Department of Defense Archives

Project labor agreements, or PLAs, represent one of the greatest achievements of the unionized construction industry, benefiting taxpayers, contractors, union members AND nonunion workers alike. PLAs have been lifting working families into the middle class for generations — extending union-won, family-sustaining pay and benefits to local communities while bringing complex jobs to completion on time (and saving taxpayers’ money by eliminating labor conflicts and skilled worker shortages).

In other words, project labor agreements create work for SMART members and their neighbors, ensuring the American people’s money is used efficiently on publicly funded projects.

But on February 7, 2025, President Trump’s secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, instructed the Department of Defense to order its contractors to halt the use of project labor agreements on large-scale construction projects.

The United States Department of Defense contracts out billions of dollars’ worth of construction work each year. In November of 2024 alone, the DOD awarded approximately $2.3 billion worth of design, engineering and construction contracts. Under project labor agreements — used on projects ranging from the construction of the Hoover Dam to NFL stadiums across the country — such large-scale jobs benefit SMART members and workers across our country.

Without them, contractors are free to bid for work without making guarantees around local hire, union-bargained pay and benefits or work stoppages.

“Project Labor Agreements (PLA) projects save taxpayers billions of dollars and can meet a community’s goals for local hire, special outreach to veterans, the formerly incarcerated, and others with barriers to employment,” the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council, which includes SMART Local 206, remarked on Facebook after the announcement. (San Diego County is home to 115,000 active duty military personnel who keep Americans safe.)

“This hurts working people. This hurts our communities.”

WASHINGTON – More than 10,000 veterans and active duty personnel have now taken advantage of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Military Skills Test Waiver Program. In the first three years of the Military Skills Test Waiver Program, approximately 6,000 former military personnel obtained a civilian commercial driver’s license (CDL). In the past 12 months alone, another 4,000 individuals, including Reserves, National Guard, and U.S. Coast Guard service members, have taken advantage of the Program.

“It is our duty to help returning veterans transition into civilian life, and I am proud that so many have used this program to secure careers in the transportation sector,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Just as important, we want to put their valuable skills and experience to work driving the Nations’ economy.”

The Military Skills Test Waiver Program, which began in 2011, grants state licensing agencies, including the District of Columbia, the authority to waive the skills test portion of the CDL application for active duty or recently separated veterans who possess at least two years of safe driving experience operating a military truck or bus. Waiving the skills test expedites the civilian CDL application process and reduces expenses for qualified individuals and operating costs to state licensing agencies.

“In the near future, the need for skilled truck drivers is expected to grow dramatically,” said FMCSA Chief Counsel Scott Darling. “Having skillful and experienced drivers operating on our roadways will lead to increased safety for every member of the motoring public.”

The USDOT/FMCSA Military Skills Test Waiver Program has been conducted in close cooperation with the Department of Defense and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

Additional information, including a standardized application form accepted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, is available by clicking here.