ABC NH/VT is supporting a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) against the US Department of Labor (DOL). The bid protest must be filed by a qualified, interested party. ABC member North Branch Construction, Concord NH has agreed to sign on as the plaintiff. The complaint accuses the DOL of violating federal law by mandating the use of a project labor agreement (PLA) in its bid specifications for the construction of the taxpayer funded Jobs Corp Center project in Manchester NH.

The complaint states that the DOL’s inclusion of a PLA, “unduly restricts competition, is wholly unsupported and violates the Competition in Contracting Act, Executive Order 13502, the Small Business Act, and numerous procurement regulations”, and request the GAO order the DOL to remove any PLA requirement from the solicitation.

PLAs require all contactors on the project to execute an agreement with unions, utilize union work rules and conditions and pay into all union funds. They are special interest handouts that deny the taxpayers the accountability they deserve. This PLA on the Jobs Corp Center project will eliminate competition from qualified and experienced non-union contactors and will discriminate against over 90% of NH construction workers who choose to not belong to a union.

The Jobs Corp Center project PLA is believed to be the first government mandated PLA on a federal construction project since the Obama administration issued Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to consider the use of PLA’s on federal construction projects whose total cost exceed $25 million. The Jobs Corp center project PLA has been ordered by the DOL despite the fact that a final rule on the Executive Order has not been implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council. The Council is in the process of reviewing public comments and promulgating the rules. The bid protest is expected to heighten tensions over the federal government’s recent shift in federal procurement policy concerning the use of discriminatory and costly PLAs.

The bid protest is part of ABC’s effort to defeat this PLA. Several radio interviews, press releases, op ed articles and a full page ad in the Manchester Union Leader have also featured ABC’s open competition position. If you have any questions about this PLA, ABC’s position and the initiatives ABC is taking concerning this issue please contact the chapter office. It is important that ABC’s actions support all members.