Executive Order  No. 641: Using Project Labor Agreements to Promote Successful Delivery of Major Projects

WHEREAS, construction programs undertaken by the Commonwealth require major financial expenditures to fund projects critical to the public interest, including those for infrastructure and other essential government operations;

WHEREAS, the Healey-Driscoll administration is committed to procuring major construction projects in a manner that promotes access and opportunity for workers and the timely completion of projects;

WHEREAS, the Healey-Driscoll administration promotes policies that create high quality jobs and careers with competitive and sustaining wages and benefits, and that increase opportunities for access to those jobs for all, including jobs in the skilled trades and the construction industry;

WHEREAS, Massachusetts residents come from many different backgrounds, and building a high-performance workforce requires creating and cultivating a strong workforce that utilizes the talents and experiences of all of its employees;

WHEREAS, training the next generation of the Commonwealth’s workforce by encouraging the use of state-registered apprenticeship programs in the Massachusetts construction industry will help promote critically-needed workforce development in construction, and expand opportunities for all individuals to develop skills and compete for jobs in a rapidly-changing economy;

WHEREAS, the Healey-Driscoll administration is committed to ensuring that public works projects are executed in a manner that promotes the safe, timely delivery of these projects;

WHEREAS, large-scale construction projects require careful coordination to recruit and maintain a steady supply of labor, including because construction is a highly skilled and labor-intensive industry, because projects lack a permanent workforce, because projects involve multiple employers, and because projects involve a large number of trades and occupations;

WHEREAS, failure to arrange for a steady supply of labor can result in project delays, cost overruns, inferior quality, safety risks to workers and the public, and contract and labor disputes, any of which can disrupt an entire project;

WHEREAS, Project Labor Agreements are often effective in preventing labor- and employment-related disputes because they provide structure and stability to large-scale public works projects;

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has a strong interest in preventing illegal and unfair practices on public works projects, including wage theft, worker misclassification, and tax avoidance;

WHEREAS, Project Labor Agreements can facilitate the timely and efficient completion of large-scale public works projects by making available a ready, reliable, and adequate supply of highly-trained and skilled craft workers, enabling more accurate determination of project labor costs at the outset, establishing working conditions for the duration of the project, providing a negotiated commitment as a legally enforceable means of ensuring labor stability, and avoiding disruptions such as strikes, lockouts, or slowdowns over the life of the project;

WHEREAS, in appropriate circumstances, the use of Project Labor Agreements benefits the interests of the Commonwealth from a cost-effectiveness, efficiency, quality, health, safety, access, opportunity, and timeliness standpoint;

WHEREAS, pursuant to section 39M of chapter 30 of the General Laws, public agencies are required to award public works contracts to bidders who can certify that they are able to furnish labor that can work in harmony with all other elements of labor employed or to be employed in the work;

WHEREAS, section 283 of chapter 238 of the acts of 2024 authorizes the use of Project Labor Agreements on public works projects where they are found to be in the best interests of the Commonwealth, public agency, or municipality; and

WHEREAS, Project Labor Agreements can have significant potential economic and equitable benefit to the Commonwealth when they are used on large-scale, complex construction projects that will extend for a substantial period, and involve a substantial number of contractors, subcontractors, trades, craft workers, and employment opportunities;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Maura T. Healey, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, Part 2, c. 2, § I, Art. I, do hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Policy

It is the policy of the Commonwealth to promote the use of Project Labor Agreements by Executive Department agencies for public works projects when doing so is in the best interests of the Commonwealth or Executive Department agency.  

Section 2. Definitions

As used in this Executive Order:

1. “Labor organization” means a labor organization as defined in 29 U.S.C. 152(5) of which building and construction employees are members, as described in 29 U.S.C. 158(f).
2. “Public Work” means the construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, or repair of any public buildings or public works.
3.  “Executive Department agency” means any executive office of the Commonwealth, as defined by section 2 of chapter 6A of the General Laws, and any component of the Commonwealth within or reporting to such executive office.
4. “Project Labor Agreement” means a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that is executed by one or more contractors with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for all contractors, subcontractors, and craft labor employees performing work on a specific construction project, including terms and conditions prioritizing access and opportunity on the project.

