Thinking about applying for your Accredited Quality Contractor credential to obtain national recognition for your commitment to corporate responsibility? Check out the series of short videos for tips and best practices for completing the AQC application. If your firm excels in quality, safety, craft and management education, talent management—including inclusion, diversity and equity—and community relations, has earned STEP Diamond, Platinum or Gold and has been in business for more than three years, you are eligible to apply. Save on the recertification fee by taking advantage of the early bird discount by Aug. 31. The deadline for all applications is Oct. 23. Videos can be found here.

Sponsored by The Contractors Plan.

On June 5, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs published its latest Corporate Scheduling Announcement List for construction contractors. The CSAL lists 250 federal and federally assisted contractors and subcontractors that have been selected for a compliance evaluation.

The compliance evaluation begins once the contractor receives a scheduling letter from the OFCCP.  The OFCCP will evaluate selected contractors to ensure compliance with federal affirmative action and anti-discrimination regulations.

The OFCCP has published the methodology for developing the list as well as frequently asked questions on construction compliance programs. The OFCCP also offers compliance assistance resources and a list of virtual compliance assistance events.

If a contractor believes they have been selected in error, they must email OFCCP at [email protected].

For more information on the CSAL, see Littler Mendelson’s article on the announcement.

Safety training equips supervisors to lead and manage projects, people, processes and policies. This training is enhanced through frequent, regularly scheduled safety meetings involving supervisory staff and the company safety director. These intentional, agenda-driven meetings go beyond training and education, helping to develop relationships as challenges and successes are shared.

Substance abuse prevention should be a topic not only for supervisory safety training, but the challenges and successes surrounding it should also be a topic of discussion for supervisory safety meetings. With the state-by-state legalization of recreational cannabis, substance use needs to be addressed. It is crucial to understand local laws and company policies.

Whether through legal or illegal use, the construction industry has suffered from the effects of substance impairment for decades. Some companies are responding with high-tech impairment recognition devices or smartphone apps that measure cognitive function or eye response or can even detect cannabis in saliva. Other companies are doubling down on high-touch impairment recognition by starting each day with a huddle that allows the crew leader to evaluate impairment as they perform task-specific planning (Job Hazard Analysis, Activity Hazard Analysis, Pre-Task Plan, etc.) and a stretch and flex. Likewise, some companies are adapting their behavior-based safety observation system to include recognition of possible impairment.

As a company’s safety culture matures, safety meetings with the supervisory staff and safety director will eventually provide the value of a peer group. Safety directors have shared stories of the first time they got a call from a superintendent who proactively asked for advice a week before a critical lift or complex operation. Others shared that superintendents call each other more often for safety advice due to these meetings. Everyone needs a group to belong to where they are heard, understood and willing to hold each other accountable.

Times are changing, and supervisors need to be engaged and equipped to ensure the right things happen at the right time and for the right reason. Holding regular safety meetings creates the environment in which supervisors are set up for success.

Looking for help building your safety program?

Discover resources available through ABC’s STEP Safety Management System and other health and safety topics at abc.org/safety.

For more information or assistance, please reach out to Joe Xavier or Aaron Braun.

ABC has created a new interactive map to help connect developers, contractors, future apprentices and other stakeholders with more than 300 government-registered apprenticeship programs in over 20 different trades offered by ABC chapters.

Contractors and apprentices participating in government-registered apprenticeship programs are in high demand as a result of new federal policy that incentivizes the use of government-registered apprentices on clean energy construction projects.

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in August of 2022, provides over $270 billion in tax credits for the construction of solar, wind, hydrogen, carbon sequestration, electric vehicle charging stations and other clean energy projects. Policy within the IRA grants developers/taxpayers a bonus tax credit 500% greater than a baseline tax credit of 6% if developers ensure that 12.5% of all construction hours on a project are performed by apprentices enrolled in government-registered apprenticeship programs (this increases to 15% for projects breaking ground in 2024).

