Skilled union carpenters are the backbone of projects covered by project labor agreements.
Federal Law Permits Them. The Supreme Court Upheld Them. States Authorize Them.
Are project labor agreements legal? Yes, and they have been for as long as the modern labor law framework has existed. Project labor agreements are authorized by the National Labor Relations Act, were upheld by a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 and are expressly permitted by statute in states across the Eastern Atlantic region. The question comes up because opponents keep litigating it. The law keeps answering the same way.
The National Labor Relations Act
Federal labor law generally requires a union to demonstrate majority support before an employer signs a contract with it. Congress wrote an exception for construction into Section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act. Because building trades workers move from project to project and owners need labor terms settled before bidding, construction employers and unions may sign prehire agreements. The same section permits those agreements to set wage, benefit and referral terms before any worker is on the payroll. A PLA is exactly that: a prehire collective bargaining agreement covering one project. Federal acquisition rules define it in those terms and tie the definition directly to Section 8(f).
The Boston Harbor Decision
The definitive ruling came in 1993. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority required every bidder on its multibillion-dollar Boston Harbor cleanup to abide by a PLA negotiated with the building trades. A nonunion contractor group sued, arguing federal law preempted the requirement. The Supreme Court disagreed. In the Boston Harbor case, 507 U.S. 218, the court held unanimously that a public owner acting as a purchaser of construction services may condition its contracts on a PLA just as a private owner would. The court drew a sharp line between a government regulating the labor market, which federal law preempts, and a government buying construction, which it does not. That holding remains the law today and has anchored every subsequent challenge.
Federal Projects
The federal government has used PLAs on its own projects for decades, and federal policy on them has shifted with administrations. Even the orders that discouraged agencies from requiring PLAs never questioned the legality of the agreements themselves. The current framework, FAR subpart 22.5, implements Executive Order 14063 and calls for PLAs on federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more unless an exception applies. Agencies keep the discretion to use PLAs on smaller projects. The White House Office of Management and Budget reaffirmed the policy in 2025, and it remains in effect while individual project challenges work through the courts.
State Law in the Eastern Atlantic Region
States set their own rules for state and local projects, and the trend in the region runs toward authorization:
- New Jersey has authorized PLAs on public works since 2002 and in January 2026 removed the $5 million project threshold, allowing municipalities, counties and school districts to require a PLA on any public works project
- Virginia amended its procurement law in 2020 to permit localities to require PLAs on public works projects
- Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware leave the decision to individual public owners, many of which have adopted PLAs on major projects
Why the Question Keeps Coming Up
Most challenges to PLAs are not about whether they are legal. They are about whether a particular public owner followed its own procurement procedures when adopting one. Courts have sent a handful of projects back for a better record while leaving the underlying authority untouched. For public officials, the lesson is practical: document the findings, follow the statute and the PLA will hold. The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and its 42,000 members have worked under PLAs across the region for decades on exactly that basis.
READ MORE: Project Labor Agreements Let Non-Union Contractors Bid and Win
Frequently Asked Questions
Are PLAs legal under federal law?
Yes. Section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act authorizes prehire agreements in construction, which is what a PLA is.
Did the Supreme Court rule on PLAs?
Yes. In the 1993 Boston Harbor case the court unanimously upheld a public owner’s right to require a PLA on its project.
Can a city or county require a PLA?
In most states, yes, subject to state procurement law. New Jersey and Virginia expressly authorize localities to do so.
Are PLAs legal on federal projects?
Yes. FAR subpart 22.5 directs agencies to use PLAs on projects of $35 million or more unless an exception applies.
Are PLAs legal in right-to-work states?
Yes. PLAs operate in right-to-work states such as Virginia. Union membership cannot be required as a condition of employment there, but the agreement’s other terms apply.
Can a private owner use a PLA?
Yes. Private owners have used PLAs for decades, and the Boston Harbor ruling confirmed public owners may act the same way.
Can nonunion contractors bid on PLA projects?
Yes. Public PLA projects use open competitive bidding, and nonunion firms bid and win work on them.
Have courts ever struck down a PLA?
Rulings have gone against individual projects where the owner failed to document its reasons or follow procurement rules. The underlying legality of PLAs has not been overturned.
Is a PLA the same as a collective bargaining agreement?
A PLA is a prehire collective bargaining agreement covering one project rather than an ongoing employer-union relationship.
States set their own rules for state and local projects
