Newsline

On Nov. 20, President Obama addressed the nation to announce sweeping reforms to our current immigration system. Failing to heed the calls of Republicans in the House and Senate, the president once again circumvented the legislative process with executive action. His unilateral and temporary expansion of certain programs jeopardizes a long-term fix to our immigration system that is workable for our economy and national security. 

AMEC Foster Wheeler, Woodstock, Ga., member of the ABC Georgia Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued two surveys soliciting comments from the construction industry on the potential use of project labor agreements (PLA) on projects in Illinois and Nevada. 

Registration for ABC’s 2015 Workforce Conference is now open and ABC is excited to announce that John Ratzenberger, known best for his role as Cliff in the show “Cheers,” will be joining us as the keynote speaker. In addition, the 2015 conference offers five education tracks for construction and association professionals, networking opportunities, the National Craft Championships and the Excellence in Construction Awards. The conference will be held March 3-6 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

This week ABC joined more than 500 industry groups in sending letters to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives urging action during the Lame Duck session of Congress on the extension of important tax provisions that have already expired or will expire by the end of the year. 

ABC member companies were honored by the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) as they accepted 11 out of the 14 Construction Industry Safety Excellence (CISE) awards at the Nov. 11 CURT National Awards gala in Houston, Texas.

As a project manager for an ABC member company in Alabama, B.L. Harbert, Michael Carpenter works on project planning and execution, providing proactive leadership in safety, enforcing contractual responsibilities and many more tasks. Joining the ABC National Young Professional program was a decision to help ensure project profitability and grow his business development strategies by learning from his peers and growing his network. The Q&A below gives a brief overview of his participation in the program and how it’s benefiting both him and his company.

A new member benefit program is being offered exclusively to ABC members and their employees through ABC Merit Choicewhich allows them to apply for top auto and home insurance benefits through a group discount with MetLife Auto and Home®.

Join over 750 owners, industry executives and key decision-makers for three days of in-depth public-private partnership (P3) learning, business development, and extraordinary networking opportunities and the annual P3 Conference in Dallas, Texas Feb. 23-25. 

ABC and 19 other business trade groups, sent a letter on Nov. 6 requesting that President Obama withdraw the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order (E.O.). The letter, sent to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Thomas Perez and Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz, outlines ABC’s concerns that the E.O. dramatically changes the enforcement mechanisms carefully put in place by Congress and needlessly adds uncertainty, subjectivity and onerous and costly new data collection and reporting requirements for federal contractors. 

During its Nov. 11 meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., the ABC Board of Directors elected Pamela Volm of president of Annapolis Contracting, Inc., Annapolis, Md., to serve as the association's 2015 national chairman. David Chapin of Willmar Electric Services in Lincoln, Neb., was elected to serve as ABC’s 2015 chairman-elect.  

After the votes were tallied on Tuesday night, the results revealed massive victories for Republicans at all levels and in every region of the country. With a handful of races still up for grabs, the GOP has wrested control of the U.S. Senate while boosting its House majority to the highest level seen since the Great Depression. At the state level, Republican governors eclipsed their 2010 high-water mark of 30 and helped to flip at least seven state legislative chambers putting them en route to full control of state governments in nearly half the country. While the GOP’s mandate is unclear, voters delivered a stinging rebuke of the president and his party, effectively rendering him

To assist employers in complying with new rules and regulations, OSHA released new wallet cards to serve as resources on the jobsite addressing the OSHA reporting requirements and hazard identification training. The resources can be found on OSHA’s publication page.

ABC member companies who have an employee who stands out as a team leader and the best in their trade can give them the recognition they deserve by nominating them for title of Craft Professional of the Year Award. Finalists will be flown to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for the Careers in Construction Awards ceremony and the winner will walk away with a brand new 2015 Ram Tradesmen Truck.