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Politics & Policy
ABC’s September Regulatory Roundup—Learn About the Latest Developments Affecting the Construction Industry
ABC Disappointed in NLRB’s Cemex Decision
NLRB Revives Controversial 2014 ‘Ambush’ Election Rule; ABC Opposes Again
Safety
Build Health and Safety Engagement Through Leadership Commitment and Metrics Tied to Leading Indicators
Is Your PPE and Mobile Equipment as Safe as You Think It Is?
President Biden Announces Heat Safety Actions, Including DOL Hazard Alert
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
Graham Roofing Earns the AQC Credential in September
ABC's Construction Executive Magazine Wins Silver in Publishing Competition
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
ABC Submits Comments Opposing NEPA Permitting Revisions
OSHA Announces Silica-Focused Inspection Initiative in the Engineered Stone Fabrication and Installation Industries
Take the Survey: Input Needed by Oct. 2 on President Biden’s IRA Mandates
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
ABC Newsline
ABC has prepared a summary of Biden administration regulatory actions of interest to ABC members by agency.
On Aug. 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, which imposes a new framework that greatly expands the Board’s ability to impose unions on employees without a secret ballot election. The Board’s decision overrules precedent that has stood for over half a century.
Despite being litigated for years, the Biden administration’s National Labor Relations Board has revived controversial policy from the Obama era in the form of its Representation-Case Procedures final rule. The direct final rule, issued without notice and the opportunity to comment, essentially restores provisions of the “ambush” election rule of 2014 and rescinds the remaining ABC-supported provisions of the 2019 final rule. The rule will apply to representation petitions filed on or after Dec. 26, 2023.
ABC Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck was recently interviewed on Fox News’ “America Reports” explaining the construction industry’s labor shortage and how that will affect the massive injection of capital into infrastructure under recently passed legislation.
On July 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed S.J. Res. 24, a Congressional Review Act resolution on the Endangered Species Status for Northern Long-Eared Bat with a bipartisan vote of 220-209. The passage of S.J. Res. 24 would, if enacted, prevent the ABC-opposed U.S. Department of Interior&a
On June 13, the Biden administration released its Spring 2023 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to publish in 2023. ABC has prepared a summary of the actions of interest to ABC members by agency.
ABC members and chapters headed to Washington, D.C., for ABC's 2023 Legislative Week, June 13-14, meeting with leaders on Capitol Hill to advocate for fair and open competition and fighting against project labor agreement mandates and burdensome regulations. Highlights of the fly-in included keynotes from Sen. Katie Boyd Britt, R-Ala., Rep. John James, R-Mich., and Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter.
On May 18, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a Field Assistance Bulletin on Enforcement of Protections for Employees to Pump Breast Milk at Work, which is intended to provide enforcement support and guidance to field staff regarding the application and requirements of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act, or PUMP Act.
On May 12, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service released additional guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act’s domestic content bonus tax credits, which are in effect for all taxable years ending after May 12, 2023. The guidance may be relied upon by taxpayers for all construction that begins prior to the effective date of forthcoming proposed regulations.
On May 10, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship voted to approve recommendations to the DOL for potential revisions to the National Apprenticeship System. The ACA is an advisory body comprised of representatives from ind
On May 9, 2023, President Joe Biden signed an executive order, Moving Beyond COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Federal Workers, that revoked executive orders 14042 and 14043 effective 12:01 a.m. ET on May 12, 2023.
Chuck Goodrich, president and CEO of Gaylor Electric and state representative for Indiana House District 29, announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. Goodrich served as the 2017 national chair of the ABC Board of Directors.
On March 30, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the ABC-supported H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, in a bipartisan 225-204 vote, with four Democrats supporting and only one Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., opposing the bill.
On March 29, the U.S. Senate passed the ABC-supported H.J. Res. 27, the Waters of the United States Congressional Review Act Resolution, in a 53-43 vote with the support of all Senate Republicans and five Democrats, Sens. Rosen, Nev., Cortez Masto, Nev., Manchin, W.Va., Tester, Mont., and Sinema, Ariz. Four Senators did not vote.
On Feb. 28, congressional Democrats reintroduced the ABC-opposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act (HR 20) in the 118th Congress. The bill is a wish list of radical labor policies that would infringe on workers and employers’ rights, diminish opportunities for entrepreneurs and small business owners and devastate the economy. The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is leading opposition to the bill.
On Jan. 4, the Biden administration released its Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory
On Nov. 8, ABC joined the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and six other employer organizations in filing an
Since August, ABC’s Free Enterprise Alliance has spent $2.7 million on get-out-the-vote campaigns and—separately—issue advocacy. Additionally, ABC PAC raised $1.7 million and contributed $1.6 million directly to federal candidates that believe in free enterprise and open competition, placing ABC among the most politically active trade associations in the nation over the 2021-2022 election cycle.
Associated Builders and Contractors has submitted more than 40 pages of comments to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council calling on the Biden administration to withdraw a controversial proposed rule that would require anti-competitive and inflationary project labor agreements on federal constru
The Free Enterprise Alliance, ABC’s issue advocacy arm, has already spent upward of a million dollars in 12 states to educate elected officials and the public about the importance of fair and open competition, with plans to more than double that amount ahead of November midterm elections. The advocacy campaigns, which include digital ads on multiple platforms, mailers and text messages, focus on key legislative issues: the ABC-opposed Inflation Red
On Oct. 3, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear the case Glacier Northwest, Inc v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which will determine if employers can sue unions over damage to their property.
On Sept. 29, ABC joined the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and several other organizations in urging the National Labor Relations Board to extend the comment period for the joint employer proposed rulemaking.
On Sept. 19, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2188 into law, enacting restrictions effective Jan. 1, 2024, on employers’ use of cannabis metabolite testing to penalize existing employees and candidates for employment. AB 2188 lends definition to an emerging nationwide landscape of adjustments in state employment regulation to increasingly permissive medical and recreational cannabis laws.
On Sept. 6, the NLRB announced a new joint employer proposed rule, which would rescind and replace the ABC-supported 2020 final rule on Joint Employer Status Under the National Labor Relations Act. ABC plans to submit comments opposing the new proposal, and members are encouraged to do so as well. The deadline for the public to comment is Nov. 7.