SB272 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS.

Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Walsh
Last action: 2026-05-21
Official status: Passed Senate 5/21/26
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify the exact requirements for dispute resolution and prevention of strikes or lockouts, so this claim was removed.

Act Requiring Project Labor Agreements for School District Public Works Contracts

This act requires school districts with public works projects costing $1 million or more to include project labor agreements with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council in contracts advertised after December 31, 2026.

What This Bill Does

Requires that if a school district's public works project costs at least $1 million, any contract for this project must have a project labor agreement with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council unless there was only one bid for the work.
Defines a project labor agreement as a type of collective bargaining agreement covering specific projects in construction.
Makes sure that all contractors and subcontractors on these public works projects follow the terms of the project labor agreement.

Who It Names or Affects

School districts with public works projects costing $1 million or more.
Contractors and subcontractors working on these school district projects.

Terms To Know

Project labor agreement: A type of collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry that covers specific projects, negotiated before construction begins.

Limits and Unknowns

The requirements do not apply to contracts where there was only one bid for the work.
This act does not change how school districts comply with procurement rules under Chapter 69 of Title 29 in other situations.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SA 1

1 • Walsh

Passed 5/21/26

Plain English: This amendment changes the conditions under which school district public works contracts must include project labor agreements, raising the cost threshold and changing how bids affect the requirement.

Increases the minimum cost of a public works project from $1 million to $5 million for it to require a project labor agreement.
Modifies the bid condition so that a project labor agreement is required if two or more bids are from businesses bound by collective bargaining agreements with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council.

The amendment does not specify what happens when there is only one bid for the craft, leaving some uncertainty about how this affects the requirement for a project labor agreement.

Bill History

2026-05-21 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment SA 1 to SB 272 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2026-05-21 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment SA 1 to SB 272 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
2026-05-21 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 5 NO 1 ABSENT
2026-04-16 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Labor) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits
2026-03-26 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Labor Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS.
This Act requires that if public works project is for a school district and has an aggregate cost of $1 million or more, a contract relating to that public works project, advertised after December 31, 2026, must include a project labor agreement with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council unless there was only 1 bid for the craft under the contract.

A project labor agreement is a type of collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry that is generally negotiated before construction begins. Project labor agreements are intended to provide a legally binding and enforceable contract primarily related to labor conditions and labor-management relations.

The requirements under this Act are not regulatory. Under existing law, school districts must comply with the procurement requirements for State agencies under Chapter 69 of Title 29. As such, the requirements under this Act apply only to contracts where this State is acting as a market participant and has a proprietary interest.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Walsh & Sen. Townsend & Rep. Osienski & Rep. K. Williams

Sens. Hoffner, Mantzavinos, Pinkney, Seigfried; Reps. Cooke, Lambert, Morrison, Snyder-Hall, Wilson-Anton

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 272

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Chapter 23, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 2308. Project labor agreements.

A school district construction or renovation project under this chapter must comply with the requirements for project labor agreements under § 6960B of Title 29.

Section 2. Amend § 6902, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and redesignating accordingly:

§ 6902. Definitions [For application of this section, see 82 Del. Laws, c. 36, § 3].

For purposes of this chapter:

(24) “Project labor agreement” means a form of pre-hire collective bargaining agreement covering terms and conditions of a specific project

. “Project labor agreement” includes community workforce agreements.

Section 3. Amend Subchapter IV, Chapter 69, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 6960B. Project labor agreements.

(a)(1) If a public works project under this chapter is for a school district and has an aggregate cost of $1 million or more, a contract relating to that public works project must include a project labor agreement with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council.

(2)

Paragraph (a)(1) of this section does not apply to a contract if there was only 1 bid for the craft under the contract.

(b)(1)

A project labor agreement negotiated under this section is binding on all contractors and subcontractors working on that public works project.

(2) All relevant bid documents must include the bid specifications necessary to make a project labor agreement binding on all contractors and subcontractors on the public works project.

(c) A project labor agreement under this section must advance the interests of the school district, including in regard to cost, efficiency, quality, timeliness, a skilled labor force, and safety.

(1) A project labor agreement must include all of the following:

a. That the provisions of the project labor agreement apply as follows:

1. To work done at construction sites of the public works project and do not apply to work done outside of those sites unless paragraph (c)(1)a.2. of this section applies.

2. To custom fabrication work done for the public works project, regardless of where that work is performed.

b. Effective, immediate, and mutually binding procedures for resolving jurisdictional and labor disputes arising before the completion of the work.

c. Guarantees against strikes, lockouts, or other similar actions.

(2) A project labor agreement may include provisions that do any of the following:

a. Provide goals for participation by disadvantaged business enterprises that require a specific percentage of the total contract value be awarded to subcontractors who are certified by the Office of Supplier Diversity as a minority, women, veteran, service-disabled veteran, or individual with a disability owned business.

b. Permit contractors and subcontractors working on the public works project to retain a percentage of their current workforce.

c. Provide that the successful bidder, and any subcontractor of the bidder, are not a party to a labor agreement with the labor organization other than for the public works project covered by that project labor agreement.

Section 4. Section 6960B of Title 29 applies to public works contracts advertised after December 31, 2026.

SYNOPSIS

This Act requires that if public works project is for a school district and has an aggregate cost of $1 million or more, a contract relating to that public works project, advertised after December 31, 2026, must include a project labor agreement with the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council unless there was only 1 bid for the craft under the contract.

A project labor agreement is a type of collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry that is generally negotiated before construction begins. Project labor agreements are intended to provide a legally binding and enforceable contract primarily related to labor conditions and labor-management relations.

The requirements under this Act are not regulatory. Under existing law, school districts must comply with the procurement requirements for State agencies under Chapter 69 of Title 29. As such, the requirements under this Act apply only to contracts where this State is acting as a market participant and has a proprietary interest.

Author: Senator Walsh