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Statement released by the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

Construction Unions Ask Courts To Throw Out Bush Order Banning Project Labor Agreements

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WASHINGTON, D.C. --- A federal court is being urged by the nation's building and construction unions to invalidate an Executive Order by President Bush that outlaws Project Labor Agreements on construction projects, such as the Wilson Bridge project in Washington, D.C., that receive any federal funds.

The President's order deprives construction owners, employers and unions of rights protected by the National Labor Relations Act, according to a lawsuit filed by the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

The Department represents building trades labor unions that in turn represent more than three million workers nationwide. The suit was filed late yesterday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.

Joining as co-plaintiffs with the unions in their lawsuit are the City of Richmond in California and the Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council. The city and the trades council want to negotiate a Project Labor Agreement on a federally funded, "mixed-use" retail and housing construction project at a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station, but are prevented from doing so by Bush's order.

The lawsuit takes aim at Executive Order 13202, which President Bush signed on February 17, blocking federal, state and local agencies, and private parties from using Project Labor Agreements on federally funded construction projects.

Edward C. Sullivan, President of the Building and Construction Trades Department, said today that President Bush's Executive Order denies the public and the nation's taxpayers the benefits that PLAs provide on federal projects.

"We think decisions like this should be made at the state and local level, and that the Bush Administration should support local option and control," Sullivan said.

"Project Labor Agreements bring order out of chaos on construction jobs by setting wages, establishing work rules, and methods of settling grievances," he added. "They provide safe, fair working environments for crafts people, and they level the playing field for all competing contractors, union and non-union."

Project Labor Agreements have been used on federally funded projects since the 1930s, including on the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State, NASA facilities at Cape Canaveral in Florida, and clean-up work at Boston Harbor, according to the building and construction unions' lawsuit.

A Project Labor Agreement is a form of a "prehire" collective bargaining agreement that is specifically authorized by the National Labor Relations Act for construction work.

In the case of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO was a party to a Project Labor Agreement that had been negotiated to cover the $1.5 billion federally funded replacement work. However, adhering to President Bush's Executive Order, the U.S. Department of Transportation refused to approve the Wilson Bridge PLA, the unions assert.

Their lawsuit contends that the President has no constitutional authority to interfere with the rights of unions and contractors under the National Labor Relations Act to seek a Project Labor Agreement on the Wilson Bridge or other federally funded construction work.

"The Executive Order is directly contrary to the NLRA, which grants employers in the construction industry and building trades unions the right to enter into pre-hire agreements that are binding on all employers performing work on the particular project," the lawsuit contends.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Joe Allbaugh, director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration; Mel Martinez, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Norman Y. Mineta, secretary of the Department of Transportation; Thurman M. Davis, acting administrator of the General Services Administration; Donald H. Rumsfeld, secretary of the Department of Defense; and Daniel S. Goldin, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Davis, Rumsfeld and Goldin are members of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, which was created by Congress to help oversee the federal government's procurement policies.

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AFL-CIO page separates rhetoric from reality. It tracks the actions of the Bush administration on working family issues.