Wednesday, August 11, 2021 2:30 PM |
ABC News,
Legislation,
Regulations,
Workforce Development,
GA-Workplace Safety,
GA-Energy & Environment,
GA-PLAs,
GA-Davis-Bacon,
GA - Union Organizing,
GA - Employment,
GA - Federal Procurement,
GA - Private-Public Partnerships,
GA-PLAs-Federal,
GA-PLAs-State & Local,
Ga-PLAs-Federal-Legislation
On Aug. 10, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with bipartisan support in a 69-30 vote, with 19 Republicans joining all 50 senators in the Democratic caucus to approve the legislation.
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On Aug. 2, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Alliance program issued an updated guide containing COVID-19 guidance and resources for employers from a variety of agencies including the DOL, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, the guide includes input from industry groups on best practices for COVID-19 safety in the workplace.
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Beginning Aug. 4, the U.S. Small Business Administration is launching a portal that will allow borrowers of certain Paycheck Protection Program loans to streamline the process of loan forgiveness by applying for forgiveness directly through the SBA.
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On July 29, President Biden announced during a press conference that every federal government employee and on-site contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status. According to a White House fact sheet, anyone who does not attest to being fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask on the job no matter their geographic location, physically distance from all other employees and visitors, comply with a weekly or twice weekly screening testing requirement and be subject to restrictions on official travel.
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Wednesday, July 28, 2021 3:23 PM |
ABC News,
Legislation,
Regulations,
Workforce Development,
GA-Workplace Safety,
GA-Energy & Environment,
GA-PLAs,
GA-Davis-Bacon,
GA - Union Organizing,
GA - Employment,
GA - Federal Procurement,
GA - Private-Public Partnerships,
GA-PLAs-Federal,
GA-PLAs-State & Local,
Ga-PLAs-Federal-Legislation
On July 28, U.S. senators voted to advance a bipartisan infrastructure bill, which will set up a final vote on the measure in the coming days. The procedural motion was approved 67-32, with 17 Republicans joining all Democrats to begin legislative action.
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On July 21, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision in Lippert Components Inc. 371 NLRB No. 8 (2021), finding that a union did not violate the National Labor Relations Act through its use of inflatables and banners intended to target employers.
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On July 22, the National Labor Relations Board swore in Jennifer Abruzzo to serve as general counsel for a four-year term. This occurred after the U.S. Senate confirmed Abruzzo on July 21 by a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Prior to her appointment, Abruzzo most recently served as Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives for Communications Workers of America and as and a former acting general counsel for the NLRB in 2017.
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On July 21, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that would require federal contractors to pay a $15 minimum wage to workers on or in connection with a federal government contract. The public has until Aug. 23 to comment on the proposal.
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On July 15, ABC submitted comments in response to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s interim final rule encouraging project labor agreements and other anti-competitive and costly labor policies on certain state and local projects funded by the American Recovery Plan Act of 2021.
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On July 15, Occupational Safety and Health Administration released additional materials to educate the workforce on heat illness prevention.
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From June 21-25, ABC’s Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter held its fifth “Let’s Build Construction Camp for Girls” at Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School to introduce girls ages 12-18 to the construction trades, architecture, engineering and construction product manufacturing through hands-on experiences and field trips.
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On July 12, the Institute for the American Worker released a new report highlighting the impact of the so-called Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO Act, on millions of America’s workers.
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On July 12, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Alliance program released an updated guide containing COVID-19 guidance and resources for employers from a variety of agencies including the DOL, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, the guide includes input from industry groups on best practices for COVID-19 safety in the workplace.
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On July 9, President Biden issued a far-reaching, unprecedented Executive Order on Promoting Competition in America. The executive order covers a wide variety of issues, including lowering prescription drug prices, allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter at drug stores, banning excessive early termination fees regarding internet service and making it easier for individuals to get airline refunds.
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On July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act, by a vote of 221-201. H.R. 3684. This $715 billion surface transportation reauthorization and water infrastructure bill represents House Democrats’ attempt to reauthorize the expiring 2015 FAST Act and implement partisan, anti-merit shop priorities in infrastructure spending.
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According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, more than 40% of heat-related worker deaths occur in the construction industry. As with all incidents, heat illness is entirely preventable, provided you develop and implement simple preventive measures.
