Hey Fairfax County
Don’t let your tax dollars continue to pay for costly PLAs.
Fairfax County used a PLA on the Accotink Pump Station - one of the largest infrastructure projects in the county - and the results were clear: fewer bidders, higher costs, and an out-of-state contractor. County leaders are now signaling broader PLA expansion, putting Fairfax taxpayers on the hook for even more.
PLAs Increase Project Costs, Which Means Higher Taxes.
PLAs severely limit bid competition on taxpayer funded projects. Numerous studies have found that this artificially limited competition ads between 12 and 20 percent to the cost of public construction projects. These avoidable and unnecessary costs mean one thing - higher taxes!
PLAs Put Out-of-State Union Bosses First and Fairfax Workers Last
PLAs put out-of-state union bosses in charge of who gets to work on Fairfax construction projects. 95% of Virginian construction workers have chosen not to join a union. PLAs allow unions to discriminate against Virginia workers in favor of out-of-state workers with seniority in the union.
PLA Costs Crowd Out Other Important Infrastructure Projects
The added costs of PLAs place additional strain on public budgets, crowding out other important projects. This means you receive fewer public works. For example, the County might be able to build 4 new schools without a PLA, but only two schools with a PLA.
PLAs Send Fairfax Tax Dollars Out-of-State
PLAs send Fairfax tax dollars to out-of-state construction firms that have relationships with construction unions. What’s worse, local firms are excluded from participating on Fairfax construction projects that are funded by their own tax dollars.
PLAs Increase the Risk of Delays and Cost Overruns
PLAs add delay-inducing complexity and bureaucracy to construction projects, further increasing the likelihood of cost overruns. PLAs exist only when politicians mandate them as payback for political support. They are not a normal part of the construction process and, as such, impede the ability of most contractors to efficiently and effectively deliver taxpayer-funded infrastructure.
PLAs Discriminate Against Minority - and Woman -Owned Firms
PLAs exclude nearly all small, minority-, and woman-owned construction firms. This is why the National Black Chamber of Commerce has been an outspoken critic of mandatory PLAs.
Did you know?
Fairfax Taxpayers Paid the Price on Accotink - and That’s Just the Start
In 2021, Fairfax County supervisors imposed Virginia’s first local-government Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on the Accotink Wastewater Pump Station rehabilitation. Instead of allowing open competition, the PLA restricted bidders and drove up costs-resulting in only two bids and awarding the project to a New Jersey contractor because most Virginia firms were shut out.
The consequences were immediate: higher project costs and fewer opportunities for local workers. Fairfax’s own estimates for the project climbed by more than $10 million between 2021 and 2024, reinforcing what analysis has long shown - PLAs inflate costs and reduce competition.
According to our wage analysis report across major construction trades in Northern Virginia, workers under a PLA consistently take home less pay than they earn under existing prevailing wage law, due to mandatory union deductions and payments that do not accrue to workers.
National research shows the same trend. The RAND Corporation found that PLA mandates increase construction costs by roughly 21% and delay timelines by 27%, largely due to reduced bidder participation and added administrative requirements—effects Fairfax residents are now seeing on Accotink.
Fairfax taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the consequences of policies that make public projects more expensive and push work out of the hands of Virginia companies.
“Only those who want higher costs, fewer local jobs, and funds diverted from vital community needs could call this a ‘historic milestone.’”
— Fairfax County Times Op-Ed
What’s Behind the Push for PLAs in Fairfax County?
It’s not complicated. Influential labor union bosses spend big money in Fairfax’s local elections. The current Fairfax Board of Supervisors has taken over $160,000 in campaign donations from union bosses that are pressuring them to mandate PLAs on Fairfax projects, costing you more to live in the County.
$247,655
Jeffrey McKay (D)
Chairman
$247,655 from labor unions
15.7% of of all contributions
40% from out-of-state
$51,050
Kathy Smith (D)
Vice Chair - Sully District
$51,050 from labor unions
9.2% of of all contributions
37% from out-of-state
$47,000
Andres Jimenez (D)
Mason District
$47,000 from labor unions
13.8% of of all contributions
64.5% from out-of-state
$45,057
Rodney Lusk (D)
Franconia District
$45,057 from labor unions
10.7% of of all contributions
38% from out-of-state
$42,365
Walter Alcorn (D)
Hunter Mill District
$42,365 from labor unions
12.1% of of all contributions
49.3% from out-of-state
$23,750
$42,640
Dalia Palchik (D)
Providence District
$42,640 from labor unions
10.8% of of all contributions
40% from out-of-state
$38,600
Daniel Storck (D)
Mount Vernon District
$38,600 from labor unions
10.5% of of all contributions
23.6% from out-of-state
$10,000
Rachna Heizer (D)
Braddock District
$10,000 from labor unions
6.1% of of all contributions
0% from out-of-state
James Bierman Jr. (D)
Mount Vernon District
$23,750 from labor unions
7.6% of of all contributions
58% from out-of-state
$2,952
Pat Herrity (R)
Springfield District
$2,952 from labor unions
0.001% of of all contributions
0% from out-of-state