A New Jersey highway contractor has sued Toms River over its requirement that bidders sign a mandatory project labor agreement before competing for a municipal paving contract, alleging the union labor mandate violates state and federal law and unlawfully restricts competition.
Ashland Contractors filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the township’s solicitation for its 2026 Toms River Paving Program, void the contract awarded on June 10, and permanently enjoin enforcement of the project labor agreement (PLA)/
According to the complaint, the township’s bid specifications required contractors and subcontractors to execute a mandatory, non-negotiable project labor agreement with the Monmouth & Ocean Building and Construction Trades Council on behalf of thirty affiliated labor organizations as a condition of performing work on the project.
The lawsuit alleges the agreement violates New Jersey’s Project Labor Agreement Act, the Local Public Contracts Law, the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, the New Jersey Constitution, the United States Constitution, the National Labor Relations Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
“The mandatory PLA not only infringes upon Ashland’s constitutional and statutory rights but also undermines the core purpose of the LPCL—to foster open and fair competition—rendering the Township’s actions ultra vires, arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable,” the complaint states.
Ashland describes itself in the complaint as a New Jersey civil infrastructure company headquartered in Manasquan that routinely performs public construction projects throughout the state. It says it is a signatory to a collective bargaining agreement with United Steelworkers.
The lawsuit alleges the PLA requires contractors to employ the vast majority of workers through hiring halls operated by unions affiliated with the agreement, recognize those unions as the exclusive bargaining representatives for employees working on the project, comply with their collective bargaining agreements, and execute a letter of assent as a condition of performing work. United Steelworkers are not among the designated unions.
Ashland contends the township failed to satisfy statutory prerequisites before requiring a project labor agreement. The complaint alleges Toms River failed to determine that, considering the size, complexity, and cost of the project, a PLA was appropriate, failed to determine that it was reasonably related to satisfactory completion of the project, and failed to negotiate the agreement in good faith, as required by state law.
The complaint also alleges the township incorporated multiple collective bargaining agreements and trust agreements into the PLA without providing those documents to bidders. As a result, Ashland argues contractors could not determine material labor costs or prepare informed and comparable bids.
According to the lawsuit, Ashland submitted questions about the bid specifications on May 21, 2026, filed a formal bid protest on May 27, requested records under the Open Public Records Act on May 28, and asked the township to postpone the bid opening by seven business days. The complaint alleges the township declined to answer several questions concerning its compliance with the PLA statute, refused to postpone the bid opening, opened bids on June 2, and awarded the contract on June 10.
Ashland argues the township conditioned participation in the procurement on the surrender of constitutional rights.
“The solicitation conditions eligibility for contract award—a valuable government benefit—on a contractor’s agreement to surrender constitutional rights,” the complaint states. “The Township therefore conditions access to a public contract on the forfeiture of fundamental rights, including rights guaranteed under the New Jersey and United States Constitutions.”
The lawsuit contends the requirements leave the company with no practical alternative.
“This coercive structure leaves Ashland with no meaningful choice: it must either abandon its lawful and existing collective bargaining relationships or forfeit the opportunity to compete for the Project,” the complaint said.
Ashland also alleges the PLA disproportionately burdens minority-owned contractors, citing New Jersey’s 2024 disparity study.
“The Township’s actions thus not only restrict competition, but also impose a disparate impact on minority contractors that is unsupported by any legitimate governmental necessity and not justified by the findings required under the PLA Statute,” the complaint said.
The complaint also challenges the procurement process itself, alleging: “A public bidding process that requires blind assent to undisclosed obligations is inherently arbitrary and fundamentally unfair.”