Project Labor Agreements for Governments: A Checklist for Public Officials

Public officials reviewing plans for a municipal construction project covered by a project labor agreement

PLAs give public officials, contractors and the trades one set of rules to review before a complex municipal project goes out to bid.

Project labor agreements for governments: what public officials need to know

Governments at every level use project labor agreements on public construction. The federal government requires them on large projects. States such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania authorize or direct them. Counties and cities from Union County to Fairfax County to Alexandria have written them into capital programs. This guide collects the rules, the research and a seven-question checklist for any public body deciding whether a PLA fits a project.

A PLA is one procurement condition among many, not a universal mark of government approval. Public owners focus on outcomes: whether an agreement is lawful, practical for the local market and suited to the project’s size, schedule, workforce and risk. The right question is never whether PLAs are always good or always unsuitable. It is whether a proposed agreement improves the government’s ability to deliver this project under applicable law.

The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters represents more than 42,000 members across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. Its account of Alexandria’s first City Hall PLA illustrates why regional governments connect project delivery with apprenticeship, skilled labor and community workforce goals.

Why governments choose project labor agreements

Public construction usually runs through several prime contractors, subcontractors and trades. A PLA gives those employers one labor framework: common schedules, a single grievance procedure and guarantees against strikes or lockouts for the life of the job. Officials can also use the agreement to coordinate apprenticeship participation, local recruitment and safety expectations.

Those features matter most on large, long or schedule-sensitive work where disruption would affect a public service. A government may value predictability even when the construction contract is competitively bid, because the owner remains responsible to taxpayers for deadlines, change management and usable facilities. PLAs bring predictability to complex projects, reduce the risk of work stoppages and establish a stable workforce pipeline.

The rules at each level of government

Federal

For most large federal projects, a PLA is required. Executive Order 13502, signed in 2009, directed federal agencies to consider PLAs on contracts of $35 million or more. Executive Order 14063, signed in 2022, went further and mandated them. The Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 22.5 implements that order for solicitations issued on or after Jan. 22, 2024, and lets agencies consider PLAs below the threshold when appropriate.

The federal framework explains both support and restraint. It cites economy, efficiency, labor-management stability and compliance, but it also provides exceptions for short or less complex work, limited specialty capacity, urgent needs, inadequate competition at a fair price or legal conflicts. That is a structured policy, not a claim that every project needs the same answer. See Are PLAs required on federal projects? for the exception process in detail.

State

States can direct agencies to evaluate PLAs without requiring one on every solicitation. Pennsylvania’s 2024 directive instructs agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction to examine each solicitation and decide whether a PLA is appropriate. New Jersey’s 2026 local-unit PLA law removed the former $5 million threshold so that municipalities, counties, school districts and fire districts set their own floors. Maryland requires PLAs on state projects of $20 million or more by executive order. Virginia repealed its ban in 2020 and now lets local governments choose. West Virginia bars public owners from requiring them.

Authority differs across states and can change with legislation, executive action, court decisions and procurement rules. Verify the current authority instead of applying one jurisdiction’s practice to another. The state guides on this site cover each in detail:

Counties

Counties build more than most residents realize: jails, courthouses, roads, bridges, wastewater plants, emergency centers and parks. Those projects run on public money and fixed deadlines, which is why county boards have written PLAs into their capital programs. Union County, New Jersey, lowered its PLA threshold from $5 million to $3 million in 2026 after the state law change, and Hudson County set its own requirement at $3 million. In Virginia, Fairfax County executed a $71.7 million contract in July 2024 to rehabilitate the Accotink Wastewater Pump Station under what the county called the first local government PLA in the commonwealth, according to its Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. Loudoun County’s finance committee followed in May 2026, recommending PLA pilots for a $38 million Adult Detention Center expansion and an $86 million Route 15 widening.

