Skilled union carpenters are the backbone of projects covered by project labor agreements.
No Statute. Strict Bidding Rules. A Clear Standard for Getting It Right.
Project labor agreements in Pennsylvania operate without a statewide statute, which means the rules come from three places: the Commonwealth’s competitive bidding laws, a 2024 executive directive that tells state agencies when to use them and two decades of practice in Philadelphia. Project labor agreements are permitted on public projects in Pennsylvania when they are open to union and non-union contractors alike and tied to a documented need. Here is what public officials and contractors should know.
What Pennsylvania Law Permits
Pennsylvania has no PLA statute, so PLAs on public work must fit within the Commonwealth’s strict competitive bidding requirements. The state’s own guidance summarizes the standard. Pennsylvania law permits PLAs in certain solicitations provided they do not preclude any contractor from bidding, the bidding process is open to union and non-union contractors without discrimination, the use of non-union labor is allowed and the PLA requirement relates to the need for prompt completion or concerns about the availability of qualified labor. Courts have set aside PLAs that failed that test, so the justification has to be on the record before the solicitation goes out.
The 2024 State Directive
On March 27, 2024, Gov. Josh Shapiro directed all Commonwealth agencies under his jurisdiction to evaluate every contract solicitation for the appropriate use of a PLA, effective April 1, 2024. Under the directive, agencies use PLAs on future projects in every instance where three criteria are demonstrated:
- Particular need and urgency for the project
- Complexity of the project
- Lack of available qualified labor
The Department of General Services leads implementation. The directive is the first statewide policy in Pennsylvania to make PLA evaluation a standard step in public procurement rather than a project-by-project exception.
Philadelphia’s Long Record
Philadelphia has used PLAs on major public works for years under mayoral executive orders, and the city’s PLA template includes commitments to expand opportunity for women and minority workers in the building trades, with participation goals written into the agreement. Stadiums, airport facilities, schools and water infrastructure have been built under those terms. The city’s experience is the largest body of PLA practice in the state, and it shows what the agreements deliver when they are structured to the Commonwealth’s standard. For a suburban county or school district considering its first PLA, the city’s template is a practical starting point, particularly its documentation of need and its open-bidding language.
What Sets a Pennsylvania PLA Apart
Because Pennsylvania courts apply competitive bidding rules strictly, a PLA on a public project here has to be built to a higher standard than in states with an enabling statute:
- Open bidding: every contractor, union or not, must be able to bid on the same terms
- Core workforce: non-union contractors should be able to bring a portion of their own employees
- Documented need: urgency, complexity or labor availability findings made before the solicitation, on the record
- Uniform terms: the same hiring and work rules for every bidder, with no carve-outs for particular unions
- Project-specific: one agreement for one project, expiring at completion
Those features are not concessions. They are what makes a PLA legally durable, and they are also what makes it work. A PLA drafted to that standard answers the objection most often raised against it, because it can show on paper that no qualified contractor was excluded.
READ MORE: Project Labor Agreements Let Non-Union Contractors Bid and Win
The Separations Act Is a Different Question
Pennsylvania public officials often encounter PLAs and the Separations Act in the same conversation. They are separate issues. The Separations Act governs how public building contracts are divided among trades and is covered in full at separationsact.com. A PLA governs labor terms on a project and applies whether a project is let as a single contract or as separate prime contracts. The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and its 42,000 members have built Pennsylvania’s PLA projects for decades, and the peer-reviewed evidence behind the approach is summarized in this site’s answer to do PLAs increase costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are project labor agreements legal in Pennsylvania?
Yes, on public projects when bidding is open to union and non-union contractors, non-union labor is allowed and the PLA is tied to a documented need such as urgency or labor availability.
Does Pennsylvania have a PLA statute?
No. PLAs on public work operate under the Commonwealth’s competitive bidding laws and, for state agencies, the 2024 executive directive.
What does the 2024 directive require?
State agencies under the governor evaluate every solicitation for PLA use and apply a PLA where urgency, complexity and a lack of available qualified labor are demonstrated.
Can non-union contractors bid on Pennsylvania PLA projects?
Yes. State guidance requires that bidding be open to union and non-union contractors without discrimination.
Does Philadelphia use PLAs?
Yes. The city has used PLAs on major public works for years under mayoral executive orders.
Can a Pennsylvania county or school district use a PLA?
Yes, subject to the same competitive bidding standards that apply to state agencies.
What findings should a public owner document?
The need for prompt completion, the complexity of the project and the availability of qualified labor, made before the solicitation issues.
Is the Separations Act related to PLAs?
No. It governs how public building contracts are divided among trades. It is covered at separationsact.com.
Do PLAs raise costs in Pennsylvania?
No. Peer-reviewed research on more than 1,000 public projects finds no statistically significant cost increase.