ABC chapter government-registered apprenticeship programs comply with all U.S. Department of Labor and State Apprenticeship Agency requirements outlined in the IRA.

ABC’s 68 chapters nationwide stand ready to assist stakeholders in complying with the IRA, help contractors enroll in chapter government-registered apprenticeship programs and support contractors creating their own in-house government-registered apprenticeship programs.

Please visit abc.org/ira for additional government and ABC resources on IRA compliance and abc.org/grapmap to access the interactive map.

Forthcoming guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of the Treasury may provide additional clarity to stakeholders with questions about the IRA’s apprenticeship requirements and inadequate initial guidance released late last year.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 1 that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters can be sued, after a lawsuit alleged that a 2017 drivers’ strike in Washington state damaged a concrete supplier’s product.

Glacier Northwest Inc., a division of CalPortland, employs truck drivers who are members of Teamsters Local No. 174. In 2017, workers went on strike after labor negotiations fell through.

Drivers walked off the job, with some who left for deliveries even returning with fully loaded trucks. Others stopped where they were and left their trucks on roadsides. Glacier said all the concrete mixed that day became useless.

Glacier sued the union for damages in state court, claiming that the union intentionally destroyed the company’s property.

The lawsuit was dismissed by the trial court, but the appellate court reversed that decision. Then, the Washington Supreme Court reinstated the trial court’s decision, which set it up for input from the Supreme Court.

Writing for the majority, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett said: “Because the union took affirmative steps to endanger Glacier’s property rather than reasonable precautions to mitigate that risk, the law does not arguably protect its conduct.” Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenting justice.

ABC applauded the decision.

“The precedent is clear that the National Labor Relations Act does not give unions a free pass to intentionally destroy an employer’s property during a labor dispute,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. The Washington Supreme Court decision “left employers without a remedy for the intentional destruction of their private property, causing businesses, workers and communities to suffer.”

The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workforce also praised the ruling.

“No federal law protects such behavior, including the NLRA, and the Supreme Court has just affirmed that commonsense principle. Unions must be required to settle disputes within the confines of the law,” said CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen.

Background:

In June 2022, ABC joined the CDW and other employer organizations in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to request review of the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Glacier Northwest.

On Oct. 3, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear the Glacier case.

On Nov. 8, 2022, ABC joined the CDW and six other employer organizations in filing amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court to request that the court reverse the judgment of the Washington Supreme Court in the Glacier  case. The Washington Supreme Court’s decision stated that the National Labor Relations Board preempts state tort suits, allowing unions and their supporters to intentionally destroy an employer’s property while claiming to be engaged in protected concerted activity.

On May 25, ABC joined the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, urging Acting Secretary Julie Su to abandon or at least postpone issuance of its anticipated proposed rulemaking that would alter overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The letter includes signatures from over 100 organizations.

Even though the COVID-19 public health emergency has been lifted, concerns with supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages, inflationary pressures and the shifting dynamics of the American workforce persist, and any rule change now would threaten a particularly vulnerable and recovering economy, the letter reads.

Further, as many employees moved to remote, hybrid or part-time work following the COVID-19 pandemic, compliance changes to overtime regulation will be increasingly difficult on employers, specifically when monitoring nonexempt employees.

The PPWO is a coalition of associations, businesses and other stakeholders representing employers with millions of employees across the country in almost every industry.

ABC Delaware President Ed Capodanno was recognized by the Delaware state legislature at the chapter’s Hobnobbing Legislative Day in Dover on May 18. Delaware State Senate Minority Leader Gerald Hocker presented Capodanno with a tribute thanking him for his “long and illustrious leadership at both Associated Builders and Contractors, Delaware Chapter, and a wide range of community service work in the First State,” signed by every state lawmaker, Republican and Democrat.

Capodanno was honored before dozens of ABC members who attended the event and ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman.

