Project labor agreements in Illinois did not have a statistically significant effect on projects’ construction costs, as the award amounts for winning bids were not higher on PLA projects compared to those without PLAs, after accounting for other factors. That’s according to a new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute detailing the economic impact of PLAs on construction in Illinois. PLAs were associated with a higher share of construction work awarded to minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses. Specifically, these groups saw market shares increase between 1 to 2 percentage points in PLA-covered projects. “This increased opportunity facilitates broader access to public contracts for historically underrepresented groups — an important factor in promoting equity and diversity in the construction industry,” said co-principal author, Robert Anthony Bruno, director of the labor education program and a professor in the school of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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