Early in his administration, President George W. Bush issued an Executive Order prohibiting union labor agreements on federally funded construction projects.

On Nov. 7, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled the Bush's Executive Order "in its entirety is preempted" by the National Labor Relations Act. The judge ruled that Bush overstepped his authority, and permanently halted the enforcement of the executive order.

The next question emerged: would Bush cater to his friends in the anti-union Associated Builders and Contractors, and appeal the judge's ruling? Or was there a chance that he would hold back on making an appeal, and make an attempt at catering to the building trades unions, who supported the president on oil and natural gas drilling in Alaska.

The verdict: ABC-1; building trade unions-0. The Bush Administration filed an appeal on Nov. 29.

"The appeal is sad commentary that the White House remains under dogmatic ultra-conservative control," said AFL-CIO Building Trades Department President Edward Sullivan. "The action can only prolong the litigation and undermine our efforts to find common ground with the administration."

Many local and state governments make it a policy to use union-only project labor agreements to build taxpayer-funded projects. Those that do regard the agreements as a good business practice, assuring them a ready supply of skilled workers able to bring in projects on-time and on-budget.