91ÊÓƵ

A Congressional amendment about project labor agreements on federal contracts that was strongly supported by Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. failed to get attached to a bill in committee hearings this week, said John Killin, executive director of ABC‘s Pacific Northwest Chapter.

The amendment, part of the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (), failed due to the lack of a majority vote in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Killin said.

It would have addressed an issue the group sees with President Obama’s Executive Order 13502, which encourages agencies to use the labor agreements on federal contracts worth more than $25 million.

ABC members have argued that the agreements, which they says favor unions, increase the costs of construction projects, Killin said.

“It forces anybody who wants to work on a given project to sign an agreement that doesn’t necessarily make sense for non-union contractors,” Killin said.

Some PLAs, for instance, require contractors to pay union hall dues, restrict use of certain employees and can create work rules that don’t always work for non-union companies, he said.

But while the amendment, which was sponsored by Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., failed to get a majority vote in the committee, the effort to find a new place to attach it will likely continue, Killin said.

“It’s an ongoing effort, I wouldn’t say it’s dead in the water,” Killin said. “ABC national is redoubling (its) efforts to make sure that we reconnect with anybody that was on the fence about it.”

The Oregon delegation voted straight along party lines, with Republicans for it and Democrats opposed, Killin added.