Seven ABC member companies, representing 20 chapters, were ranked in Fortune Magazine’s annual “Top 100 Companies to Work For” list. They include: Edward Jones, DPR Construction, Plante Moran, Baker Donelson, PCL Construction, Ernst & Young, TDIndustries and Kiewit Corporation.

ABC Feb. 13 signed a joint resolution outlining a partnership and commitment to free enterprise and the merit shop philosophy with Merit Canada, the voice of Canada's eight provincial open shop construction associations. 

More than 600 ABC members joined ABC in submitting comments to OSHA requesting it withdraw its proposed rule that would drastically lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of crystalline silica for the construction industry. The proposal also would require contractors to implement engineering controls and follow several “ancillary” provisions, such as exposure monitoring, medical surveillance and the establishment of regulated areas. 

OSHA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking Feb. 10 to extend the compliance date for the crane operator certification requirement by three years to Nov. 10, 2017. 

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.

ABC's Workforce Development Conference, April 29-May 2, Birmingham, Ala., has been reinvented to allow attendees to create a unique schedule based on their specific interests and training needs. The event will feature more than 40 educational sessions via six tracks: management and implementation, safety, workforce development, increasing productivity, emerging technologies and association management. It also will feature courses on ABC’s Project Virtual and preconference workshops on safety, lean construction and the 2014 National Electrical Code. 

The Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Feb. 10 issued a final rule implementing the employer mandate provisions included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The final rule makes some changes to the proposed rule issued in December 2012, including phasing in provisions for businesses with 50 to 99 full-time employees and those that offer coverage to most but not yet all of their full-time workers. Generally, ACA mandates that employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees offer a certain level of health coverage or be subject to new taxes. A fact sheet issued by the Treasury provides an overview of the phase-in included in the fi

Interstates Companies, Sioux Center, Iowa, was named Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) 2013 Contractor of the Year during the 24th annual Excellence in Construction Awards ceremony, which was held Feb. 11 in Maui, Hawaii. 

During the last presidential campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama proudly told audiences, “We need to strengthen our unions by letting them do what they do best—organize our workers … That's why I am fighting to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)…We'll make it the law of the land when I'm president.” When Democrats took the White House and held onto Congress in November 2008, Obama’s promise seemed all but certain. However, EFCA, also known as “card check,” met with quick and persistent resistance from both sides of the aisle. The passage of EFCA, which at one time seemed inevitable, stalled

As expected, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Feb. 5 reissued a proposed rulemaking that will reduce the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place from the current average of 38 days to as few as 10.