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Labor Day is often recognized as the symbolic end of summer. It鈥檚 a national holiday dedicated to honoring working men and women. One U.S. industry that represents the expertise and diligence of the American worker is construction.

What many people often don鈥檛 realize is that the vast majority of construction workers have made the decision to use their professional skills in a merit-shop work environment. It鈥檚 one where they communicate directly with their employer, are free of union dues and assessments, and control their own destiny in the workplace. More than 85 percent of America鈥檚 construction workers have elected not to join a union.

However, the livelihood of the merit-shop construction worker is being threatened by supporters of government-mandated project labor agreements, or PLAs.

As unions have lost workers, they have turned to politicians as a means of securing work they may not otherwise. The city of Portland recently adopted such a proposal 鈥� requiring almost every worker on two upcoming construction projects to join a union in order to walk on the job.

The pro-union language was sandwiched between efforts to increase the representation of women and minorities in construction. Improving diversity in the industry is important and something that contractors should support.

But government-mandated PLAs blatantly discriminate against the merit-shop construction workforce. When a construction project has a project labor agreement, merit-shop workers are excluded from participating because they are not members of the union, even if their tax dollars are being used to pay for the project.

For the merit-shop construction worker, success is based on safety, skill, knowledge, ability and determination. Merit-shop construction professionals are masters of their own destiny and thrive in a free-market environment. They are competitive and multi-skilled, with no limit to their opportunity to advance as far as their dreams allow. What merit-shop construction workers need most is the opportunity to participate in construction projects, regardless of their labor affiliation.

Keep in mind that Oregon鈥檚 prevailing wage law sets specific wage rates and fringe benefit requirements for workers. Government-mandated PLAs are not about wages; they are about picking unions over the rest of the marketplace.

Building America is too important to allow costly and discriminatory union-only project labor agreements. It is time to say 鈥渘o鈥� to government-mandated project labor agreements, and to say 鈥測es鈥� to the concept of open competition in the construction industry.

This is the highest honor on Labor Day that we can pay all the men and women in the construction workforce.

John Killin is president of the Associated Builders and Contractors鈥� Pacific Northwest chapter and executive director of the Independent Electrical Contractors of Oregon.