Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) establish labor standards for specific projects. These agreements can maximize the efficiency and economic impact of projects by including bans on work stoppages or labor disruptions alongside requirements that ensure a project employs skilled local workers, utilizes apprentices, offers job opportunities to under-represented groups, and ensures workers earn market competitive wages and benefits.

More widely utilized on large projects in the private sector, research shows that that PLAs can help contractors control construction costs—and may even reduce them—by delivering superior productivity and safety outcomes, and reducing the risk of costly workforce disruptions or inferior craftmanship.