A project labor agreement, or PLA, is a binding contract between a government or private entity that needs a construction project done and a labor union. Before workers are even hired on a project, the two sides negotiate a PLA that sets wages, benefits, work conditions and often provisions for resolving labor disputes to prevent strikes or other work stoppages. Non-union industry groups and conservative organizations have long criticized the practice of governments using, encouraging or mandating PLAs, arguing that forcing projects to use union labor makes them slower and more expensive. But new research from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois’ Project for Middle Class Renewal found the opposite. The study, commissioned by the state’s Capital Development Board, found that PLAs in Illinois have enhanced bid competition, helped to lower construction costs for taxpayers and increased business for firms owned by people of color, women and veterans. “The biggest finding in this report, and one that hadn’t been shown as much in other research or was unclear, is that Project Labor Agreements promote robust competition,” said Frank Manzo, an economist at ILEPI, a nonprofit research organization with a board of directors that’s closely tied to organized labor. “The PLAs were linked with a 14% increase in the number of bids submitted by contractors seeking to win public building contracts.” The report analyzed hundreds of public building projects — 499 had PLAs and 274 did not — as well as the bids for state projects.
https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2025-03-21/new-report-finds-project-labor-agreements-lower-costs-boost-competition-in-illinois