In the Matter of New York State Chapter, Inc., Associated General Contractors of America v. New York State Thruway…

Summary

The Court held that a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is permissible for a public construction project when the agency demonstrates that the PLA advances the interests underlying New York’s competitive bidding statutes; the Thruway Authority satisfied this burden and its PLA was upheld. Conversely, the Dormitory Authority failed to show such justification, so its PLA was invalidated. A dissent argued that both PLAs should be prohibited absent explicit legislative authorization.