List Of Exempt Steel Products Issued For 2022

On February 19, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) issued the list of machinery and equipment steel products which are exempt for calendar year 2022 under the PA Steel Products Procurement Act. The list was published in Read more

Recent Commonwealth Court Decision Affirms Core Bidding Principles

A recent decision concerning a bid protest filed on a PennDOT contract re-affirmed core principles of public bidding and bid protests on Commonwealth contracts. In Sidelines Tree Service, LLC v. Department of Transportation, the Commonwealth Court considered an appeal from a Read more

PA Supreme Court Clarifies The Meaning Of "Cost" Under the PA Steel Products Procurement Act

The PA Steel Products Procurement Act was first enacted in 1978. At its core, the Act provides that any steel products used or supplied on a public works project in Pennsylvania must be U.S. steel products. Under the Act, a product Read more

Can A Public Owner Recover Legal Fees From A Bidder Who Loses A Challenge To A Bid Rejection?

Can a public entity include in its bid instructions the right to recover its legal fees from a bidder if the bidder's bid protest lawsuit is unsuccessful? In the course of providing advice recently to a client, I came across Read more

List Of Exempt Steel Products Issued For 2020

On June 27, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) issued the list of machinery and equipment steel products which are exempt for calendar year 2020 under the PA Steel Products Procurement Act.  The list was published in Read more

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Project Labor Agreements

Federal Lawsuit Challenges Use Of PLAs On City Of Philadelphia Projects

The widespread use of Project Labor Agreements (PLA) on City of Philadelphia (City) public works projects may be headed for a swift demise.

On April 18, 2019, four union-affiliated contractors – Road-Con, Inc., Neshaminy Constructors, Inc., Loftus Construction, Inc., and PKF-Mark III – and an employee of Road-Con filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia seeking an injunction against the City’s blanket use of PLAs on City public works projects in excess of $3 million. The four contractors are signatory to collective bargaining agreements with the United Steelworkers of America and the Road-Con employee is a member of the United Steelworkers. Read more

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Posted on May 1, 2019 by Christopher I. McCabe, Esq. in Project Labor Agreements Comments Off on Federal Lawsuit Challenges Use Of PLAs On City Of Philadelphia Projects

Project Labor Agreement For Montgomery County Courthouse Project Is Likely Doomed

In late December 2018, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about lobbying by the Philadelphia Building Trades for the Montgomery County commissioners to approve a project labor agreement (PLA) for a courthouse renovation project in Norristown. The article reported as follows:

The labor group, which comprises 50 unions and is run by the politically powerful electricians union head John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty, is lobbying the Montgomery County commissioners to approve a project labor agreement for courthouse renovation in Norristown, a major part of a 10-year project whose estimated costs have increased to more than $400 million. The work includes renovating One Montgomery Plaza, constructing a new justice center, and expanding a nearby public park. A PLA, as it is known, sets standards for wages, includes local hiring requirements, and regulates how disputes are resolved. PLAs, common in the city but not in the suburbs, also require that contractors use union labor.

On January 11, 2019, in a case brought by two nonunion contractors contesting the use of a PLA on a PennDOT project, the Commonwealth Court struck down the use of PLAs on public projects, except in extraordinary circumstances. My post on that groundbreaking decision is here.

Given the breadth of the Commonwealth Court’s ruling against the use of PLAs, absent a showing of extraordinary circumstances, the use of a PLA on the Montgomery County project seems doomed from the start and is almost certain to be challenged in court if the Montgomery County Commissioners seek to use one on the project even in the face of the Commonwealth Court’s decision. For now, until there is a decision from the Supreme Court overturning the Myers and Eckman decisions (which is not a foregone conclusion), the use of PLAs on Pennsylvania public projects is at a standstill.

If you need assistance with a public contracting issue, feel free to call or email me.  I’ll be happy to assist in anyway possible.

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Posted on February 12, 2019 by Christopher I. McCabe, Esq. in Project Labor Agreements Comments Off on Project Labor Agreement For Montgomery County Courthouse Project Is Likely Doomed

Commonwealth Court Strikes Down Use Of Project Labor Agreements Except In Extraordinary Circumstances

A project labor agreement (PLA) is a “pre-hire” collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor unions that establishes the working conditions on a specific, usually public, construction project. PLAs are controversial, not least because they typically restrict nonunion contractors from using their own workforce and require them instead to hire their workforce from the local unions’ labor pool, but their previous use on public projects in Pennsylvania has been upheld. However, in a recent case brought by two nonunion contractors, the Commonwealth Court has now invalidated the use of a PLA on a public highway project as a violation of Pennsylvania’s strict competitive bidding requirements for public contracts.

In December 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) issued a bid for a highway improvement project for US Route 202 in Norristown. The bid required the winning contractor to sign a PLA with the Building and Construction Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity, which represented 11 local unions. The PLA required the winning contractor to hire their workforce through the local unions and to be bound by the local unions’ collective bargaining agreements. However, the PLA also specified that, if the winning contractor had a collective bargaining agreement with the United Steelworkers union, which was not one of the 11 local unions, then the contractor was permitted to use its own workforce.

Allan Myers, L.P. (Myers) and J.D. Eckman, Inc. (Eckman), two nonunion contractors, filed protests with PennDOT, challenging the use of the PLA. Myers and Eckman argued that the PLA was unlawful, arbitrary and discriminatory, as it disfavored nonunion contractors and unduly favored contractors affiliated with United Steelworkers. PennDOT disagreed, arguing that case law supported the use of a PLA on a public works project. The protests were denied, and Myers and Eckman then appealed to the Commonwealth Court. Read more

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Posted on January 17, 2019 by Christopher I. McCabe, Esq. in Bid Protests, Com. of Pa., Court Decisions, PennDOT, Procurement Code, Project Labor Agreements Comments Off on Commonwealth Court Strikes Down Use Of Project Labor Agreements Except In Extraordinary Circumstances
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