Certain labor union and industry organizations compile data on standardized national PLAs they sponsor, but they have little or no data on PLAs negotiated locally. However, according to officials at 11 of the 13 agencies, including DOD and NASA, PLAs could be used on their construction projects without the agencies’ knowledge because contractors are not required to report collective bargaining matters to the government. PLAs on projects of the other three agencies were negotiated and signed by the contractors and unions. Other Public Sector Projects Use PLAs

Although we could find no centralized, complete source of data on the use of PLAs in the nonfederal public sector, our research disclosed examples of states, counties, and other nonfederal public entities using PLAs on construction projects with and without federal funding. Private-Sector Projects Use PLAs

Although no complete central source of information exists, according to labor experts and union officials, most PLAs are used in the private sector. Agencies’ Procedures and Criteria for Use of PLAs

“The heads of executive departments and agencies covered by this memorandum, in consultation with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, shall establish, within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, appropriate written procedures and criteria for the determinations set forth in section 1.”
Six of the 13 federal agencies we reviewed issued some level of guidance on PLA use, generally by the due date. OMB eventually assumed responsibility for assisting the agencies in developing procedures, although the agencies still have the primary responsibility; and on March 12, 1998, OMB sent a draft generic PLA guidance document to officials at DOD, GSA, DOE, and the Department of Labor for comment. According to OMB, this provision was added so that agencies could comply with the Subcommittee’s request. Agencies’ Responses to Subcommittee Request

None of the six agencies’ guidance for the use of PLAs clearly provide for responding to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation’s request to federal agencies that it be notified of any planned use of PLAs. Therefore, 12 of the 26 PLAs we identified on federal construction projects likely would not have been reported to the Subcommittee because the PLAs were initiated by contractors and not required by the agencies. Performance Comparisons Between Federal PLA and Non-PLA Projects Difficult to Make

Proponents and opponents of the use of PLAs said it would be difficult to compare contractor performance on federal projects with and without PLAs because it is highly unlikely that two such projects could be found that were sufficiently similar in cost, size, scope, and timing. Therefore, drawing definitive conclusions on whether or not the PLA was the cause of any performance differences would be difficult. Top Thirteen Federal Agencies Ranked by Fiscal Year 1996 Construction Obligations

Fiscal year 1996 construction obligations Total amount of obligations ($000)

Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which project labor agreements (PLA) are used in the federal government, agencies’ responses to the June 5, 1997, Presidential Memorandum encouraging federal agencies to use PLAs, and agencies’ plans for responding to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation’s continuing request to be notified of planned PLA uses, we contacted the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the 13 federal agencies that accounted for more than 98 percent of the total construction obligations in fiscal year 1996, as reported in the Federal Procurement Data System (see app. In addition, we performed literature and internet searches to identify specific projects with PLAs and to develop general subject matter background. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has no database showing information on its use of PLAs, but sources outside the agency indicate that PLAs were used in the construction of NASA facilities at Cape Canaveral in the 1960s.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the use of project labor agreements (PLA) on federal construction contracts and related matters, focusing on the: (1) number of federal construction and other projects where PLAs were used and the extent to which PLAs have been used on projects sponsored by nonfederal organizations, including public projects with some federal funding; (2) procedures and criteria for using PLAs established by federal agencies, as required by a Presidential Memorandum that encourages federal agencies to use PLAs on construction contracts over $5 million; (3) federal agency procedures established to comply with a letter from the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommitte on Oversight and Investigations, to federal agencies requesting them to notify his subcommittee of the planned use of PLAs; and (4) feasibility of comparing contractor performance under federal construction contracts with and without PLAs.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the total number of PLAs in use is unknown because there is no complete or comprehensive database on the use of PLAs in the public or private sectors; (2) union and industry organizations maintain data on certain PLAs that they negotiated at the national level, but there were no comparable data on ad hoc PLAs negotiated between contractors and unions at the local level; (3) four of the 13 federal agencies GAO reviewed have construction projects covered by 26 PLAs that it could identify; (4) the four agencies are the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); (5) however, officials at 11 of the 13 agencies, including DOD and NASA, said PLAs could be used on agency construction projects without their knowledge because such agreements are generally made between contractors and unions; and collective bargaining matters are not required to be reported to the government; (6) available literature and union data show that PLAs exist on numerous other public and private construction projects and on other public projects with some federal funding; (7) also, labor experts and union officials say that the private sector is the biggest user of PLAs; (8) six of the 13 federal agencies GAO reviewed had issued various levels of guidance for PLA use as required by the Presidential Memorandum; (9) however, none specifically provided for notifying the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of any planned use of PlAs; (10) recently, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) assumed responsibility for assisting the agencies in developing procedures and criteria for use of PLAs; (11) although OMB's draft procedures and criteria for implementing the Presidential Memorandum do not specifically refer to the Subcommittee's request to be notified by agencies planning to use a PLA, the draft would require the collection of the type of information requested by the Subcommittee; (12) according to OMB, it included this provision so that agencies could comply with the request; (13) PLA proponents and opponents that GAO contacted said they believe contract performance comparisons between federal construction projects with PLAs and those without PLAs would be difficult; (14) this is primarily because they believe it would be difficult to find projects similar enough to compare; and (15) in addition, GAO believes that even if similar PLA and non-PLA projects were found, it would be difficult to demonstrate conclusively that any performance differences were due to the use of the PLA versus other factors.