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ABC can confirm recent media reports that President Joe Biden is circulating a draft executive order to federal agencies that will modify and expand President Obama’s Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to require project labor agreements on a case-by-case basis on federal construction projects exceeding $25 million in total value and permits states and localities to mandate PLAs on federally assisted projects.
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Seven out of 10 voters are concerned about repealing state right-to-work protections for workers and forcing them to pay union dues or risk losing their job, according to a national survey released on June 30 by the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.
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On June 28, eight members of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services sent an ABC-supported letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen expressing concerns about the department’s guidance on $350 billion worth of federal funding for state and local fiscal recovery allocated in the American Rescue Plan and the encouragement of project labor agreements on federally assisted water, sewer and broadband projects.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently added a frequently asked question related to best practices for protecting workers regardless of vaccination status to its non-ETS FAQs.
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection filing deadline has been extended from July 19 to Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. However, the EEOC encourages eligible employers to file the required EEO-1 Component 1 report(s) as soon as possible.
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The elevated price of softwood lumber, a major talking point during much of the pandemic, appears to have peaked in early May at more than $1,700 per thousand board feet. As of June 23, the price has fallen below $900 per board feet, down about 49% in less than two months.
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On June 22, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a vote on the ABC-opposed For the People Act. ABC key-voted against this procedural show vote arguing that the bill is a misguided attempt to reform our elections and campaign finance law that would discourage Americans from exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, politicize the agencies tasked with protecting our elections and expose hardworking taxpayers to harassment, intimidation and retribution even when they do not participate in campaign and political activities.
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On June 22, ABC joined more than 100 trade associations to support the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 1381/S. 480) and to oppose potential legislation from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that would weaken the Section 199A pass-through deduction. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act would make permanent the current 20% deduction for small and family-owned businesses, provided through Section 199A of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
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On June 14, the ABC Keystone Chapter welcomed 12 girls from surrounding school districts to its facility to learn about blueprints, the construction process and safety at a week-long summer program called the All ‘Bout Construction (ABC) Girls Camp. The first of its kind at the chapter, the camp allowed girls to meet women who work in the industry and visit a series of jobsites. They even got a chance to build and take home their own multi-trade, steampunk-themed lighted charging station using their own set of tools from Klein and ABC strategic partner Milwaukee Tool.
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On June 10, Annie Mecias-Murphy, co-owner and president of Associated Builders and Contractors member JA&M Developing Corp., headquartered in Pembroke Pines, Florida, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure on the negative impacts that the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan would have on small business contractors.
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On June 9, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army announced their intent to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” that are federally regulated under the Clean Water Act and replace the definition under the Trump administration’s 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which provided four clear categories of waters under the CWA that businesses and landowners could easily understand.
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the long-awaited COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard on June 10. The Construction Industry Safety Coalition, which ABC is a steering committee member, said that it is pleased that the Biden administration and OSHA listened to the concerns and recommendations of the construction industry in formulating the ETS.
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On June 11, the Biden administration released its Spring 2021 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 through the end of the year and into 2022. ABC has prepared a summary of the actions of interest to ABC members by agency.
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On June 10, the Biden-Harris administration announced key findings from the reviews directed under Executive Order 14017 “America’s Supply Chains,” as well as immediate actions the administration will take to strengthen American supply chains to promote economic security, national security and “good-paying, union jobs here at home.”
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ABC encourages its members to develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitability through the utilization of technology. Get the latest information about construction technology and ways it can improve your business at these upcoming events.
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On June 4, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed ABC chapters and members at ABC Legislative Day 2021 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The governor was introduced by Tim Keating, ABC’s immediate past chair of the board.
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Of the nation's top 25 construction companies, 20 are ABC members, according to Engineering News-Record's recently published annual list of the Top 400 Contractors. These successful contractors were ranked based on 2020 revenue.
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On May 27, ABC wrote to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Martin Walsh to share the exceptional results of the 2021 Workforce Development Survey. ABC hopes this outreach will encourage Secretary Walsh to work with ABC to advance the interests of the entire construction industry.
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ABC is pleased the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued long-awaited guidance on COVID-19 vaccinations as it relates to the workplace. On Feb. 1, ABC joined 41 trade associations in urging the EEOC to quickly issue guidance clarifying the extent to which employers may offer employees incentives to vaccinate without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws enforced by the EEOC.
