While the parking lot outside Cloquet City Hall filled with union members rallying in support of project labor agreements Tuesday, councilors inside the building steeled themselves for a contentious discussion on the subject.

Ultimately the Cloquet City Council voted 5-2 - with Lyz Jaakola and Sheila Lamb the two "no" votes - to remove the PLA mandate for private businesses from city code.

At issue was a request by the city's Economic Development Authority that the council remove the private mandate in the city's project labor agreement, which required developers to work with the Duluth Bui...