Capodanno is a native Delawarean who joined ABC Delaware in 1993 and has served in the construction community for 30 years. Since taking the reins, he has secured the financial footing of the chapter and overseen its growth from 200 members to nearly 500 today. ABC Delaware is consistently one of the top chapters in the country, with membership retention of about 90% annually. He has also served on several councils under various governors to help the Delaware construction industry maintain a strong and vibrant workforce.

In addition to his contributions and support of the construction industry in Delaware, Capodanno is an active member of his community. He’s had an illustrious basketball coaching career, and in 1987 became the youngest coach in Delaware history to win a state championship, his first of three consecutive titles with the Ursuline Academy girls’ team. That accomplishment has never been repeated.

Capodanno is also a northern Delaware regional director for Special Olympics Delaware. He was inducted into the Delaware Special Olympics Hall of Fame in 2011 for his service as Program Director and Head Coach at Brandywine Social Club from 1990-2012. At Brandywine, Capodanno was Coach of the Year in 1996 and led multiple teams at the World Games.

In addition, he’s served on the Brandywine School District Renovation Oversight Committee, chaired the Brandywine School District Scope and Assessment Committee and was a member of the Brandywine School District Capital Referendum Task Force in 1999 and 2004. He also served on the board of the Delaware Military Academy and was chair of the board in 2018 and 2019.

Ed Capodanno truly embodies what it means to be an integral part of your community, supporting businesses and individuals from all walks of life to make Delaware a wonderful state in which to live. Congratulations, Ed!

ABC and dozens of employer organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Senate on May 8 expressing their opposition on Julie Su’s stalled nomination for secretary of labor. The groups cited her troubling record and failure to adequately explain how she would run the DOL in a manner that engages employers and employees alike to best achieve our shared economic goals.

“Ms. Su’s track record as California’s Secretary of Labor raises legitimate questions about her ability to lead the U.S. Department of Labor, particularly at a time when our country faces supply chain challenges, inflation, and workforce shortages,” the 35 organizations wrote. “Moreover, current labor negotiations at the West Coast Ports and upcoming negotiations elsewhere could, without adequate leadership, effectively shut down our nation’s economy.

“At the recent Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Ms. Su failed to adequately address questions about her record and her plans to address our nation’s challenges in a manner that advances our collective goals of reducing inflation, ensuring stable supply chains, and supporting economic opportunities for employers and employees alike. Confirming a labor secretary with a track record of putting roadblocks in the way of solving the current workforce shortage would negatively affect every American, every business (particularly small businesses), and the economy,” the coalition wrote.

Republicans in the Senate are united in opposition to Su’s nomination and moderate Democrats remain hesitant to support her, but the White House is doing a full-court press to get her across the finish line.

ABC’s Free Enterprise Alliance is hosting a tailgate party at the Bullpen (1201 Half St. SE, Washington, D.C.) and will flow directly into the Congressional Baseball Game.

This event is open to all Legislative Conference attendees and sponsorships are strongly encouraged. All sponsors will receive tickets to the Congressional Baseball Game and will have their logo displayed on signage around the event.

More information will be provided upon contribution: Click here to donate.

Do not miss this opportunity to visit with your federal legislators on the Hill during the day and network with fellow ABC members at the FEA Tailgate Party in the evening. Don’t miss this homerun event! Register now.

We believe the metaverse can transform learning and how people train for jobs, which is why we hosted the Future of Work Summit this week in Washington, D.C. Academics, policymakers, entrepreneurs and experts gathered to hear how immersive technologies like virtual and augmented reality (AR and VR) benefit businesses and workers.

“The metaverse promises to make learning more active,” said Nick Clegg, Meta’s President, Global Affairs. “With virtual and augmented reality technologies, people can learn by doing, not just passively absorbing information. This has the potential to transform the way we provide new skills and new lifelong learning tools for people in the future.”

