National Security or Big Labor Project Labor Agreements

Our readers are well aware of costly and wasteful project labor agreements that eliminate competitive bidding on construction projects to ensure that the project pays a “union wage.”  Members of the House were forced to decide on whether tax dollars should be spent in a competitive manner for defense and national security projects or whether money should be handed to big labor unions instead.  209 members voted to give taxpayer funds to big labor but a majority — 211 — voted to end the giveaways.  It is unclear whether the language survives the final version of the legislation but it is progress nonetheless.  An effort to end PLAs in the last Congress failed.