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ABC Newsline
President Donald Trump has rescinded a controversial Biden administration executive order that attempted to expand the use of government-registered apprentices through federal contracts and grant programs.
“President Trump’s elimination of Biden’s problematic EO is good news for taxpayers, the construction industry and the principles of free enterprise,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck. “The Biden policy would have increased costs on federal and federally assisted taxpayer-funded construction projects by reducing competition from some of the best contractors that do not participate in the voluntary government-registered apprenticeship system for a variety of valid reasons.”
President Trump’s March 14 executive order revoked 19 Biden administration EOs and actions, including Biden’s Executive Order 14119, Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums, signed March 6, 2024.
In a March 6, 2024, statement on the Biden EO, ABC expressed concerns that any new apprenticeship mandates or incentives on federal contracts and grants would also strain America’s underperforming government-registered apprenticeship system.
“As was the case when ABC evaluated the Biden apprenticeship EO last year, the government data is clear: construction’s government-registered apprenticeship system, which had an enrollment of 290,000 apprentice participants and graduated less than 40,000 apprentices in FY 2024, is not keeping up with construction industry demand for skilled craft professionals,” said Brubeck.
According to a Jan. 24 ABC analysis, the construction industry will need to attract an estimated 439,000 net new workers in 2025 to meet anticipated demand for construction services.
“In addition, the Biden apprenticeship EO was a product of his White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment and disproportionately benefited unionized contractors and construction trade union members as part of the Biden administration’s campaign to bolster unions,” said Brubeck. “About 69% of all construction industry GRAP participants are in union programs, so it was another anti-competitive tactic––in addition to illegal government-mandated project labor agreement schemes–– that the Biden administration implemented to steer taxpayer-funded construction contracts primarily to unionized contractors and union labor.”
“ABC appreciates President Trump’s recognition that a record-high 89.7% of the construction industry’s workforce does not belong to a union and that America benefits when all construction workers are welcome to compete on a level playing field to rebuild their communities,” said Brubeck.
ABC supports GRAPs and offers more than 450 such education programs through ABC chapters across the country as part of its all-of-the-above approach to meet the workforce needs of the construction industry.
However, the flawed government-registered apprenticeship system is in need of many improvements, as outlined in ABC’s 2024 comments on a widely opposed Biden proposed rule overhauling the U.S. Department of Labor’s regulations on apprenticeships. On Dec. 2, 2024, ABC celebrated the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw its unpopular proposed rule that would have discouraged employer participation in the GRAP system by adding more costly bureaucracy and paperwork requirements and eliminated flexible, competency-based GRAPs that benefit apprentices and employers.
ABC will continue to provide members, construction industry and workforce development stakeholders with insights on apprenticeship and workforce development policies before the Trump administration and Congress.
Learn more at abc.org/apprenticeship.
President Donald Trump has rescinded a controversial Biden administration executive order that attempted to prioritize the award of federal government grants to private developers and state and local governments seeking federal assistance to build infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy projects if they adopt project labor agreement requirements and other union-friendly policies.
“President Trump’s elimination of President Joe Biden’s politically motivated EO is a win for America’s construction workers and taxpayers,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck. “President Biden’s EO was an election-season commemoration of four years of harmful policies that strongly incentivized inflationary and anti-competitive project labor agreements on federally assisted construction projects, which increase construction costs by 12% to 20%, reduce worker wages and effectively eliminate 90% of America’s construction industry workforce from building these projects because they are not members of a labor union.”
ABC identified more than $271 billion in federal funding subject to language and policies promoting PLA mandates and preferences that have resulted in reduced competition, delays and increased costs on federally assisted construction projects since former President Biden took office.
Analysis in a September 2024 ABC news release and ABC Newsline article highlighted how pro-PLA policy schemes undermine the efficient and economical delivery of taxpayer funded infrastructure, manufacturing and energy projects by steering work to unionized contractors and labor at the expense free enterprise, taxpayers and the broader construction industry.
President Trump’s March 14 executive order revoked 19 Biden administration EOs and actions, including Executive Order 14126, Investing in America and Investing in American Workers, signed Sept. 6, 2024.
It is unclear if the Trump EO will revoke all of the Biden administration’s pro-PLA policies buried in federal agency regulations and subregulatory actions.
“President Trump has delivered an incredible victory for all Americans and ABC will continue to advocate for a fair and open competition EO and legislation that would eliminate all of President Biden’s pro-PLA policies and proactively prevent PLAs mandated by recipients of federal funding,” said Brubeck. “It appears this Trump EO does not eliminate Biden’s pro-PLA EO 14063 and related FAR rule mandating PLAs on direct federal construction projects of $35 million or more that is subject to ongoing litigation.”
