Dive Brief:

• Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said during a Teleforum Monday afternoon with construction industry and other business association groups that he had "not heard of" project labor agreements, or PLAs, but after a member of the Associated General Contractors of America explained the issue, said, "I oppose that ...  I'll have to learn more about it."
• The Teleforum was a part of a series in which the coalition — including the AGC, Associated Builders and Contractors, Business-Industry Political Action Committee, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Business and National Retail Federation — invited candidates from both parties to address business concerns.
• During the Teleforum, Bush touted his positions of a lower corporate tax rate, decreased regulation, and more regulatory power in the hands of the states.

Dive Insight:

Project labor agreements have been a divisive issue in the construction industry, as opponents, such as the ABC, claim that PLAs restrict competition and raise costs, particularly because a common requirement of PLAs mandates that contractors and employees must pay into union benefit plans and abide by union work rules.

But proponents of PLAs claim they are a way of controlling costs and quality on the job, and they reject the idea that they place an undue burden on non-union contractors and employees.

As a result of the controversy, 23 states — and 20 since President Barack Obama's 2009 Executive Order 13502 promoting the use of PLAs for large-scale federally funded projects — have issued "government neutrality in contracting" laws restricting government-mandated PLAs . However, PLAs still have a stronghold in states with a high union presence like California, New York and New Jersey.

Bush was the second candidate to accept the group's invitation to participate in a forum with member groups. Sen. Marco Rubio already spoke with the group, and Sen. Ted Cruz will speak in December. Most construction industry associations have not yet officially endorsed a presidential candidate, with the exception of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, which has endorsed Hillary Clinton.