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Politics & Policy
US House Introduces Resolution Opposing DOL’s New Davis-Bacon Rule
ABC Slams OSHA’s Worker Walkaround Rule for Failing to Promote Workplace Health and Safety
State Off-Year Elections Deliver Losses To GOP Heading Into 2024
Safety
Utilize Software To Achieve Your Safety Goals
OSHA Extends Comment Period on OSHA Walkaround Proposed Rule to Nov. 13
ABC Expresses Serious Concerns to Congress About OSHA Worker Walkaround Rule
Events/Products/Programs
Nearly 350 ABC Leaders Gather in Washington for Annual Legislative Conference
ABC Members Rank Among ENR’s Top 400 Contractors
Trades Day: Industry Outreach Opportunity With Meaning
State/Local News
Ed Capodanno Honored by Delaware State Legislature
Election Update: ABC Staff and Members Elected in 2022
California Targets Workplace Cannabis Testing
Awards
ABC Congratulates 30 Members Awarded DOL’s 2023 HIRE Vets Medallion
ABC Honors 3 New Applicants With the AQC Credential in October
Graham Roofing Earns the AQC Credential in September
Legislation
ABC-Supported Legislation To Overturn the Northern Long-Eared Bat’s Endangered Species Listing Heads to President Biden’s Desk
ABC Advocates for Solutions to Workforce Shortage at U.S. House Committee Roundtable
Smucker Introduces the ABC-Supported Main Street Tax Certainty Act
Regulations
NLRB Extends Effective Date of the Joint Employer Final Rule to Feb. 26, 2024
DOL’s Unlawful Proposed Overtime Rule Will Disrupt Construction Workers’ Workplace Flexibility
ABC’s November Regulatory Roundup—Learn About the Latest Developments Affecting the Construction Industry
Workforce Development
Register Now for ABC’s Construction Inclusion Week Webinar Series
DOL High Road Workforce Development Program Map Snubs Nonunion Programs
LISTEN: How to Design an Effective Technology Adoption Strategy
According to an ABC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, construction material prices rose another 0.8 percent in June and are 9.6 percent higher than they were at the same time one year ago.
June represents the latest month associated with rapidly rising construction input prices. Nonresidential construction materials prices effectively mirrored overall construction prices by rising 0.9 percent on a month-over-month basis and 9.8 percent on a year-over-year basis.
“In general, this emerging state of affairs is unfavorable,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Rapidly rising materials prices interfere with economic progress in numerous ways, including by making it less likely that a particular development will move forward. They also increase the cost of delivering government-financed infrastructure, raise costs for final consumers such as homeowners, renters and office tenants, and exacerbate overall inflationary pressures, which serves to push nominal borrowing costs higher.
“Materials prices are up roughly 10 percent in just one year, and certain categories have experienced significant rates of price increase,” said Basu. “Among these are key inputs that appear to have been impacted by evolving policymaking, including the price of crude petroleum, which is up 49 percent over the past year, iron and steel, which is up nearly 14 percent, and softwood lumber, up 23 percent.