BAC Journal > The PLA Advantage: Why Workers Must Support Project Labor Agreements

The PLA Advantage: Why Workers Must Support Project Labor Agreements

2026 Issue 1
Did You Know?

Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) have been a powerful tool for almost a century to create standard, pro-worker conditions on a large construction project. For the working tradesperson, supporting a PLA is supporting your own paycheck, safety, job security and your future. 1

PLAs – sometimes referred to as Community Workforce Agreements (CWAs) – are a pre-hire agreement that establishes rules for wages, work hours, safety standards, dispute resolution procedures, and hiring practices. While it might sound overly bureaucratic, this framework brings order to the chaos and complexity of large-scale construction while boosting the efficiency of the construction and saving money for the taxpayers. 

Project labor agreements also serve as a de-risking mechanism widely used across construction jobs in the United States. PLAs are a valuable tool for project managers, project planning, and workforce stability on both public and private projects. At the same time, PLAs ensure market-competitive wages and benefits, a skilled workforce, uninterrupted labor supply, safety standards, robust workforce development commitments that create career pathways, and timely completion of critical infrastructure projects on budget. 

Facts

  • Contractors use PLAs to prevent labor shortages, limit unexpected delays, and implement mechanisms to resolve labor disputes without shutting down the job site. 
  • Contractors also benefit from PLAs by gaining access to a ready supply of skilled workers, maintaining a steady workflow, and avoiding costly shutdowns. 
  • Workers benefit from PLAs from the ensured consistent pay rates, reliable work schedules, and strong safety protections. 
  • PLAs also require the use of registered apprenticeship programs, which not only raise the skill level of workers, but also opens the door for new workers seeking to enter the trade, and workers from disadvantaged backgrounds. 
  • PLAs stabilize public construction costs and promote competitive building, while ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.  

Construction partners and researchers from public universities, the United States Department of Labor, North America’s Building Trades Union (NABTU), and others demonstrate through multiple examples that construction projects are completed on time and within budget when under a PLA. Ultimately, real-world data show that project labor agreements are a crucial tool for general contractors, developers, and governments to deliver on infrastructure improvements promised to customers, investors, and taxpayers. 

To learn more about PLAs visit https://bacweb.org/issue/project-labor-agreements.