A Marion County judge has issued a temporary injunction blocking Gov. Tina Kotek’s executive order requiring union labor in state construction projects.

Kotek signed the order in December, mandating that state agencies enter into so-called project labor agreements in most state construction projects. Such agreements are commonly used with labor unions, and spell out working conditions for projects, including pay and benefits, but opponents have argued the policy would lead to higher costs and reduce competition by favoring firms that use union labor over non-union ones. 

A coalition of Oregon construction firms challenged the order. The Oregon-Columbia chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America and some of its members sued, challenging Kotek’s authority to issue such an order. Such a sweeping policy change must come from the Legislature,  they argued, or from a formal rulemaking process with public input. 

Marion County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Hart issued the injunction Monday, one week before the executive order was set to go into effect. The ruling temporarily halts Kotek’s directive while the lawsuit moves through the courts.

“The judge’s ruling reinforces what our local contractors have been saying since the order was issued last December,” said Mike Salsgiver, CEO of the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of Associated General Contractors. “The governor lacks the authority to unilaterally alter Oregon’s system of competitive bidding and open and fair competition.”