On April 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision denying ABC’s appeal regarding a preliminary injunction against Executive Order 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, which requires all contractors on federal construction projects of $35 million or more to sign a project labor agreement. 

“ABC will continue to fight this inflationary, discriminatory project labor agreement mandate because taxpayers lose when responsible, qualified contractors are effectively excluded from bidding on contracts to build critical infrastructure, stated Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. “Americans deserve long-lasting construction projects, built safely, on time and on budget by the best contractors and workers, regardless of labor affiliation. From 2009 to 2024, federal agencies chose fair and open competition on more than 3,000 projects over $25 million, mandating PLAs on just 12 based on market analysis and the fact that 88.9% of the construction workforce does not belong to a union.

“At no point, under any administration, have federal contractors ever been prevented from voluntarily entering into a PLA when such an agreement makes sense for their workforce,” said Bellaman. “Fair and open competition works because it not only preserves worker choice but also gives contractors the freedom to choose to enter or not enter into a PLA. At the end of the day, it is based on merit and nondiscrimination. Every qualified contractor should have the opportunity to build America.”

ABC is currently considering all legal options.

For more details on the decision and ABC’s overall fight against PLA mandates, please watch ABC’s webinar on The Trump Administration’s PLA Mandate: What Contractors Need to Know, featuring ABC general counsel Maury Baskin. The archived webinar will be available in ABC’s Academy (login required) by COB on April 23.