Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) hit a post-recession high in the fourth quarter of 2013, growing from 8.2 months to 8.3 months (1.3 percent). Compared to a year ago, CBI is 3.9 percent higher—up from 8 months at the end of 2012.  

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and Merit Canada Feb. 13 signed a joint resolution outlining their partnership agreement and commitment to free enterprise and the merit shop philosophy, under which construction contracts are awarded to construction companies based on merit.

ABC Feb. 11 congratulated the winners of the 24th annual Excellence in Construction Awards– the industry’s leading competition, where the top construction projects and the firms that displayed exemplary commitment to safety and diversity in 2013 were recognized during the awards celebration at the Grand Wailea in Maui, Hawaii.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today announced it has named Interstates Companies as its 2013 Contractor of the Year. Interstates Companies Chairman and CEO Larry Den Herder accepted the award on behalf of the company Feb. 11 during ABC’s 24th annual Excellence in Construction Awards ceremony in Maui, Hawaii.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), as part of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), today requested the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) withdraw its proposed rule to drastically lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of crystalline silica for the construction industry. 

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Feb. 10 joined construction industry leaders from more than 100 companies in support of their pledge to employ 150,000 veterans in the next five years—a commitment that was made during the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Veterans’ Employment in Construction National Symposium.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today issued the following statement in response to the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) reissuance of a proposal that would drastically shorten the timeframe between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) General Counsel Maurice Baskin Feb. 4 testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections during a hearing titled, “OSHA’s Regulatory Agenda: Changing Long-Standing Policies Outside the Public Rulemaking Process.” On behalf of ABC and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Baskin addressed a Feb. 21, 2013 letter of interpretation (LOI) from OSHA allowing union agents and community organizers for the first time to accompany safety inspectors into nonunion facilities, as long as an unspecified (non-majority) number of employees in the nonunion work place designate one.