Section 3. Required Review

1. Prior to issuing a request for proposals or bids in connection with Public Work in which the estimated construction costs exceed $35 million, the Executive Department agency shall conduct a review of the project to determine whether the use of a Project Labor Agreement is in the best interest of the Commonwealth or agency.
2. In making such a determination, the Executive Department agency shall consider, consistent with section 283 of chapter 238 of the acts of 2024, the effects a Project Labor Agreement would have on:
   1. construction efficiency, cost, and direct and indirect economic benefits to the Executive Department agency;
   2. the availability of a sufficient supply of skilled, qualified workers to complete the project;
   3. the timing of, and the prevention of delays or disruptions to, the construction process;
   4. the safety and quality of the public construction project;
   5. the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs and workforce development in the construction industry; and
   6. the promotion of employment and training opportunities for women, minority workers, and veterans.
3. In making such a determination, and without limitation, the Executive Department agency shall further:
4. review the major characteristics of the project, including estimated budget, scope, complexity, proposed schedule, site conditions, and the size and nature of the construction workforce required, including the number of craft labor personnel required for each specific trade or occupation;
5. consider that prevailing wage rates required on public works projects pursuant to sections 27 through 27D of chapter 149 of the General Laws are set based on collective bargaining agreements applicable to the location of the public works project;
6. ensure full compliance with section 39M of chapter 30 of the General Laws, which requires that bidders possess sufficient capabilities, including being able to certify that they can furnish labor that can work in harmony with all other elements of labor employed or to be employed in the work; and
7. consider whether the use of a Project Labor Agreement will serve the best interests of the Commonwealth by promoting the following project goals:
   1. ensuring a reliable, sufficient supply of qualified craft labor personnel for all trades and occupations needed for the project;
      1. promoting craft labor productivity to maximize cost-efficiency, quality, safety, and timely project delivery;
      2. guaranteeing labor harmony among project contractors, subcontractors, and workers to promote project stability and prevent disruptions or delays due to labor disputes;
      3. promoting the growth and expansion of construction apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs to ensure workforce development critically needed to meet craft labor supply challenges of future projects; and
      4. facilitating the use of proactive labor-management cooperation initiatives to advance project goals, including increasing opportunities for disadvantaged populations.
8. If, and only if, the Executive Department agency makes a determination that the best interests of the Commonwealth or Executive Department agency would be furthered, it shall require the use of a Project Labor Agreement on that project and shall require every contractor or subcontractor engaged on the project to agree to become a party to that Project Labor Agreement, except where exclusions are permitted by statute or regulation.  The Executive Department agency shall maintain, in its procurement files, a written record signed by the Secretary or Chief Executive documenting the process it used and the determinations it reached pursuant to this section.

Section 4. Provisions of Project Labor Agreements

Any Project Labor Agreement reached pursuant to this Order shall, without limitation:

1. bind all contractors and subcontractors on the project, regardless of tier, through the inclusion of appropriate specifications in all relevant solicitation provisions and contract documents and by requiring execution of the Project Labor Agreement as a contractual requirement and material term of construction contracts applicable to the project;
2. allow all contractors and subcontractors on the project to compete for contracts and subcontracts without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to collective bargaining agreements;
3. contain guarantees against strikes, lockouts, or similar job disruptions;
4. set forth effective, prompt, and binding procedures for resolving labor disputes arising during the term of the Project Labor Agreement;
5. provide other mechanisms for labor-management cooperation on matters of shared interest and concern, including productivity, quality of work, safety, and health;
6. establish terms and conditions of employment, including uniform project schedules, wage and benefit rates, and safety policies for all project contractors and subcontractors and the entire construction workforce, which shall consist of all hourly paid craft labor personnel;
7. require all contractors and subcontractors on the project to certify that all hourly craft labor employees deployed to the project have completed at least a 10-hour training course in construction safety and health approved by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration prior to performing work on the project;
8. incorporate provisions to promote the use of veteran, women, and minority contractors and subcontractors on the project, and create skill training and employment opportunities for veteran, women, and minority workers, and in accordance with applicable Massachusetts law through all appropriate measures, which may include pre-apprenticeship training programs that facilitate access to registered apprenticeship programs;
9. consistent with Executive Order No. 638, require contractors and subcontractors to collect, and report at appropriate intervals, data on worker demographics, consistent with but not limited to the requirements of section 6 of chapter 7C of the General Laws and section 44A of chapter 149 of the General Laws, which may include race, gender, zip code, and other workforce characteristics;
10. include the establishment of participation goals for minority and women business enterprises consistent with section 6 of chapter 7C of the General Laws;
11. require that all contractors and subcontractors maintain a respectful worksite that is free of all forms of harassment, including sexual harassment and bullying, and implement onsite respectful workplace training. All onsite employees, including supervisory and management, journey-level craft persons, and apprentices, shall receive such respectful workplace training as part of their orientation processes; and
12. fully conform to all statutes, regulations, Executive Orders, and other applicable guidance.

Nothing in this Order shall prevent an Executive Department agency from utilizing a determination for a Project Labor Agreement for multiple buildings or public works under an integrated construction program.

Section 5.  Other public entities, including independent agencies and authorities, constitutional offices, and municipalities, are encouraged to conform to the terms of this Executive Order.

Section 6.  Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed to require action inconsistent with any applicable state or federal law.

Section 7.  This Executive Order shall take effect immediately and shall continue in effect until amended, superseded, or revoked by subsequent Executive Order.  This Executive Order shall apply only to projects that have not been procured as of the date of this Executive Order.