On Jan. 9, ABC and 24 other construction and business groups in the Build America Local coalition sent a letter to President Trump requesting an executive order that would eliminate PLA mandates and preferences and restore fair and open competition on federal and federally assisted construction projects that would save taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually.
More than a dozen blue state governments controlled by Democrat trifectas require or encourage the use of PLAs on taxpayer-funded construction projects, in the face of declining construction union membership across America. Recently, governors of Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Hawaii and Maryland have come under fire for issuing EOs pushing PLAs on state and state-assisted construction projects that are similar to Biden’s pro-PLA policies.
ABC celebrated a Jan. 19 decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that ruled in favor of experienced ABC members and other federal contractors who filed 12 bid protests against three federal agencies that mandated PLAs in solicitations for construction services as a result of Biden’s EO 14063 and related final rule.
Since the ruling, Biden’s pro-PLA policy has been eliminated from solicitations for federal contracts to build the U.S. General Services Administration’s land port of entry projects and all U.S. Department of Defense projects. However, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reinstated the Biden pro-PLA policy less than two weeks after they rescinded it.
ABC voiced strong support for the Fair and Open Competition Act (S.1064/H.R. 2126), reintroduced in the 119th Congress on March 14 by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La. This bill would eliminate government-mandated PLAs on federal and federally assisted construction projects and restore merit-based competition that encourages all qualified contractors to compete on a level playing field based on merit, experience, quality and safety in order to deliver the best projects at the best cost. Via this grassroots campaign, voters can urge their elected officials to join a record-high 91 House and 17 Senate original co-sponsors of this legislation to restore fair and open competition in government contracting.
Last summer, ABC testified before Congress in support of FOCA and highlighted harmful effects of the Biden administration’s pro PLA policies.
ABC will continue to provide ABC, the construction industry and taxpayer advocate stakeholders with insights on ABC’s fight against government-mandated PLAs.
On March 10, in a 67-32 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., voted against Chavez-DeRemer, while seventeen Democrats voted for her. The Senate floor vote to confirm her follows a Feb. 19 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing and a Feb. 27 14-9 vote to advance her nomination.
On March 11, Chavez-DeRemer was sworn in, stating in a DOL news release, “I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity to continue serving my country, and I’ll work tirelessly to help President Trump put the American Worker First. This administration has a clear mandate to renew the American Dream for hardworking men and women across the country. As a small businesswoman and the daughter of a Teamster, I will act on my experience and work with business and labor to support good-paying jobs, grow our economy, and ensure every American can enjoy a comfortable retirement.”
Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of legislative & political affairs, gave the following statement to Engineering News-Record regarding Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation.
“ABC is hopeful that we can find common ground,” said Swearingen. “All Americans––nonunion and union––deserve a labor secretary and DOL leader who will create the conditions so that every worker and job creator can choose how to achieve their career dreams and prosper in a safe and healthy environment.”
Swearingen went on to say that ABC intends to hold Chavez-DeRemer to her confirmation testimony commitments in late February to protect all workers and support right-to-work laws and secret ballot elections. ABC, which represents mostly nonunion contractors, also said it still stands “vehemently opposed to the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and all of its components.”
Prior to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Chavez-DeRemer, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace expressed concern with her previous support for the PRO Act.
Chavez-DeRemer becomes the 30th labor secretary in U.S. history, and the first to be confirmed to the role since former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh left the Biden administration in early 2023.
On March 11, in a 217-213 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1968, a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at current levels through the end of fiscal year 2025. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to vote against the measure, while Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, was the only Democrat to vote in favor.
Passage of the CR is a major win for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Republicans, who navigated a slim GOP majority to get the bill across the finish line in the House as the March 14 government funding deadline rapidly approaches. Ahead of the vote, President Donald Trump called on House Republicans to “remain united” with “no dissent,” and went as far as making personal phone calls to reluctant members.
The measure now faces its final test in the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate, where it needs to reach the 60-vote threshold to overcome the Senate filibuster. “It’s going to be up to Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats to do the right thing,” Johnson said ahead of the vote. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., must poach at least seven Democrats, assuming all of his Republican colleagues vote for the measure. The chamber will need to move quickly in order to get the bill to President Trump’s desk and avoid a funding lapse on Saturday.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can’t make its mind up about application of the Biden administration’s controversial policy requiring project labor agreements on solicitations for federal construction contracts of $35 million or more.
