Inactive

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District is soliciting comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of Project Labor Agreements (PLA) on the following large scale c... The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District is soliciting comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of Project Labor Agreements (PLA) on the following large scale construction project (exceeding $35 million) within the State of Hawaii: FY23 MILCON Secure Integration Support Lab Maui Project Description: The purpose of this project is to construct a 55,634 square feet office, supercomputing and laboratory complex, complete with necessary features such as perimeter fence, controlled entry point, secured area, and modern office building features. The project will be compliant with current DoD and Air Force Anti-Terrorism (AT) and Force Protection (FP) requirements. This facility would be built to meet Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) mission requirements, currently performed in multiple facilities in Maui, Hawaii, including 550 Lipoa Pkwy facility, the Remote Maui Experimental (RME) site, Kahului Warehouse and a remote logistics space in a nearby city. Project Magnitude is $50M - $100M A PLA is defined as 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). Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 22.503 Policy provides that: (a) PLAs are a tool that agencies may use to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement. Pursuant to Executive Order 13502, agencies are encouraged to consider requiring the use of PLAs in connection with large-scale construction projects. (b) An agency may, if appropriate, require that every contractor and subcontractor engaged in construction on the project agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more labor organizations if the agency decides that the use of PLAs will-- (1) Advance the Federal Governments interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement, producing labor-management stability, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters; and (2) Be consistent with law. (Refer also to FAR 52.222-33 Notice of Requirement for PLA and FAR 52.222-34 PLA). (c) Agencies may also consider the following factors in deciding whether the use of a PLA is appropriate for the construction project (1) The project will require multiple construction contractors and/or subcontractors employing workers in multiple crafts or trades. (2) There is a shortage of skilled labor in the region in which the construction project will be sited. (3) Completion of the project will require an extended period of time. (4) PLAs have been used on comparable projects undertaken by Federal, State, municipal, or private entities in the geographic area of the project. (5) A PLA will promote the agency's long term program interests, such as facilitating the training of a skilled workforce to meet the agency's future construction needs. (6) Any other factors that the agency decides are appropriate. Additional Factors for Consideration: (1) The unique and compelling schedule requirements of a particular project. In this regard, projects that are tied to court-imposed deadlines or mission-critical schedules may also provide a basis for a PLA requirement. (2) Skilled labor shortages might be anticipated for projects located in a remote location where a contractor may encounter difficulties in recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce for an extended period. (3) Skilled labor shortages may also result where there may be competition within the contractor community for skilled labor arising from concurrent large-scale construction contracts in the project vicinity. In consideration of the above factors, and any others which may be deemed appropriate, the construction community is invited to comment on the use of PLAs for this requirement. Of particular interest to the Government are responses to the following questions and tables: 1. Do you have knowledge that a PLA has been used in the local area on projects of this kind? If so, please provide supporting documentation? 2. Are you aware of skilled labor shortages in the area for those crafts that will be needed to complete the referenced project? If so please elaborate and provide supporting documentation where possible. 3. Are you aware of time sensitive issues/scheduling requirements that would impact the rate at which the referenced project should be completed? If so, please elaborate and provide supporting documentation where possible. 4. Identify specific reasons why or how you believe a PLA would advance the Federal Governments interest in achieving economy and efficiency in federal procurement. 5. Identify specific reasons why you do not believe a PLA would advance the Federal Governments interest in achieving economy and efficiency in federal procurement. 6. Should a PLA be implemented prior to contract award or after contract award? Please elaborate and provide supporting documentation to support your position. 7. Please identify any additional information you believe should be considered on the use of a PLA on the referenced project. 8. Please identify any additional information you believe should be considered on the non-use of a PLA on the referenced project. Please include information on projects completed in the last 2-5 years - a. Project Name / Location b. Detailed Project Description c. Initial Cost Est. / Actual final cost d. Was the project completed on-time? e. Number of craft trades present on the project f. Was a PLA used? (Y/N) g. Were there any challenges experienced during project? (delays, investigations, health and safety issues, labor shortages, management / organizational issues, etc.) Please provide your project specific comments via e-mail to Colin Waki, at colin.k.waki@usace.army.mil and Kent Tamai, at kent.a.tamai@usace.army.mil, no later than December 16, 2022 at 2:00 p.m., Hawaii Standard Time. This is NOT a Request for Proposal and does not constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this labor market survey will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey.