On May 27, ABC wrote to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Martin Walsh to share the exceptional results of the 2021 Workforce Development Survey. ABC hopes this outreach will encourage Secretary Walsh to work with ABC to advance the interests of the entire construction industry. 

On May 4, ABC sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) raising concerns about provisions in the Clean Energy for America Act that would expand new government-registered apprenticeship program requirements and Davis-Bacon prevailing wage regulations onto the construction of projects receiving clean energy tax incentives. ABC is troubled by provisions in the legislation that will needlessly increase construction costs and reduce competition from qualified companies and

On May 5, ABC and a coalition of 16 industry and employer groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden raising concerns about the administration’s direct expansion and support of legislative policies encouraging or requiring controversial government-mandated project labor agreements on federal and federally assisted construction projects.

On April 26, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that establishes the Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. ABC is concerned that the Biden administration is promoting policies that undermine workers’ choice whether to freely join a union, such as government-mandated project labor agreements.

ABC has signed on to the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation’s call to defeat hate and restore inclusion and respect.

On March 31, the Biden administration released a more than $2 trillion infrastructure outline titled the “American Jobs Plan.” While the plan calls for federal spending over the next eight years to improve the nation’s infrastructure, including for transportation, broadband, energy, and drinking water, it also includes funding for schools and child-car

At the ABC national convention, Tim Mongeau, director of workforce development, announced the pilot of the new online Workforce Development Management System. The WDMS is a simple yet comprehensive self-assessment to evaluate an organization’s current workforce development program to identify opportunities for enhancement and validate they’re on the right track.

From March 7-13, ABC celebrated Women in Construction Week to raise awareness of the growing role of women in the construction industry and encourage women to consider a career in construction. ABC demonstrated the success of women in the industry through social media posts, letters to the editor and op-eds published in various media outlets.

On Feb. 17, President Biden rescinded the Trump Administration’s Executive Order 13801, which promoted industry-recognized apprenticeship programs, and expressed his support for the House-passed and ABC-opposed National Apprenticeship Act of 2021. ABC is working with lawmakers to reconsider these rulemakings and to advocate for an all-of-the-above workforce development strategy.

On Oct. 27, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan attended the grand opening of ABC Greater Baltimore Chapter’s new Construction Education Academy, located at a Project C.O.R.E site in East Baltimore. This new state-of-the-art facility will house the largest concentration of building trade apprenticeship programs in the state, enabling ABC Greater Baltimore to train up to 5,000 skilled workers each year, doubling their current capacity.