Less than two weeks after restoring merit-based competition for taxpayer-funded contracts to build VA hospitals, outpatient facilities, office buildings, national cemeteries and other construction projects, the VA has reversed course again.
The VA’s Feb. 13 FAR Class Deviation Memo—released to the public on Feb. 20—cites the change in policy on account of a January decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that ruled in favor of experienced ABC members and other federal contractors who filed 12 bid protests against three federal agencies that mandated PLAs in solicitations for construction services.
According to the VA’s rescinded memo:
“The Court found that the agencies’ 2024 implementation of E.O. 14063, specifically, the functionality of the mandate as applied to the individual contracts in this case stifles competition and violates the statutory directive that agencies must promote ‘full and open competition’ in federal procurements unless a statutory justification is properly invoked. No injunction relief was included in the order.
“Due to the Court of Federal Claims decision, effective immediately, contracting officers shall not use project labor agreements for large-scale construction projects, implemented at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 22.5 and 36.104(c). The FAR clauses at FAR 52.222-33, Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement, and FAR 52.222-34, Project Labor Agreement, shall not be enforced in any solicitation.”
However, the VA rescinded this memo within two weeks of its issuance and restored PLA mandates. A VA bid solicitation for design-build services to replace the seismically deficient Animal Research Buildings 47 and 104 at Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills, California, reinstated a previously revoked PLA on March 3.
“The VA’s latest posture towards PLA mandates makes little sense in the face of recent legal decisions and efforts by other federal agencies to eliminate inflationary and anti-competitive PLA mandate policies,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. “ABC will continue to push to make fair and open competition a reality governmentwide and will get to the bottom of the VA’s flip-flop.”
On Feb. 19, ABC celebrated a new policy by the U.S. General Services Administration that will restore merit-based competition for contracts to build land port of entry projects procured by the GSA.
“The GSA’s new policy eliminates former President Joe Biden’s controversial rule requiring anti-competitive, inflationary, union-favoring project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more––but only for GSA solicitations to build critical land port of entry projects,” said Brubeck in an Engineering News-Record article.
“Requiring a PLA on LPOE projects would not advance the Federal Government’s interests in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement because the need for LPOE modernizations is of an unusual and compelling urgency and requiring a PLA would be impracticable,” wrote GSA Senior Procurement Executive Chair Jeff Koses in the PLA exception memo. “A current administration priority is to remedy the emergency on the United States borders.”
Koses is a member of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council that issued a rule effective Jan. 22, 2024, implementing Biden’s Executive Order 14063 mandating PLAs on large-scale federal construction projects of $35 million or more.
The abrupt policy changes from the GSA and the VA follow a Pentagon class deviation memo––celebrated by ABC––announcing that the U.S. Department of Defense has halted PLA mandates on all military construction projects.
Of note, the DOD and the VA issued class deviation memos. In contrast, the GSA issued a PLA exception waiver from its senior procurement executive consistent with the Biden FAR rule, which appears to be the first PLA exception waiver ever granted by a federal agency under the Biden administration’s PLA mandate policy.
All other federal civilian agencies, including the remainder of the GSA’s portfolio, are still subject to Biden’s harmful pro-PLA rule.
Almost 80% of federal construction contracts of $35 million or more were awarded by the DOD, VA and GSA’s LPOE program in FY 2024, according to an ABC analysis of usaspending.gov federal agency contract awards.
“ABC will continue to use successful litigation and advocacy strategies to restore merit-based fair and open competition in federal contracting so all American workers and all qualified construction firms can compete on a level playing field to build and rebuild America,” said Brubeck. “While we are pleased with the recent policy changes at the DOD and GSA, ABC will continue to urge adoption of pro-taxpayer policies governmentwide permanently.”
On Jan. 9, ABC and 24 other construction and business groups in the Build America Local coalition sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting an executive order that would eliminate the Biden PLA mandate and restore fair and open competition on federal and federally assisted construction projects, which would save taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually.
Through ABC’s grassroots campaign, ABC members can urge Congress and President Trump to stop harmful government-mandated PLAs on federal and federally assisted construction projects via the Fair and Open Competition Act, which will soon be introduced in the 119th Congress.
Non-ABC stakeholders can help by watching this video and contacting their lawmakers via the BuildAmericaLocal.com coalition website.
The Biden government-mandated PLA policy has been widely criticized by the construction industry, taxpayer watchdogs and lawmakers for needlessly inflating construction costs, delaying projects and effectively steering contracts to unionized firms and union labor at the expense of taxpayers and federal laws requiring fair and open competition.
