ABC-Wisconsin Reminds RNC Attendees that Project Labor Agreements are a Bad Deal

Madison- As tens of thousands of attendees converge in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin (ABC) is sending a message: Project Labor Agreement (PLA) Requirements exclude the majority of Wisconsin’s workforce.

In Wisconsin, at least 70% of the construction workforce chooses not to join a union.

PLAs frequently require companies to hire from union halls or require non-union companies to pay into union benefit funds, which their merit shop employees won’t be eligible to use. These rules increase costs for merit shop contractors to participate in large scale federal projects and prevent them from using their own workers. As a result, 7 out of 10 construction workers in Wisconsin are prevented from doing the work.

President Biden’s executive order requiring PLAs is bad policy. ABC of Wisconsin calls on policy makers to take a closer look at the costs and problems with PLAs, and to favor opportunities for all qualified workers to compete for and contribute to federal projects.

ABC of Wisconsin will be using digital ads and a social media campaign to share more information about the damage created by PLA requirements throughout the week.

For more information, go to:

https://www.abcwi.org/project-labor-agreements/