President Obama Issues Pro-Labor Executive Order No. 4

The President signed a new executive order authorizing "project labor agreements" in certain "large scale" federal construction contracts. The order, signed Feb. 6, 2009, takes effect immediately. Basically, the order authorizes contracting agencies to require private-sector contractors to sign on to a union contract for the life of the project:

The term "project labor agreement" as used in this order means a pre-hire
collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project and is an agreement described in 29 U.S.C. 158(f).

The order applies only to construction projects worth more than $25 million. You can view it here.

President Obama Issues Three Pro-Labor Executive Orders

The President issued three "executive orders" affecting certain federal contractors:

1. Requires contractors to post a poster explaining employees' rights to join or not join unions. View here.

2. Denies federal funds to pay for contractors' activities related to "persuading" employees to join or not join unions. View here.

3. Requires contractors to retain predecessor companies' qualified employees rather than laying them off and hiring their own workers. View here.