Newsline

ABC and  several other major business groups have invited leading contenders for the 2016 presidential race to speak with their members in a series of teleforums.

ABC continued its longstanding opposition to the Obama administration’s blacklisting proposal by submitting a letter for the record in support of the Sept. 29 Committee on Small Business Subcommittees on Contracting and the Workforce and Investigations, Oversight and Regulations hearing titled The Blacklist: Are Small Businesses Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

In a bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the ABC-supported Responsibility and Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act of 2015 (H.R. 348). The bill was sponsored by Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Chairman Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and had 21 co-sponsors.

On Sept. 17, ABC joined with 20 coalition partners in sending a letter to key U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate committees urging their support for three bills that would provide small businesses with relief from rising health costs and regulatory red tape. The bills discussed in the letter include the following. 

ABC reiterated its support in advance of a U.S House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on legislation introduced Sept. 9 designed to help restore the “joint employer” standard under the National Labor Relations Act that has been in place for over 30 years. The standard was overturned by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in its Aug. 27 ruling in the Browning-Ferris Industries of California case. 

ABC members in the health care and industrial segments should plan to attend the Users Summit, Oct. 8-9, in St. Pete Beach, Fla., where construction users and contractors will come together to discuss industry safety, quality and workforce issues. Final panelist for this must-attend event are now posted on the Users Summit website.

ABC is committed to supporting industry efforts to overcome the challenges and maximize the opportunities associated with an increasingly diverse workforce, client base and subcontractor/supplier base. The ABC National Diversity Excellence Awardsrecognize members that display exemplary diversity leadership in their workforce, supply chain and community with best-in-class recruitment policies, retention practices, and training and mentoring programs.

Contractors looking to enhance their employees’ project management skills can enroll them to take part in the ABC Project Management Institute held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The course includes two non-concurrent five-day sessions providing the students with tools to improve profitability and productivity and increase quality and customer satisfaction. 

As part of an ongoing partnership with the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP), ABC is sponsoring an upcoming conference in Atlanta, Ga., that will focus on an ABC of Georgia-supported law that allows local and state governments to enter into partnerships with the private sector for water, wastewater, social infrastructure and other projects. Over the past several years, ABC has worked with the NCPPP to educate the construction industry and lawmakers about the benefits of P3s.

ABC’s unique quarterly Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) gives ABC members and the broader construction community a look at the future economic health of the construction industry by measuring the amount of work companies are contracted to complete in the months and years ahead. CBI is a forward-looking indicator compiled from surveys completed monthly by ABC members indicating the amount of work under contract but yet to be completed in the months and years ahead. All reported data is confidential, if you’re not participating, sign up today.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, the minimum wage for workers on covered federal contracts and service contracts will increase to $10.15 per hour from $10.10 per hour in 2015. The increase is dictated by the Oct. 7, 2014, Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division final rule that implemented Executive Order 13658.

Each person who enters our industry is on the path to earning a competitive salary, learning a new skill and building America with their own hands.  Yet there is a severe shortage of skilled and professional workers in the merit shop construction industry.The Trimmer Construction Education Foundation (TCEF) was created by ABC to bring talented young men and women into the pipeline and provide them with training that leads to successful and gratifying careers, and now it’s easier than ever for you to help advance this mission. You can contribute $100 or more to TCEF when you renew your membership in ABC thanks to a check box right on your dues invoice.

At our Construction Management Career Fair on Nov. 11, in San Diego, Calif., ABC is giving our members the invaluable opportunity to recruit their next top performers from a group of top-tier students from all over the country. 

Encouraging the young professionals in your organization to grow both professionally and personally can have a major impact on your overall business. During ABC's Leadership Development Track, Nov. 11-12, in San Diego, Calif., young professionals in your company will learn the skills needed to become leaders and team players and to communicate effectively with your clients and other industry professionals.

ABC and ABC’s Inland Pacific Chapter celebrated a victory Sept. 16 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit set aside a lower court’s decision against an Idaho law that banned government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on taxpayer-funded construction projects.

On Sept. 14, ABC, along with a coalition of nearly 400 business groups sent a letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) urging them to support the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015 (S. 2006).

ABC’s third annual Users Summit is just around the corner and ABC members can invite their user clients to attend the summit for free! This year’s User’s Summit will be held Oct. 8-9 in St. Pete Beach, Fla., and will include sessions and programming for both industrial and health care segments.

The next time you renew your membership in ABC, you will see an added contribution on your invoice for the Trimmer Construction Education Foundation (TCEF). Trimmer is ABC’s partner to help expand our skilled workforce and the affiliated 501(c)3 nonprofit organization is a critical part of ABC’s commitment to expand merit shop training programs and promote construction careers.

A group of lawmakers Sept. 9 introduced ABC-supported legislation to help restore the “joint employer” standard under the National Labor Relations Act that has been in place for over 30 years. The standard was overturned by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in its Aug. 27 ruling in the Browning-Ferris Industries of California case.

On Sept. 10, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued its final rule prohibiting federal contractors and subcontractors from terminating or otherwise discriminating against employees who discuss their compensation with co-workers or job applicants. This rule implements the Obama administration’s Equal Pay initiative under Executive Order 13665 and will take effect on Jan. 11, 2016.

Are you in compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions that went into effect in 2015? Please join ABC National on Oct. 8 at 2 pm EDT for an informative webinar on the new ACA reporting requirements—learn more.

At a Labor Day rally before union members in Boston on Sept. 7, President Obama unveiled a new executive order requiring federal contractors to offer employees up to seven days of paid sick leave.

Do your apprentices and craft trainees have what it takes to win the national title of ABC Craft Champion? The 2016 National Craft Championships (NCC) is accepting competitor applications now.

ABC and more than 900 members submitted comments in opposition to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division’s July 6 Proposed Regulations for Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees. If enacted, the proposal, commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” would more than double the minimum salary for the white collar overtime exemption and would automatically update the salary levels on an annual basis.

ABC released a statement in response to the National Labor Relations Board’s Aug. 27 ruling in the Browning-Ferris Industries of California case, which redefines who qualifies as a “joint employer” under the National Labor Relations Act. ABC has been a vocal opponent of these changes for potentially imposing unnecessary barriers to and burdens on contractor and subcontractor relationships throughout the construction industry.