PCCA October Government Affairs Update

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PCCA Urges President Trump to Drop OMB’s Pro-PLA Policy

On September 23, the Build America Local coalition sent a letter signed by PCCA and 25 other construction and employer groups to the White House advocating against former President Joe President Biden’s Executive Order 14063 and a related FAR regulation requiring federal construction contracts of $35 million or more to be subjected to costly and anti-competitive project labor agreements (PLAs).

On June 12, the Trump White House’s Office of Management and Budget issued a memo (M-25-29) indicating that it will continue Biden’s controversial policy mandating costly and anti-competitive PLAs on federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more, implemented by Biden’s Executive Order 14063 and a related FAR regulation.

PCCA and a coalition of construction industry stakeholders strongly oppose the Trump administration’s decision to continue PLA mandates, which discriminate against merit shop contractors who employ almost 90% of the U.S. construction workforce—those who choose not to join a union—from fairly competing to build taxpayer-funded projects.

“When mandated, PLAs also increase the cost of taxpayer-funded projects. That means a smaller border wall and fewer American energy, border security, manufacturing, infrastructure, affordable housing, military, and school construction projects,” the coalition wrote in their latest letter.

“We ask you to revoke Executive Order 14063 and reiterate your commitment to free market competition for federal and federally assisted construction contracts,” the coalition said. “In addition, the elimination of other costly Biden policies encouraging PLAs on federally assisted projects via federal agency grant programs and tax credits is a top priority of our coalition.”

In July, PCCA sent a grassroots action alert to membership asking them to contract President Trump and Vice President Vance to restore pro-taxpayer principles of merit-based competition and free enterprise in government contracting. PCCA members can still take action here.

PCCA Urges House to Oppose Mandatory Arbitration

On October 1, PCCA and 44 employer organizations led by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to the House of Representatives advising that they oppose the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA), which would impose mandatory arbitration on the private sector and allow the federal government to mandate terms of contracts between unions and companies. 

On September 16, Reps. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) introduced the FLCA (H.R. 5408) in the House, along with 12 House Republicans and 13 Democrats. The bill has been criticized as a sop to unions that will result in stripping workers and employers of their right to freely negotiate workplace conditions. 

Of note, the FLCA imposes a 10-day period for an employer and union to begin collective bargaining agreement negotiations following a representation election. It also requires that a bargaining agreement be finalized in 90 days. The consequences for not obtaining such an agreement will likely be mandatory, binding arbitration, which will allow the federal government to set the terms of private contracts and workplace rules without the input or consent from the employees, employers or unions involved in contract negotiations.

On March 26, PCCA signed on to a CDW letter of opposition to this bill introduced in the Senate (S. 844) by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), which currently has no Republican cosponsors. Hawley has come under fire from business organizations and free enterprise watchdogs for supporting pro-union policies outlined in a document called A Pro-Worker Framework for the 119th Congress, released in January 2025.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, chaired by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), announced an October 8 hearing, Labor Law Reform Part 1: Diagnosing the Issues, Exploring Current Proposals. Sen. Hawley is a member of this committee, and it is expected that many labor proposals will be discussed and debated in this hearing.

Senate HELP Committee Hearing Examines NLRB Nominees

October 1, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, chaired by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), held a full committee hearing to consider the nominations of Scott Mayer and James Murphy to be members of the National Labor Relations Board. Mayer currently serves as Chief Labor Counsel at The Boeing Corporation, and Murphy is a former career official with the National Labor Relations Board. Both are supported by PCCA and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.

The five-member NLRB has lacked a quorum of three members and has been unable to rule in hundreds of pending cases since Trump in January fired NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden.

It was the first time since the board was created in 1935 that a member had been removed.

The NLRB, which hears private-sector labor disputes and oversees union elections, will have a 2-1 Republican majority if Mayer and Murphy are confirmed. It currently has one member, Democrat David Prouty, after President Trump removed Wilcox and the expiration of Republican Marvin Kaplan's term in August.

