|
PRESIDENT OBAMA
ISSUES AN EXECUTIVE ORDER
ENCOURAGING USE OF PROJECT
LABOR AGREEMENTS
By: Thomas P. Brady
On February 6, 2009, President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order
regarding the use of project labor agreements for federal
construction projects. Under the Executive Order, when awarding
any contract in connection with a large scale construction project,
or obligating funds pursuant to such a contract, Federal executive
agencies may, on a project by project basis, require the use of a
project labor agreement by a contractor. In deciding whether to
require a project labor agreement, the Federal Agency should consider
if the project labor agreement will advance the Federal Government's
interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement,
produce labor management stability and ensure compliance with laws
and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment
opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters.
The project labor agreement must be consistent with the law.
"Construction" is defined as construction, rehabilitation,
alteration, conversion, extension, repair or improvement of
buildings, highways, or other real property. A "large
scale construction project" is defined as a construction project
where the total cost to the Federal Government is twenty five million
dollars or more. "Project labor agreement"
means a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more
labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of
employment for a specific construction project and is an agreement
described in 29 U.S.C. 158(f).
Any project labor agreements required by this Executive Order must:
· Bind all contractors and subcontractors on the construction
project;
· Allow all contractors and subcontractors to compete for
contracts and subcontracts without regard to whether they are
otherwise parties to collective bargaining agreements;
· Contain guarantees against strikes, lockouts, and similar job
disruptions;
· Set forth effective, prompt, and mutually binding procedures
for resolving labor disputes arising during the project labor
agreement;
· Provide other mechanisms for labor-management cooperation on
matters of mutual interest and concern, including productivity,
quality of work, safety, and health; and
· Fully conform to all statutes, regulations, and Executive
Orders.
The Executive Order revokes Executive Order 13202 of February 17,
2001, and Executive Order 13208 of April 6, 2001 issued by former
President George W. Bush. Those Executive Orders prohibited
federal agencies from making a project labor agreement a bid
specification on a federal construction project.
Why Is This Important?
The significance of this Executive
Order is that the federal government may require that even non-union
contractors enter into a union contract to work on certain jobs.
Warning and Advice:
Under federal labor law, specifically 29 U.S.C. 158(f), contractors
can enter into collective bargaining agreements that are limited to
specific projects. Before entering into such agreements,
contractors should consult with legal counsel to ensure that the
"project labor agreement" that they are asked to sign is in
fact limited to a specific project. If the agreement is not
limited to a specific project, the contractor should negotiate
language in the agreement that limits the agreement to the specific
project. Failure to take this simple precaution could result in
the "project labor agreement" becoming a labor agreement of
general application, binding the contractor on all of its
future projects.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of Clark
Hill's labor specialists.
|
