The Daily Dig
A new survey released by Associated Builders and Contractors and conducted by The Harris Poll across six presidential battleground states is putting hard numbers behind what the merit shop trade association has long argued. Non-union construction workers are a large and influential voting bloc, and ABC argues that the Trump administration's continued enforcement of the Biden-era PLA mandate risks alienating those workers ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The survey covered Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In those states, non-union workers make up between 76% and 98% of the construction workforce electorate. Across all six states, non-union trades workers backed President Trump at higher rates than their union counterparts. The gap was widest in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, where non-union support for Trump ran 19 points higher than union workers. In Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, that margin was 7 points.
ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman drew a direct line between those numbers and the Biden-era executive order that established federal policy requiring PLAs on large-scale federal construction projects and which the Trump administration has continued to enforce.
Bellaman said the mandate tells non-union workers "they are unworthy of participating in federally funded projects." Non-union workers make up nearly 90% of the construction workforce nationally.
The survey also found that skilled trades workers, union and non-union alike, oppose union preferences in federal contracting by a 2-to-1 margin. When asked whether the federal government should have the flexibility to select contractors based on best value for taxpayers rather than union affiliation, 83% of non-union workers and 73% of union workers agreed or strongly agreed.
Snapshot:
Organization: Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)
Survey Conducted By: The Harris Poll
Release Date: May 6
States Surveyed: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
Nonunion Share of Construction Workforce Electorate: 76%-98% across surveyed states
Trump Support Gap (Nonunion vs. Union): +19 points in AZ, GA, NC / +7 points in MI, PA, WI
Opposition to Union Preferences in Federal Contracting: 2-to-1 margin among skilled trades workers
Support for Best-Value Contractor Selection: 83% nonunion workers agreed or strongly agreed / 73% union workers agreed or strongly agreed
Policy in Question: Biden-era PLA executive order, continued under Trump administration
ABC Membership: 24,000 members, 67 chapters, founded 1950
TheJobWalk Thoughts
The PLA debate has long been framed as a labor issue. This survey reframes it as an electoral one, and that changes the pressure on elected officials in a way that pure policy arguments rarely do.
For nonunion GCs and subs pursuing federal work, the mandate is a direct barrier to participation on large-scale projects. The political dynamics this data surfaces are worth tracking closely. If congressional pressure builds ahead of the 2026 midterms, the Biden-era PLA executive order becomes a live target for reversal. Companies that want federal work should be maintaining their compliance infrastructure now, not scrambling if the door opens.
The 2-to-1 opposition to union preferences across skilled trades workers is the number that should get the most attention. It suggests rank-and-file workers across the trades want open competition, regardless of what their leadership supports.