Here are five examples of how these technologies are shaping the future of work today:

Reducing Risk in Dangerous Work

Electricians often work on dangerous power lines and complex machinery, requiring experience and expertise. With VR training modules in platforms such as Interplay, an electrical apprentice can practice using virtual live wires hundreds of times without risking physical injury. And as they practice, trainers can provide guidance and assess their performance. 

According to a recent whitepaper by ITIF, immersive technologies can be especially impactful in training programs that require a mix of theoretical and practical experience, and implementing AR- and VR-based instruction could make the programs more cost-effective, flexible and safe while extending their coverage.

Matthew Abeles from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a US trade association, agreed. He said five chapters of ABC — Illinois, Ohio Valley, Southeastern Michigan, Iowa and New Jersey — implemented virtual reality in their apprenticeship programs and anticipates more widespread adoption because of its benefits.

Increasing Caregiver Empathy and Retention

Carrie Shaw, CEO of Embodied Labs, developed an immersive training platform to bridge a gap between caregivers and the people they serve. Her platform enables caregivers to simulate cognitive, auditory or vision loss with the help of virtual reality. Driven by her own experience as a caregiver for her mother with early onset Alzheimer’s, Shaw saw an opportunity to increase empathy and educate caregivers about regular challenges on the job to improve retention. 

“Often people don’t know what they’re getting themselves into when taking on the role of a caregiver,” said Shaw. “This leads to frustration and can result in high turnover, which can be especially problematic as our population ages and more caregivers are in demand.”

To help healthcare professionals deliver positive patient experiences, Talespin offers soft skills training like effective communication and emotional intelligence. According to the VR learning platform, training in VR is four-and-a-half times more effective than e-learning or classroom learning, and can lead to a 275% increase in confidence on the job after training.

Adding Longevity to Careers

Workers in physically demanding trades like welding or sheet metal work often reach limits as they age. Working with their hands and getting to hard-to-reach job sites can become difficult. But the most expert workers are getting a new opportunity to continue their careers as trainers in VR.

“We’ve seen longtime workers extend their careers using VR platforms such as Interplay to learn new skills and change to less physical jobs within our industry,” said Michael Harris, administrator, International Training Institute, and a second-generation sheet metal worker. “They benefit from maintaining an income while learning new skills, and younger generations are more engaged in the training and motivated to improve by getting a higher score in training modules just like a game.”

Opening New Pathways for Jobs

According to a new report by Jobs for the Future, careers in extended reality (XR) are more accessible to people who don’t have college degrees or are searching for new jobs. In the same report, JFF found that 40% of the more than 40,000 job postings mentioning XR or similar technology required only a high school education or associate degree to be considered, or had no education requirements at all. 

“These findings suggest that people who have been excluded or underrepresented in the technology sector because of education attainment barriers will soon be able to access, enter and advance through immersive technologies more easily,” said Alex Swartsel, managing director of Jobs for the Future. “For example, a learner can begin in an entry-level role such as XR technical support specialist and then up-skill to specialize for roles such as virtual-world design, sales, or consulting on immersive solutions for business needs.”

Immersive technology training presents promise to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses. In the US alone, the metaverse could contribute between $402 billion and $760 billion by 2035, according to a report commissioned by Meta and produced by Deloitte. 

“The metaverse is making its way into our economy and culture, and preparing for it now will help make a small business more competitive both in the short and long term,” said Karen Kerrigan, founder of the Metaverse Business Alliance.

Providing Alternatives to Physical Prototypes

As a multimedia artist, animator and former construction worker, Quittman Farmer helps developers create digital twins of residential and commercial real estate projects through his company, QUED Animations. Physical prototypes for large-scale projects can be costly to design and produce, which is limiting for small- and medium-sized businesses, especially in the early stages of development. But with designs in AR and VR, prototypes can be easily and quickly manipulated to new specifications, and multiple designers can collaborate to design a prototype in real-time from anywhere.

Republished with permission from Meta.

Five Ways the Metaverse Is Shaping The Future of Work | Meta (fb.com)