Union carpenters bring skill and training to every project built under a project labor agreement.
More Bids. No Stoppages. One Set of Rules. Less Rework.
Do PLAs save money? The research says yes, and the savings show up in places that rarely make headlines: bid tabs, schedules and change orders. Project labor agreements do not raise construction costs, a finding confirmed across more than 1,000 public projects and summarized in this site’s answer to do PLAs increase costs. This post takes the next step and asks where the savings actually come from.
More Bidders, Lower Bids
Competition is the surest way to lower a public project’s price, and PLAs increase it. The 2025 Illinois Economic Policy Institute study of 773 state projects found PLAs raised bid competition by 14%, and each additional bid improved the odds that a project came in below its engineer’s estimate. Philips and Waitzman (2021) found the same pattern on California community college projects: no drop in bidders and no increase in winning bids. More contractors at the table means sharper pricing. Public owners in the Eastern Atlantic region see the same dynamic. When the bid list grows, the spread between the low bid and the engineer’s estimate narrows, and the savings go directly to taxpayers.
READ MORE: Project Labor Agreements Do Not Raise Costs, Research Review Finds
No Strikes, No Lockouts, No Delay Costs
On a multiyear project, the most expensive event is a stopped clock. A single craft dispute can idle a dozen trades and push completion past the date an owner has borrowed against. PLAs remove that risk by contract. Every union on the site commits to no strikes for the life of the project, every contractor commits to no lockouts and disputes go to binding resolution instead of the picket line. The Boston Harbor cleanup that reached the Supreme Court in 1993 was built under a 10-year no-strike commitment for exactly this reason. Owners also pay for the absence of that certainty in quieter ways: lenders and insurers price labor risk into financing, and every month of schedule slip carries interest, escalation and extended overhead.
One Set of Work Rules
Without a PLA, a large project runs on a patchwork of separate agreements with different shift lengths, holidays and overtime rules for each trade. PLAs harmonize them. Standard hours, coordinated schedules and uniform dispute procedures let owners sequence work across crafts without idle time between them. PLAs also establish a labor-management committee to resolve jurisdictional questions before they become delays, so a dispute over which trade installs a component is settled in a meeting rather than on the floor. Federal rulemakers cited exactly these efficiencies when they concluded that PLAs advance economy and efficiency in federal procurement.
Fewer Change Orders From Skilled Labor
Rework is a hidden cost on every job. PLAs tie projects to registered apprenticeship and a trained workforce, which means work is more likely to be done right the first time. New York City estimated that four PLAs on a $5.3 billion program would save the city about $300 million over the life of the work, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters puts 42,000 trained union carpenters behind the same guarantee across the region. Its apprenticeship programs invest heavily in training so that journeyworkers arrive certified and productive. Fewer errors mean fewer change orders, and fewer change orders mean the budget approved at award is the budget at closeout.
Where the Savings Add Up
- More bids per project, which research links to prices below the engineer’s estimate
- No work stoppages for the life of the project
- Coordinated schedules across every trade, with less idle time
- Skilled labor and apprenticeship pipelines that reduce rework
- Predictable labor costs locked in before bidding, which lowers contractor risk premiums
The ICERES research review by economists Russell Ormiston and Kevin Duncan found no reliable evidence that PLAs increase costs. The savings above are the reason. For public officials weighing a PLA, the question is not whether the agreement will cost more. The evidence says it will not. The question is how much the owner stands to save.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do PLAs save money on public construction?
Yes. Research links PLAs to more bids, fewer delays and no increase in total costs.
How do PLAs lower bids?
By increasing competition. The largest study to date found PLAs increased bidding by 14%, and more bids raise the odds of a price below the engineer’s estimate.
What do PLAs save on schedule?
No-strike and no-lockout clauses remove work stoppages, and coordinated work rules reduce idle time between trades.
Do PLAs reduce change orders?
A trained workforce and apprenticeship requirements reduce rework, a major source of change orders.
Has a public owner documented PLA savings?
New York City estimated four PLAs on a $5.3 billion program would save about $300 million.
Do PLAs raise costs?
No. Peer-reviewed research on more than 1,000 projects finds no statistically significant cost effect.
Do PLAs save money on private projects?
Yes. Private owners use PLAs for the same schedule certainty and labor cost predictability.
Why do some reports claim PLAs cost more?
They compare dissimilar projects without controlling for size and complexity. Controlled studies find no cost effect.
Where can officials review the research?
The ICERES research review compiles the peer-reviewed literature, and this site maintains a full breakdown of the cost question.
PLAs add skilled labor and apprenticeship pipelines that reduce rework.
