2019/10/16 Council Agenda Packet

appealed and,the U.S.Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned the lower court decision and ordered the judge to lift the injunction on July 12, 2002. In handing down its decision,the appeals court found that the NLRA did not preempt the executive order as the AFL- CIO argued.20 The unions disagreed and filed to have the case reviewed by the United States Supreme Court. In April 2003,the Supreme Court declined to review the case,and the President's 2001 executive order remained in place.21 On February 6,2009,shortly after entering office,President Obama issued Executive Order 13502, which changed federal government's policy to one that encouraged executive agencies to consider requiring, on a case-by-case basis, the use of PLAs related to large-scale construction projects (projects where the federal cost exceeded $25 million).22 The executive order claimed that,without a PLA,large-scale construction projects are likely to experience(1)labor"disputes," (2) difficulties in predicting labor costs and in avoiding interruptions in labor supply, (3) a lack of coordination on construction projects and (4) uncertainty about the terms and conditions of employment of workers—all of which ostensibly lead to delays and cost overruns.23 If this were true,then federal construction projects initiated during the George W.Bush Administration's ban on PLAs should have been rife with labor disputes leading to cost overruns and delays. That was not the case,however. A 2009 study by the Beacon Hill Institute found no evidence of any labor disputes or delays on the$57 billion of federal construction projects with a price over $25 million that were performed during George W.Bush's presidency.24 20"Bush Administration,Construction Unions in Fight Over Project Labor Agreements,"Bulletin Broadfaxing Network,December 5,2002. 21 Halloran&Sage LLP, "Union Activity Across the Country," Connecticut Employment Law Letter 11,M. Lee Smith Publishers&Printers,(April 2003). 22U.S.Department of Labor, "Implementation of Project Labor Agreements in Federal Construction Projects:An Evaluation,Interactive Elements Corporation&Hill International,"(February 25,2011) https://www.dol.goviaspkvaluation/reports/20110225.pdf. 23 David G.Tuerck,Paul Bachman and Sarah Glassman,Project Labor Agreements:A Costly Solution in Search of a Problem,The Beacon Hill Institute,(August,2009), http://www.beaconhill.orgBHlStudies/PLA2009/PLAFina1090923.pdf,4. 24'bid,6. The Anticompetitive Effects of Project Labor Agreements on Public Construction in Washington State 10