Wage and salary workers who were members of unions represented 10.8 percent of the 2020 workforce, a 0.5 percent year-over-year gain, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. In construction, the union membership rate rose 0.1 point, to 12.8 percent or 1.05 million workers, over the same period.
Read MoreMonth: February 2021
Arizona leads, California and Illinois lag in ABC Merit Shop survey
Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2020 Merit Shop Scorecard weighs state policies and programs that encourage workforce development, strengthen career and technical education, grow careers in construction, and promote fair and open competition for taxpayer-funded construction projects. Arizona tops the rankings for the first time based on its promotion of free enterprise and investment in tomorrow’s construction workforce—both high priorities for…
Read MoreOpportunity Zone hospitable to panelized concrete system specifications
New York real estate investor and developer GTIS Partners LP broke ground late last year on a single-family, build-to-rent community at a Mesa, Ariz. development the firm owns with Harvard Investments. Cadence is one of the past decade’s most successful master planned communities nationally with over 2,200 units; its new phase will add 197 rental homes to the mix of…
Read MoreEPA CANCELS RULEMAKING OPAQUENESS
When promulgating significant regulatory actions or developing influential scientific information, the Environmental Protection Agency will give greater consideration to studies where the underlying dose-response data are available in a manner sufficient for independent validation. An agency rule finalized in late 2020 does not call for release of personally identifiable or confidential business information, nor does it require EPA to collect,…
Read MoreSave Time & Money with Solimar
See how many producers replace airpads with new technology for cost savings, less downtime, more loads per day and a safer workplace. Solimar Fluidizers are the low cost, easy-to-install replacements to keep your plant running at it’s highest productivity. No Clogs No Maintenance No Material Left Behind Visit Solimar to find out more.
Read MoreInterior Department scientists define climate change projection limits
A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey—the indispensable source of portland cement, crushed stone and sand & gravel shipment data—stresses the need to factor uncertainties attending climate change predictions, especially as models link present greenhouse gas emission levels to earth temperature trajectories through the year 2100.
Read MoreCloud or Closet: What’s Best for Internet Security?
Ready-mix producers are weighing the risks of keeping their data in-house by Craig Yeack
Read MoreExpect the economy to reach pre-pandemic levels this year
by Pierre G. Villere A couple of months ago, I wrote about my most recent crystal ball prognostications, and expected the decade of the 2020s to resemble the 1920s, a period of unprecedented growth and prosperity coming out of World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19. I dubbed this economic expectation for the 2020s the “Roaring Twenties…
Read MoreCemex elections highlight unions’ dubious case for mail-in balloting
Members of prospective bargaining units at essential Alabama and Florida businesses are scheduled to vote this month on union representation. Despite safety team success in containing Covid-19 infection and spread throughout the target employers’ operations, National Labor Relations Board regional offices are allowing workers in both elections to cast ballots by mail versus the standard in-person, manual method. The former…
Read MoreForterra Board approves Quikrete takeover offer
Sources: Forterra Inc., Irving, Texas; Quikrete Holdings Inc., Atlanta; CP staff Principals project a fourth quarter closing on a $2.75 billion deal in which Quikrete Holdings will acquire all outstanding Forterra shares and debt. The cash transaction has the potential to bring under one roof the top two players in manufactured concrete drainage structures— integrating assets that have evolved from…
Read More