On March 29, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced its Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process final rule, which allows employees to choose a third-party representative, such as an outside union representative or community organizer, to accompany an OSHA safety inspector into nonunion workplaces during site inspections. This final rule is effective on May 31, 2024. ABC will offer a webinar on Tuesday, April 9 at 2 p.m. ET about the final rule. Register now!

Construction Spending Source: Census Bureau Value of Construction Put in Place Survey Annual Historical Data and “Annual Total Table”

The Michigan Legislature voted to repeal Michigan’s prevailing wage law, a 50-year-old law that overcharges taxpayers on public construction projects and limits competitive bidding opportunities for Michigan workers. The historic vote makes Michigan the 24th state without a prevailing wage law. 

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) President and CEO Michael D. Bellaman released the following statement after Congress passed The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: “This is a historic day for the construction industry. For too long, ABC’s 21,000-plus members have paid the highest effective tax rate of any sector of the economy. We are a capital-intensive, cash-flow challenged, domestically oriented industry comprised mostly of small, family owned and closely held merit shop construction companies employing hardworking Americans. Our members have waited for Washington to let them keep more money in their paychecks, which would enable them to invest

Construction input prices expanded 0.7 percent in November and rose 5.6 percent on a yearly basis, the largest increase since November 2011, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of  Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday. Nonresidential construction materials prices also expanded 0.7 percent for the month and 5.4 percent for the year. Crude petroleum prices rose 11 percent in November and are 31 percent higher than this time last year. 

Any additional dollar that can stay in a construction company's cash flow can be invested in hiring and retaining talented workers. That was one of the messages ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman conveyed this week during two live Fox Business Network appearances, as the House Ways and Means Committee unveiled a bill that reforms the tax code. 

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Aug. 8 met with White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) officials to voice concerns about two anticipated final rules from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) that drastically alter existing affirmative action and nondiscrimination obligations regarding individuals with disabilities and veterans.