For nearly 100 years, both private and public sector customers have relied on project labor agreements to ensure construction jobs are completed on time and under budget. PLAs are essentially pre-hire construction agreements that set working terms, and they're used all the time.

The federal government and private industry have signed PLAs on some of the nation's highest-profile construction projects, from the Grand Coulee and Shasta dams to nearly all of Toyota's U.S.-based manufacturing facilities and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, home of Super Bowl LVI.

They rely so heavily on PLAs because they ensure workplace safety, a skilled workforce and employee professionalism by establishing uniform standards covering entire construction projects. They also ensure decent pay and benefits for workers by not allowing low-road contractors to undercut wages and standards.

Not only that, project labor agreements often contain provisions on apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs that help recruit women, people of color and other underrepresented communities into the construction industry and building trades.

In February, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring PLAs on all federal construction projects over $35 million. You can read more in Rebuilding America Right the First Time of this issue, but let me summarize it here. The PLA order is an enormous win for contractors, U.S. taxpayers and construction workers alike.

It's just common sense. With the federal government planning to invest more than $1 trillion in federal dollars in our infrastructure through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we can't afford to waste money or time.

This order will make sure that taxpayer money goes to growing good-paying construction careers that support local communities and our economy, not poverty-level, throw-away jobs.

Opponents claim that PLAs boost costs, but that criticism doesn't hold water. In one study, one of the largest project management companies in the U.S., Bechtel Corp., reported that PLAs did not increase their costs. And in New York, researchers found that a project labor agreement for the New York City School Construction Authority reconstruction project actually helped save taxpayers $221 million.

Critics also say PLAs unfairly favor unions. But project labor agreements don't exclude nonunion contractors, just those who are unwilling to commit to high standards of value, safety and quality.

Biden's executive order is just another example proving his administration's support for investing in good-paying jobs. But it also shows his fidelity to fiscal responsibility by ensuring that taxpayer money only goes to projects that are completed on time and on budget.

As IBEW members, we are always committed to doing the job right the first time. With this new executive order, the federal government is making the same commitment when it comes to rebuilding America's infrastructure. We are ready to get to work.

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