“ABC has testified before Congress that, when mandated by government, PLAs increase construction costs by an estimated 12% to 20%, reduce competition from qualified contractors and their employees, steal money from the paychecks of token nonunion workers permitted on PLA projects and exacerbate the construction industry’s worker shortage,” said Brubeck. “Typical PLA mandates discourage competition from some of the best bidders and 9 out of 10 U.S. construction workers by forcing contractors to sign special union collective bargaining agreements, hire workers from union halls and apprenticeship programs and accept compulsory union representation on behalf of any members of their existing workforces. This exposes those workers to union wage theft of up to 34% of their compensation unless they join a union and vest in union benefits plans.”
On March 28, 2024, ABC and its Florida First Coast chapter filed suit in federal court to block Biden’s PLA final rule. The case is fully briefed and plaintiffs are awaiting a decision on the overall case and a ruling on the motion for preliminary injunction filed in April.
On March 5, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Bobby Scott reintroduced the ABC-opposed PRO Act in the 119th Congress.
ABC issued a statement opposing the PRO Act. The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace also sent a letter and statement to the Hill urging members Congress to oppose the bill.
This radical legislation includes dozens of provisions that would violate workers’ free choice and privacy rights, force unions on employees who have voted against such representation, cost millions of American jobs, threaten vital supply chains and greatly hinder our economy. The bill boosts union membership at the expense of American workers and small businesses.
Of the many radical provisions in the PRO Act, the bill includes provisions that:
The reintroduction of this legislation represents the latest attempt to implement labor law policies that have previously been rejected by the judicial system, opposed on a bipartisan basis in Congress and/or withdrawn by the agencies that prior administrations tried to use to implement the policies unilaterally. All of these entities realized those policies violated the law, exceeded the authority granted to the implementing agencies or would cause serious damage to the American workplace.
Immigration Actions Under the Trump Administration and Employer Resources
Below is an overview of President Donald Trump's executive orders on immigration as well as recent administration actions on Temporary Protected Status.
Executive Orders
On Jan. 20, President Trump issued a flurry of executive orders related to immigration action items.
ABC recommends every contractor take all precautions in the hiring process to verify each potential employee is eligible to work legally in the United States, including using the E-Verify system.
ABC’s goal is to work with the administration and Congress to create a market-based merit visa system that allows people who want to contribute to society and work legally in the construction industry to do so. There is no place in our country for lawbreakers here to cause harm, and ABC opposes violence, coercion and intimidation of every kind. ABC supports the portion of the administration’s immigration strategy that focuses on lawbreakers.
Following the laws of supply and demand, mass deportations could constrain the availability of labor, which could stifle the ability of the industry to build the construction projects demanded by the marketplace. In other words, the supply of labor may not meet the demand, which could drive up costs, or consumer demand would adjust. And if the worker supply is constrained, employers would most likely adjust their employee value proposition to enhance their position in the marketplace. This is an important reason why we need a market-based merit visa system.
Read additional resources on recent immigration actions provided by ABC general counsel Littler Mendelson:
Temporary Protected Status
Venezuela
On Feb. 1, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem terminated Temporary Protected Status under the 2023 designation for Venezuela. TPS and related benefits associated with the 2023 designation will end on April 7, 2025. It is estimated that 348,202 Venezuelans will be impacted by the termination.
According to the Federal Register Notice:
“This termination is effective April 7, 2025. After April 7, 2025, nationals of Venezuela (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) who have been granted TPS under the 2023 Venezuela designation will no longer have TPS. This termination determination does not apply to the 2021 designation of Venezuela for TPS, which remains in effect until September 10, 2025, or to individuals who are registered for TPS under the 2021 designation.”
Haiti
On Feb. 20, Secretary Noem partially vacated the July 1, 2024, notice that extended and redesignated Haiti for TPS. The announcement amends the period of extension and redesignation of Haiti for TPS from 18 months to 12 months, with a new end date of Aug. 3, 2025, and makes a corresponding change to the initial registration period for new applicants under the redesignation, which will now remain in effect through Aug. 3, 2025. For additional information, please see the Federal Register Notice.
ABC believes in protections for TPS recipients, who have been members of the construction industry workforce for years. Currently, it is estimated that between 70,000 and 100,000 individuals work in the construction industry through both TPS and DACA.
ABC members can visit the TPS webpage for status alerts.
ABC members are encouraged to reach out to counsel with any questions regarding the recent immigration actions.
On March 4, Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, Corey Booker, D-N.J., Gray Peters, D-Mich., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced the Faster Labor Contracts Act.
ABC and the ABC-led Coalition Democratic Workplace released statements opposing the bill.
