Contact: Gail Raiman, (703) 731-7281                              Gerry Fritz, (703) 300-0547

For Immediate Release February 23, 2012

Phoenix, Ariz. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today endorsed Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to be the 45th president of the United States. The association’s endorsement of Romney came during the ABC National Board of Directors meeting in Phoenix.

“The election of Mitt Romney as president is a top priority for the commercial and industrial construction industry and the millions of Americans it employs,” said 2012 ABC National Chairman Eric Regelin, president of Granix, LLC, Ellicott City, Md. “He has articulated a clear position on issues important to ABC members, including opposing federally mandated project labor agreements, returning the National Labor Relations Board to a neutral arbiter of labor disputes and supporting the free-market, merit shop philosophy.”

In his speech before the ABC board, Romney said, “If I become president of the United States I will curb the practice we have in this country of giving union bosses an unfair advantage in contracting. One of the first things I will do - actually on day one - is I will end the government’s favoritism towards unions in contracting on federal projects and end project labor agreements.

“I also will make sure that workers in America have the right to a secret ballot and I will fight for right to work laws.”

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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association with 74 chapters representing 22,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms. Visit us at www.abc.org.