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The Beacon Hill Institute(BHI)found that the presence of PLAs increased construction bid costs <br /> over non-PLA school projects in Ohio,Massachusetts,Connecticut,and New York.5 Of the Four, <br /> the studies of Ohio, Massachusetts, and Connecticut showed that PLAs increased final <br /> construction costs as well. <br /> Other researchers have found similar results. For example,a study conducted by the New Jersey <br /> Department of Labor and Workforce Development found that the "cost per square foot for PLA <br /> projects was$260.00, or 30.5 percent higher than for non-PLA projects, which averaged $199.19 <br /> per square foot"on school construction projects in New Jersey.6 A study by National University <br /> on school construction projects in California found that costs were"13 to 15 percent higher when <br /> school districts construct a school under a PLA."7 <br /> The current study extends our research of PLAs to public construction projects that took place in <br /> Washington State since 2003. <br /> Historical Background on PLAs <br /> PLAs in the United States originated in the public works projects of the Great Depression,which <br /> included the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State in 1938 and the Shasta Dam in California <br /> in 1940. Since World War II, PLAs have continued to be used on a limited basis for some large <br /> 5 Paul Bachman,Darlene C.Chisholm,Jonathan Haughton,and David G.Tuerck,Project Labor Agreements <br /> and the Cost of School Construction in Massachusetts,The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, <br /> (September 2003).http://www.beaconhill.org/BHIStudies/PLAPolicyStudy12903.pdf. See also Paul <br /> Bachman,Jonathan Haughton,and David G.Tuerck,Project Labor Agreements and the Cost of School <br /> Construction in Connecticut,The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University,September 2004. <br /> http://www.beaconhill.orgBHIStudies/PLA2004/PLAinCT23Nov2004.pdf. <br /> 6"Annual Report to the Governor and Legislature:Use of Project Labor Agreements in Public Works <br /> Building Projects in Fiscal Year 2008",New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, <br /> October 2010,http:/llwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/formspdfs/legal/2010/PLAReportOct2010.pdf,3. <br /> 7 Vince Vasquez,Dr.Dale Glaser,and W.Erik Bruvold, "Measuring the Cost of Project Labor Agreements <br /> on School Construction in California,"National University System Institute for Policy Research,2010, <br /> http://www.nu sinstitute.org/assets/resources/pageResources/Measuring-the-Cost-of-Project-Labor- <br /> Agreements-on-School-Construction-in-California.pdf,1. <br /> The Anticompetitive Effects of Project Labor Agreements on Public Construction in Washington State 4 <br />