Concord builder takes on labor agreement provision.

Concord-based North Branch Builders has filed a bid pretest with the Government Accountability Office, charging that the federal government's policy of encouraging the use of union labor is discriminatory and restricts competition.

The federal Department of Labor in September put out a request for bids on the construction of a 160,000-square-foot Job Corps center in Manchester. The department said contractors must sign a "project labor agreement," which often means the labor will be done by union workers.

President Obama signed an executive order in February urging agencies to use labor agreements on projects in which the total cost to the federal government is $25 million or more. The Manchester project is estimated to cost about $35 million.

Mark Holden, president of the New Hampshire and Vermont chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, said the labor agreement creates a union contract that nonunion companies would have to sign. That means they would have to pay into union pension plans and benefits and follow jurisdictional rules about which workers can perform certain kinds of work.

Gary Abbott, executive vice president of the New Hampshire chapter of Associated General Contractors, has sent a letter to the Department of Labor saying the requirement is not in the best interest of the state's contractors and subcontractors.