Newsline

On Oct. 17, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) announced a short-term deal aimed at stabilizing the individual health insurance market and lowering the costs of premiums.

A record number of project owners joined ABC contractors last week at the fifth annual ABC Users Summit in New Orleans to discuss how to collaboratively improve the planning and delivery of high-quality construction projects. Thank you to our Executive and Associate Sponsors for their support of our fifth annual ABC Users Summit. View the 2017 summit program for additional details.

The construction industry has a message for career-seekers this October: the demand for construction workers is high, and firms are looking to hire. Despite an investment of more than $1 billion a year by its members to train the next generation of construction workers, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) says the industry currently has 500,000 unfilled jobs, and that number could more than double if Congress and the White House agree on a promised $1 trillion infrastructure bill. ABC member firms are highlighting the worker shortfall and abundant opportunities for aspiring industry professionals during Careers in Construction Month.

Michael D. Bellaman, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), today issued the following statement on the passage of a budget by the U.S. Senate: “This important step by the Senate keeps the process on track to produce once-in-a-generation tax reform...

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced the promotion of Téa Gennaro to Chief Financial Officer (CFO). She will be responsible for managing and directing the accounting, finance and facilities functions at ABC and its affiliated organizations—the ABC Political Action Committee, ABC Retirement and Savings Plan, Construction Legal Rights Foundation, Trimmer Construction Education Foundation and ABC Services Corp.

On Oct. 19, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Galassi issued a memorandum on Interim Enforcement Guidance for the Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Standard. The memo provides interim enforcement guidance to Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for enforcing the standard.

Construction Executive magazine is proud to announce its latest award, an honorable mention from the Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards for its digital edition. Produced by media company GTxcel, the digital edition magazine is a page-turner replica of the print magazine, complete with navigation links and a built-in article sharing feature.

On Sept. 15, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals reversed a preliminary injunction on the state’s Workplace Freedom Act, allowing West Virginia to enforce the state’s Right to Work law as of Oct. 15. The case is Morrisey v. West Virginia AFL-CIO, et al., No. 17-0187. 

ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman made a live appearance on Fox Business Network's "Varney & Co." show on October 17th. The one-on-one interview focused on the U.S. Department of Labor's Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion that Bellaman was appointed to the day before. Watch a clip of Bellaman's appearance here.

Michael D. Bellaman, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), has been appointed by U.S. Department of Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta  to the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, created by President Trump’s June 15 Executive Order 13801.

Lithko Contracting LLC of Raleigh, N.C., a member of ABC’s Carolinas Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.

ABC has added Rocky Mountain Chapter member Dennis Walker of United Rentals to the Beam Club Presidential level. The Beam Club was established in 1966 to recognize ABC’s top membership recruiters for their commitment to growing the association. By recruiting five new members, ABC members are automatically enrolled in the Beam Club by their chapter.

ABC joined dozens of business organizations nationwide to call on Congress to support meaningful tax reform in a full-page advertisement in the Oct. 11 edition of The Hill. The ad, an open letter to Congress, cited a recent national poll of small business owners showing that a majority would use tax cut savings to create jobs, raise wages and move into new product fields. The letter was signed by ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman along with the CEOs of the Florida East Coast, Florida First Coast and Rocky Mountain chapters.

On Oct. 4, the U.S. Treasury Department released a report announcing plans to withdraw its proposed regulations under Section 2704 of the Internal Revenue Code, entitled Estate, Gift and Generation-skipping Transfer Taxes: Restrictions on Liquidation of an Interest. The proposed rule was issued Aug. 4, 2016, during the Obama administration. 

Kuck Mechanical Contractors LLC of Loveland, Colo., a member of ABC’s Rocky Mountain Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.  

In move to relieve regulations and ensure affordable energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued a proposal to repeal the Obama-era “Clean Power Plan.” On Aug. 3, 2015, President Obama’s EPA announced a final rule to cut power plant carbon emissions that would increase compliance and transaction costs and limit access to affordable energy for many hardworking Americans and U.S. businesses. However, since the issuance of the final rule, the regulation has not yet taken effect and is currently tied up in federal appeals court.

On Sept. 29, ABC joined the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (EWIC) in support of H.R. 3711, the Legal Workforce Act. H.R. 3711, which would mandate an improved E-Verify program on all employers and for all new hires.  

On Oct. 14, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce reported H.R. 3441, the Save Local Business Act favorably out of committee with a final vote of 23-17. On Oct. 4, ABC sent a letter to Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx and Ranking Member Bobby Scott, thanking them for holding a markup of this legislation. 

ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman hit the airwaves last week one day after congressional and administration leaders released a highly anticipated tax reform framework. “Our 21,000 members are applauding,” ABC CEO Mike Bellaman said in a live interview with Fox Business’s early-morning FBN:am show on Thursday, Sept. 28. “This helps our big companies, our small companies as well as our workers.”

On Oct. 2, ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman attended a White House event with roughly 300 representatives from industry groups and other private sector organizations where Vice President Pence spoke about the need for deregulation and rule-cutting. Following the White House event, 10 federal agencies and departments hosted meetings to discuss their respective regulatory agendas, several of which ABC National staff attended.

As part of the Trump administration’s effort to promote and execute a regulatory reform agenda (executive order 13777), ABC member federal contractors who perform work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are encouraged to submit comments to the Corps and Department of Defense in response to their request for “input on its existing regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement or modification.”

On Sept. 27, ABC submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on their proposal to rescind their 2015 final Clean Water Rule: Definition of "Waters of the United States," also known as the WOTUS final rule, and re-codify the regulations that existed prior to the 2015 rule. ABC also filed comments as a member of the Waters Advocacy Coalition. 

ABC’s General Counsel, Littler Mendelson P.C. produced a podcast that details anticipated changes to immigration policy under the Trump administration and discusses employer compliance. The podcast specifically addresses I-9 and visa requirements, potential for an increase in ICE audits and worksite visits, and more.

CarolinaPower of Greer, S.C., a member of ABC’s Carolinas Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.