On April 22, 2009, 51风流 CEO Steve Sandherr and 51风流 General Counsel Mike Kennedy met with senior acquisition officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discuss 51风流 concerns with the Obama Administration鈥檚 Executive Order 13502, 鈥淩elating to the Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects,鈥 which rescinded the Bush Administrations鈥 prohibition on Project Labor Agreements.听
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In a letter sent to EPA on March 3, 2009, 51风流 noted that the order does not mandate PLAs, rather it merely encourages agencies to consider project labor agreements on a case-by-case basis for projects exceeding $25 million in total cost to the federal government.听 51风流 has outlined numerous concerns with any government mandates that would serve as the functional equivalent of 鈥渦nion only鈥 policies.
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In the meeting, EPA acknowledged that it does not directly contract a substantial amount of construction and is not currently exploring the use of PLAs either for its directly procured federal programs such as the Superfund hazardous waste remediation program or in federally-assisted construction programs, such as the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs. EPA officials also indicated that they are waiting for further guidance from the Office of Management and Budget on FAR guidance that will accompany the Executive Order before they make any additional determinations.
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51风流 will discuss this topic further at the 2009 Federal Contractors Conference during the Federal Owners Advisory Council roundtable听discussion.听 This event features discussions on federal contracting topics with 51风流 leaders and representatives from 18 federal agencies. In addition to the April 22 meeting with the EPA, 51风流 has requested one on one meetings with all federal agencies that fund construction activities.