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Introduction <br /> PLAs are a form of a "pre-hire" collective bargaining agreement between contractors and labor <br /> unions pertaining to a specific project, contract or work location. They are unique to the <br /> construction industry. The terms of a PLA generally recognize the participating unions as the <br /> sole bargaining representatives for the workers covered by the agreements, regardless of their <br /> current union membership status. They require all workers to be hired by general contractors <br /> and subcontractors through the union hall referral system. Non-union workers must join the <br /> signatory union of their respective craft and/or pay dues for the length of the project. The <br /> workers' wages, working hours, dispute resolution process and other work rules are also <br /> prescribed in the agreement. PLAs supersede all other collective bargaining agreements and <br /> prohibit strikes, slowdowns and lockouts for the duration of the project.3 <br /> PLAs can be mandatory, that is, required by a government entity such as a school board, as a <br /> condition of bidding and winning a contract to perform construction services on a project. <br /> Alternatively, they can be agreed to voluntarily by contractors participating in an open and <br /> competitive bidding process. Mandatory PLAs are anti-competitive insofar as they discourage <br /> open shop contractors from bidding on projects to which the PLAs are attached. Voluntary PLAs <br /> are less likely to raise costs insofar as winning bidders would not agree to follow union rules and <br /> hiring procedures unless it was cost effective to do so and unless it,therefore,made bidders more <br /> efficient by allowing them to negotiate the terms and conditions of the PLA directly with unions. <br /> For example,the construction of the King County Family and Justice Center contains a voluntary <br /> PLA between Balfour Beatty Construction LLC and Seattle/King County Building and <br /> Construction Trades Council Northwest Construction Alliance.4 <br /> 3U.S.General Accounting Office,Project Labor Agreements:The Extent of Their Use and Related Information, <br /> Publication No.GAO/GGD-98-82,(Washington D.C.: 1998), <br /> http://www.gao.gov/achives/1998/gg98082.pdf. <br /> 4 Teamsters Unions Local 174,Project Labor Agreements,http://teamsters174.net/wp- <br /> content/uploads/2017/04/Children-and-Family-Tustice-Center-PLA.pdf. We do not designate this a PLA. <br /> The Anticompetitive Effects of Project Labor Agreements on Public Construction in Washington State 3 <br />