ASSOCIATION’S NOVEL BID PROTEST STRATEGY TOPPLES PRESIDENT BIDEN’S UNLAWFUL PROJECT LABOR MANDATE FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

U.S. Court of Federal Claims Ruling Validates the Associated General Contractors’ Argument that Mandating PLAs for Most Federal Construction Projects Is an Unauthorized Set-Aside

News Release from Associated General Contractors of America, Jan 20, 2025 

The Associated General Contractors of America’s chief executive officer, Jeffrey Shoaf, issued the following statement in reaction to the decision last night by the United States Court of Federal Claims in the consolidated bid protest of MVL USA, Inc., et al.. v. United States, Case No. 24-1057, which the association facilitated as a challenge to the Biden administration’s efforts to impose project labor agreements on all federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more:

“Last night’s ruling vindicates the novel approach AGC put in place to challenge the Biden administration’s unlawful project labor agreement mandate. It was and is AGC’s understanding that by requiring a project labor agreement for all federal construction projects worth $35 million or more, President Biden was creating a new federal set aside program without the required Congressional authorization. That is why we encouraged and supported seven bid protests challenging the mandate from our member firms which were consolidated into the single case that was ruled on favorably last night.

“This bid protest approach provided a quicker, and more effective way to challenge the outgoing president’s anti-competitive and illegal Executive Order. As a result of last night’s ruling, the mandate to use project labor agreements on federal projects worth $35 million or more is no longer legal.

“Last night’s decision is a significant victory that will allow all construction workers and their employers to compete fairly and without government-mandated coercion for large federal construction projects. Contractors have every right to voluntarily enter into a project labor agreement if they and their labor partners deem it appropriate. But by requiring such an agreement to qualify for large-scale federal work, the administration placed union and open shop firms in an untenable negotiating position. It would have forced union contractors to abandon their existing collective bargaining agreements and excluded open shop contractors from competing fairly as required by CICA for federal projects.

“Moving forward, we will continue our conversations with the incoming Trump administration about the need to officially revoke President Biden’s illegal project labor agreement Executive Order and FAR Rules, especially in light of last night’s ruling. Our hope is that President Trump will follow the law and understand the very obvious benefits of letting all workers compete for the opportunity to build federal projects.”

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