Municipalities and school districts

Municipalities may adopt a PLA for a single signature project or set a standing threshold. The City of Alexandria’s City Hall and Market Square agreement is its first, for a historic civic renovation, with the city emphasizing labor standards, workforce development and infrastructure quality. Evesham Township, New Jersey, requires a PLA on public works contracts of $200,000 or more. School districts, transit authorities and port authorities have required PLAs on school modernization programs, transit expansions and airport improvements.

The delivery method shapes the decision as well. Design-bid-build, construction-manager and public-private partnership arrangements assign risk and negotiation roles differently. Officials should identify who will negotiate the agreement, when bidders will see its terms and how the PLA flows down to every covered subcontract before treating a policy announcement as an executable plan.

What the research says for public budgets

Costs

The strongest evidence says PLAs do not raise costs. A research review by economists Russell Ormiston of Allegheny College and Kevin Duncan of Colorado State University-Pueblo, published by the Institute for Construction Employment Research, examined more than 20 years of studies and found no statistically significant relationship between PLAs and construction costs in the most rigorous work. The reports that claim large cost penalties compared big urban projects with smaller suburban ones and credited the difference to the agreement. For a public budget office, the practical answer to do PLAs increase costs is that labor terms are fixed before bids open, which makes labor costs predictable from the first bid to the last invoice.

Competition

Competition holds up under a PLA, and the newest data shows it can grow. A 2025 study by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois analyzed 2,574 bids on 773 state building projects worth more than $1.2 billion and found projects covered by PLAs drew 14% more bids on average. A peer-reviewed study of 263 California community college bid openings found a PLA made no difference in how many contractors bid. Non-union firms bid on and win PLA work, and they follow the same terms as every other contractor for the life of the project.

Schedule

Schedule is where public owners often feel the value first. A peer-reviewed study in ILR Review measured 313 public works projects in Sacramento County, California, completed between 2019 and 2023. After controlling for cost, project type and awarding agency, the researchers found projects built under PLAs finished 15% to 17% faster. The agreements bar strikes and lockouts, route disputes to arbitration and give contractors access to union hiring halls when trades are hard to find. For a county replacing a jail wing or a pump station that must stay in service, every week saved limits disruption for residents and staff.

Should your government use a PLA? A seven-question checklist

A defensible review connects the agreement to documented project conditions. Begin with counsel, the procurement officer and the project team, and ask these questions before a vote:

What statute, ordinance, executive action or procurement rule authorizes the PLA, and what formal findings are required?
Does the project involve enough trades, duration or schedule risk to benefit from common labor terms?
Can qualified union and non-union contractors compete under the proposed agreement?
Are enough skilled workers and specialty subcontractors available for the location, timing and scopes?
How will wages, benefits, referrals, apprentices and core employees be administered?
Which workforce, apprenticeship or community goals are written, realistic and measurable?
Who will monitor compliance, publish results and address a market shortfall or changed conditions?

Several yes answers point toward a PLA. If the evidence shows limited capacity, unclear authority or little coordination benefit, officials can revise the agreement, defer it or use another procurement strategy.

When does a project fit?

A PLA is most likely to merit review when several trades must work in sequence, the construction window is tight or a disruption would affect an essential public service. Examples include a town hall renovation, public-safety complex, water facility, school program, detention center or a major road and utility package. Project size alone is not enough. Examine duration, phasing, specialty scopes, labor demand, site constraints and the cost of delay. A modest but complicated occupied-building renovation may present more coordination risk than a larger, repetitive contract. A small repair, single-trade contract or urgent project may not present the coordination issues that justify one.

What to verify under state law

Counsel should identify the enabling statute, required findings, voting procedure, public-notice rules and the relationship to prevailing wage and bidding law. The record should show who may negotiate the PLA, when it must be available to bidders and how it becomes binding on the successful contractor and covered subcontractors. New Jersey’s 2026 change, for example, should not be generalized beyond New Jersey.