The Fast Labor Contracts Act is a part of Sen. Josh Hawley’s Pro-Worker Framework for the 119th Congress, a labor policy legislative framework that includes sections of the ABC-opposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act and Warehouse Worker Protection Act, including language on ambush elections and banning so-called captive audience meetings. ABC opposes this framework, joining with 42 other members of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace in a letter and with the Coalition for Workplace Safety in a second letter urging the U.S. Senate to reject it.
ABC believes that the Faster Labor Contracts Act, which will lead to the federal government controlling private sector contracts, is the worst provision of the framework. The bill would require employers to finalize negotiations with newly elected unions or face “binding interest arbitration of first contracts.” In practice, this means that a federal government bureaucrat will dictate exactly what is included in the first contract. Wages, benefits, safety procedures, paid time-off questions and every other aspect of workplace policy for a newly organized workplace will be imposed by the federal government’s designee. This government edict “shall be binding upon the parties for a period of two years.”
This legislation, which was previously included in both the ABC-opposed PRO Act and Employee Free Choice Act, would violate the U.S. Constitution. Mandatory arbitration would deprive both employers and employees of property rights without the requisite due-process safeguards. The arbitrator could force an employer already working on thin profit margins to spend thousands of dollars to overhaul their facilities, change subcontractors or alter promotion policies without any judicial oversight. Similarly, the arbitrator could cut the wages of employees without any consideration of legal fairness. Simply put, this bill could mandate a lose-lose contract on both the employer and the employees.
On Feb. 25, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed H. Con. Res. 14, the Republican budget resolution, with a 217-215 vote. The resolution directs congressional committees to identify significant reductions in spending to account for the extension of tax cuts in the ABC-supported Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, other tax relief measures and energy and national security provisions. The House resolution also included several ABC-supported nonbinding policy statements.
ABC supported the resolution ahead of the vote, saying: “Associated Builders and Contractors appreciates Chairman Arrington and House leadership for their efforts on the Budget Resolution. This legislation is a crucial first step toward extending key tax provisions. Provisions to make permanent the Section 199A deduction, lower rates on business income, higher estate tax thresholds and increased deductions for business equipment and R&E are critical to the continued success of our members. All these provisions have either expired or are slated to sunset at the end of the year. Without the extension of these provisions, small construction firms will face a significant financial burden, paying higher taxes on a larger share of their earnings starting next year. ABC strongly urges Congress to take action and prevent small businesses from being hit with a devastating tax increase.”
The House budget resolution's passage initiates the reconciliation process, which enables Republicans to advance their fiscal agenda without the threat of a filibuster in the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to consider its distinctly different committee-passed budget resolution in the coming weeks.
If the Senate approves its own resolution, both chambers would need to reconcile differences through a conference committee, producing a final resolution that, if passed, would unlock the budget reconciliation process. With Democrats all but certain to oppose the resolution unanimously, Republicans will need near-total unity to pass it with a simple majority.
In the latest development in the ongoing Corporate Transparency Act debate, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced on Feb. 27 that it will cease enforcement of the CTA while it crafts a new set of regulations that will ultimately narrow the scope of the reporting regime. The release comes as the CTA’s reporting requirements were scheduled to take effect once again beginning March 21.
FinCEN announced that it “will not issue any fines or penalties or take any other enforcement actions against any companies based on any failure to file or update beneficial ownership information reports pursuant to the CTA by the current deadlines. No fines or penalties will be issued, and no enforcement actions will be taken, until a forthcoming interim final rule becomes effective and the new relevant due dates in the interim final rule have passed. This announcement continues Treasury’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden on businesses, as well as prioritizing under the CTA reporting of beneficial ownership information for those entities that pose the most significant law enforcement and national security risks.”
Additionally, FinCEN also made clear that a new proposed rule will be unveiled next month and will likely include significant changes to the existing reporting regime: “No later than March 21, 2025, FinCEN intends to issue an interim final rule that extends BOI reporting deadlines, recognizing the need to provide new guidance and clarity as quickly as possible, while ensuring that BOI that is highly useful to important national security, intelligence, and law enforcement activities is reported.”
FinCEN also intends to solicit public comment on potential revisions to existing BOI reporting requirements. FinCEN will consider those comments as part of a notice of proposed rulemaking anticipated to be issued later this year to minimize burden on small businesses while ensuring that BOI is highly useful to important national security, intelligence, and law enforcement activities, as well to determine what, if any, modifications to the deadlines referenced here should be considered.
Earlier this month, ABC joined more than 100 trade associations to request relief from the CTA. ABC will continue to monitor the department’s actions regarding the CTA.