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ABC is pleased that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has re-evaluated its frequently asked questions related to COVID-19 vaccinations, announcing it will not enforce the requirement for employers to record worker side effects from COVID-19 vaccination through May 2022.
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Applications are now being accepted for ABC's Accredited Quality Contractor credential, the only ABC program that recognizes companies based on quality, safety, education talent management and diversity and community relations.
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In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, ABC expressed concerns about Treasury’s guidance on $350 billion worth of federal funding for state and local fiscal recovery allocated in the American Rescue Plan and the encouragement of project labor agreements on federally assisted water, sewer and broadband projects.
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Wednesday, May 19, 2021 2:15 PM |
ABC News,
Politics & Policy,
State/Local News,
Legislation,
Regulations,
GA-PLAs,
GA-PLAs-Federal,
GA-PLAs-State & Local,
Ga-PLAs-Federal-Legislation
The Biden administration and U.S. Department of Treasury have taken another unfortunate step promoting controversial, anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements, local hire and Davis-Bacon/prevailing wage policies on federally assisted taxpayer-funded construction projects.
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On May 14, the Coalition for Workforce Innovation, ABC, ABC Southeast Texas Chapter and the Financial Services Institute filed an amended complaint challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s unlawful withdrawal of the independent contractor rule. The Department’s hasty and unjustified action violates the Administrative Procedure Act, compounding a violation that began when the department improperly delayed the effective date of the rule in March.
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On May 10, ABC, as a steering committee member of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, wrote to U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration urging it to review and revise its recently issued Frequently Asked Questions on whether employers must record adverse reactions caused by COVID-19 vaccinations that are required and/or recommended by employers.
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Because coronavirus vaccine distribution is accelerating, the expectation is that worldwide demand for steel, aluminum, oil and other productive inputs will surge later in 2021. The result could be substantial upward pressure on construction input prices.
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On May 4, ABC sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) raising concerns about provisions in the Clean Energy for America Act that would expand new government-registered apprenticeship program requirements and Davis-Bacon prevailing wage regulations onto the construction of projects receiving clean energy tax incentives. ABC is troubled by provisions in the legislation that will needlessly increase construction costs and reduce competition from qualified companies and their skilled employees who participate in the construction of the clean energy marketplace.
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On May 5, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the withdrawal—effective May 6—of the Trump-era independent contractor final rule. While expected, this action is extremely disappointing. ABC strongly supported the Trump DOL final rule, which would have clarified the department’s interpretation of independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act and promoted certainty for employers, independent contractors and employees.
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Wednesday, May 5, 2021 12:25 PM |
ABC News,
Legislation,
Workforce Development,
GA-Energy & Environment,
GA-PLAs,
GA-Davis-Bacon,
GA - Workforce Training,
GA-PLAs-Federal,
Ga-PLAs-Federal-Legislation
On May 5, ABC and a coalition of 16 industry and employer groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden raising concerns about the administration’s direct expansion and support of legislative policies encouraging or requiring controversial government-mandated project labor agreements on federal and federally assisted construction projects.
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Thanks to a $1 million grant that just passed the Tennessee General Assembly, ABC’s Greater Tennessee Chapter will operate educational programs to provide advanced craft skills in HVAC, masonry, electrical, and carpentry in a new 15,000-square-foot facility with classroom and lab space. The grant will enable ABC to serve an additional 250 students a year in its four-year adult program.
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In an unfortunate but expected turn of events, Gov. Phil Murphy has signed into law New Jersey’s most recent anti-merit shop project labor agreement-favoring legislation, S-3414/A-5378, which requires government-mandated project labor agreements to apply to all public construction contracts over $5 million in the state. ABC and the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey spoke out in opposition to the legislation.
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On April 27, President Joe Biden issued an executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors, which would require federal contractors to pay a $15 minimum wage to workers working on or in connection with a federal government contract.
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Wednesday, April 28, 2021 2:05 PM |
ABC News
From supporting the Protecting the Right to Organize Act to rolling back Trump-era regulatory actions, the Biden administration got off to a fast start delivering on its election-year promises to unions. ABC has mobilized to protect merit shop construction and provide members with status and updates on key policy actions.
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