How to test bidder and labor capacity

Market outreach should happen before the solicitation is fixed. The federal competition and exception framework is a useful analytical model even where it does not govern: consider project complexity, specialized work, urgency, local market conditions and whether adequate competition at a fair price is achievable. A government can issue a request for information, hold an industry meeting and speak separately with likely prime contractors, specialty subcontractors, unions and apprenticeship programs. The goal is to surface capacity limits, unclear terms or barriers early enough to improve the public package.

Threshold or project-by-project review?

Both approaches exist. Alexandria’s capital-plan method screened projects above a stated construction value and called for further analysis of implementation, monitoring, funding constraints and effects on local, small and minority vendors. A threshold creates consistency but can be too blunt if it ignores complexity or market conditions. Project-by-project review is more flexible but needs written criteria to avoid arbitrary decisions. Many governments combine the two: an evaluation is required above a threshold, with a documented exception process. Decide whether the policy covers one capital program, all eligible public works or only projects approved by separate resolution, and set a periodic review date so the governing body can compare results and revise the policy as the local market changes.

What to place in the public record

The public file should explain what problem the agreement is meant to solve and how success will be measured. Useful measures include responsive bids, subcontract participation, labor requests, apprentices, local work hours, grievances, safety events, schedule milestones and change orders. Definitions should be set before results are reported, and residents should be able to compare the proposed findings, the full agreement and the monitoring plan before a vote. The PLA report guide covers what owners and taxpayers should expect during the job.

What governments get from a PLA

One set of wages, benefits, work rules and dispute procedures for every contractor on the job
No-strike and no-lockout guarantees for the life of the project
Open bidding for qualified union and non-union contractors
Registered apprenticeship and local hiring goals that keep payroll in the community
Labor costs locked in before bids open
Equal opportunity, nondiscrimination and, in many agreements, local and disadvantaged business provisions

Those provisions connect public construction to a regional training and referral network. The 2025 Illinois study also found PLAs increased business for firms owned by people of color, women and veterans. For the provisions an agreement itself must contain, see PLA requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Do governments like PLAs?

Many governments use PLAs on selected projects because they value labor stability, common work rules and workforce planning. Policies differ by jurisdiction and project.

Does every government require project labor agreements?

No. Some require, authorize or evaluate PLAs under defined conditions, while others restrict or do not use them. Federal rules generally require them on construction contracts of $35 million or more unless an exception applies.

Can a county or town require a PLA on its own projects?

In most Eastern Atlantic states, yes. New Jersey and Virginia law let local governments require PLAs. West Virginia bars public owners from requiring them. Counsel should confirm authority, required findings and procurement procedures.

Should my town consider a PLA?

Yes, if it has a complex or schedule-sensitive public project and the legal authority to use one. The decision should follow market research and documented project findings.

Is a PLA appropriate for every public project?

No. Small, short, single-trade or highly specialized work may not gain enough coordination benefit.

Do PLAs raise public construction costs?

No. A research review of more than 20 years of studies found the most rigorous research shows no statistically significant cost effect from PLAs.

Do PLAs reduce the number of bidders?

No. A 2025 Illinois study of 773 public projects found PLA projects drew 14% more bids, and a peer-reviewed California study found no effect on bidder counts.

Can non-union contractors bid on a government PLA project?

Yes. Any qualified contractor can bid and win. The successful contractor follows the agreement’s terms for that project only.

Should a government set a dollar threshold?

A threshold triggers consistent review, but it should not replace analysis of complexity, schedule and local market capacity. Many governments pair a threshold with a documented exception process.

Do PLAs replace competitive bidding laws?

No. Governments must still follow applicable procurement requirements. The PLA becomes a condition governing covered construction work.

Who should monitor a government PLA?

The owner should assign responsibility to a qualified administrator, project manager or joint labor-management committee and define reporting duties.

What should residents ask before a PLA vote?

The legal basis, project rationale, agreement text, bidder outreach, measurable goals and reporting plan.

Project labor agreements for governments: A checklist for public officials