President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order on Friday aimed at bolstering project labor agreements (PLAs) used for federal construction projects costing more than $35 million. Biden will travel to a local ironworkers union in Maryland to sign the order which the White House says will “improve timeliness, lower costs and increase quality in federal construction projects.” The order could affect $262 billion in federal construction contracting and improve job quality for nearly 200,000 workers, the White House said late on Thursday. Specifically, it will require PLAs to be put in place on federal construction projects above $35 million but will only apply to provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that are direct federal procurement, meaning projects funded by grants to non-federal agencies are excluded. Once signed, it will go into effect immediately. Project labor agreements are collective bargaining agreements between building trade unions and contractors and have been used for generations. They …