Canceled: $35 Million New Hampshire Project with Project Labor Agreement (PLA)

The U.S. Department of Labor last week abruptly canceled the bid solicitation for a $35 million Job Corps Center that was to have been built in Manchester, New Hampshire. The project had a requirement that the successful bidder would be required to sign a Project Labor Agreement (PLA), essentially guaranteeing that only union labor would be used on the project.

North Branch Construction, a non-union contractor had filed a bid protest on the project with the federal General Accountability Office (GAO). The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), an association on non-union contractors, was supporting North Branch in the bid protest. Visit ABC's website to read their news release on the cancellation of the bid solicitation.

I previously reported on the bid protest in earlier blog entries. Click on the date below to read these entries that provide more background information.

• October 12, 2009 - Non-Union Contractor Challenges Federal "Project Labor Agreement" Requirement
• November 1, 2009 - A Non-Union Contractor Comments on Project Labor Agreements
  

To read a copy of the entire 64 page bid protest of North Branch Construction, click here.

The New Hampshire UnionLeader newspaper has an article providing more details on the cancellation of the bid solicitation.