
Project labor agreements (PLAs) play an important role
today in ensuring work for building trades members on
municipal construction projects in the State of New York.
Contractors, union officials, project owners, public
officials, and taxpayers can all attest to the success of
PLAs.
Here, we hope to answer some of your questions about PLAs:
What is a Project Labor Agreement (PLA)?
A PLA is a comprehensive pre-hire collective bargaining
agreement whereby the basic terms and conditions for labor
are established in advance for everyone involved in the
project. PLAs are accepted and requested by informed
construction owners because they save money and guarantee
quality assurance and craftwork every step of the way.
Surprises are eliminated because under a PLA contractors
make exact bids, and a typical PLA includes no-strike and
no-lockout agreements. There are no hidden costs and no cost
overruns.
Do PLAs hinder the competitive bidding process?
PLAs do not hinder competition or restrict bidding to union
only contractors. A PLA is available to any contractor who
will accept its terms. Numerous court decisions prove that
New York State’s Competitive Bidding Laws are not violated
by using a PLA.
Why are PLAs so important?
The Building Trades supports and promotes PLAs because they
make sense. PLAs have actually been around for almost 70
years, and they have an impressive record. PLAs are
extremely successful in the private sector and are utilized
major corporations such as Walt Disney, Toyota, General
Motors, and British Petroleum, just to name a few. There is
no reason the public sector can not benefit from the
cost-effectiveness of PLAs as well.
PLA News and Information
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