Sponsors (108)
Stops federal agencies and recipients of federal construction funds from requiring or banning contractor agreements with labor organizations on new construction awards and forbids discrimination based on signing or refusing such agreements.
Official title: To preserve open competition and Federal Government neutrality towards the labor relations of Federal Government contractors on Federal and federally funded construction projects, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 14, 2025 by Clay Higgins · Last progress March 14, 2025
The bill expands competition and clarifies procurement rules to help small contractors and lower federal construction costs, but does so at the expense of union leverage — potentially lowering wages/benefits and raising safety, fairness, and administrative risks.
Small and disadvantaged contractors (including small subcontractors) are less likely to be forced into union agreement clauses and will have greater access to bid on federally funded construction projects.
Construction workers and contractors are protected from discrimination based on labor affiliation (membership or nonmembership), reducing the risk of being penalized for union status.
Federal procurement rules will be updated and open-competition provisions promoted, creating clearer, more uniform contracting procedures that can increase contractor choice and potentially improve project quality and efficiency.
Unions and construction workers may lose leverage to negotiate project-labor agreements, which could lead to lower wages and reduced benefits on federally funded construction projects.
Encouraging selection of lower-cost bidders to reduce costs risks lower construction quality or safety problems if oversight and enforcement are insufficient.
Agencies, grant recipients, and contractors could face increased administrative, compliance, and enforcement costs and contract disruptions while changing bid documents and procurement procedures.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits federal agencies and recipients of federal construction funds from requiring or forbidding contractors or subcontractors to enter into or follow agreements with labor organizations for construction contracts, subcontracts, grants, and cooperative agreements awarded on or after enactment. Agencies must update the Federal Acquisition Regulation within 60 days, enforce compliance, and may grant narrow exemptions for imminent public health/safety or national security threats and for preexisting contracts/documents.