The U.S. Supreme Court in May allowed Wilcox's removal pending the outcome of her legal challenge, which could set an important precedent on the president's ability to remove members of agencies designed to be independent from the White House.

Cassidy said during Wednesday's 90-minute hearing that Mayer and Murphy would help restore stability to the NLRB after President Biden’s appointees overturned decades of precedent and “weaponized its authority against workers.”

On July 16, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing examining the Trump administration’s nomination of Crystal Carey to be the General Counsel of the NLRB. President Trump fired the Biden administration’s NLRB GC Jennifer Abruzzo in January. In 2021, the Biden administration fired the Trump-era NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb and Robb’s replacement, Deputy General Counsel Alice Shock, in an unprecedented move.

The confirmation of Mayer, Murphy, and Robb is not yet a sure thing. Mayer in particular faced tough questions during a Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday, including from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO.), whose vote he would need to win. 

A committee vote on all three nominees has been scheduled  for October 9 at 9:30 am. 

If they advance out of committee, all nominees still require confirmation by the Senate. Their path to confirmation is uncertain, as a faction within the Republican Party—led by Hawley—appears ready to join Democratic senators in opposing any nominees in the Senate HELP Committee and possibly on the Senate floor. 

FTC Drops Defense of Noncompete Ban

In early September, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed motions with two separate appeals courts voluntarily dismissing its defense of the Biden-era regulation that banned noncompete agreements. This is not terribly surprising, as current FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson dissented from the initial promulgation of the rule, writing, “We do not have the power to issue the Final Rule … the Federal Trade Commission Act does not authorize the Commission to make substantive rules regulating private conduct.”

In April 2024, the FTC adopted a rule to ban almost all non-compete agreements nationwide. The rule faced multiple court challenges, with a federal court in Texas ruling it unlawful in August 2024. The FTC initially appealed the ruling but chose to dismiss its appeal in September 2025, effectively conceding the non-compete ban rule would not be implemented. Despite abandoning the broad ban, the FTC maintains that non-compete agreements can be unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act.

PCCA members should contact legal counsel concerning the use of non-compete agreements.

Government Shutdown May Impact PCCA Contractors

The federal government formally shut down at midnight on October 1 following Senate Democrats' decision to block a Republican proposal for a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR), which would have maintained federal funding at existing levels through November 21. The measure received a vote of 55-45, falling short of the 60 votes required to overcome the Senate filibuster. Earlier, Senate Republicans rejected Senate Democrats’ CR that included extensions of Obamacare premium subsidies and aimed to reverse significant Medicaid reductions from legislation enacted earlier this summer.

The threat of a government shutdown has been brewing since Congress left for August recess. On September 19, the U.S. House passed a CR by a 217-212 vote. The U.S. Senate subsequently blocked the measure in a 44-48 vote that fell well short of reaching the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. 

It is unclear when the shutdown will end.

Of note, three Senators, John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Angus King (I-Maine) broke with their Democratic colleagues to support the CR and avoid a shutdown in the latest Senate vote. Because Democrat Senators do not want to be the 60th and deciding vote, Senate Majority Leader Jon Thune (R-S.D.) will need roughly 10 Democrats to vote with all Republicans with the exception of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is likely a no-vote on any stop gap funding measure. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Thune are busy in the media making their policy case and attempting to woo their base and swing voters with strong arguments.

Schumer was lambasted by his left flank for allowing the government to stay funded back in March and is now under pressure not to cave to the GOP as a shutdown heads into Day 3 with no clear end in sight. 

The government shutdown is expected to cause several disruptions for private employers, including late payments on contracts, disruptions to regulatory processes, and project delays.

Ogletree Deakins’s James J. Plunkett has more details in this article, “What the Federal Government Shutdown Means for Employers.” For more information on the shutdown's implications and what employers need to consider, join the firm’s upcoming webinar, which will be promoted here.

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