ABC, Safety Coalition caution OSHA on vaccination and testing standard

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C.  In a letter to Occupational Safety and Health Administration Acting Assistant Secretary James Frederick, the Construction Industry Safety Coalition outlined concerns related to the agency’s forthcoming Covid-19 vaccination and testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which will apply to employers with payrolls of 100 or more per the White House’s Path Out of the…

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Lead economist tracks pandemic’s waning effects on construction

Sources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff An Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the construction industry added 110,000 jobs in March, bringing to 931,000 the number gained since April 2020, or nearly 84 percent of those jobs lost during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. The construction unemployment rate…

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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…

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Arizona leads, California and Illinois lag ABC Merit Shop state ranking

Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C. The 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…

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Associated Builders & Contractors states case for four more years of Trump

Associated Builders and Contractors, Washington, D.C., outlines member-friendly, 2017-2020 advocacy and policy measures in its endorsement of President Donald Trump for election to a second term. Members applaud his administration’s substantial deregulatory efforts, especially after eight years of uncertainty spurred by the predecessor administration’s aggressive, burdensome and litigation-prone rulemaking.

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White House taps ABC, AGC, Big Labor officials for Economic Revival Group

Sources: White House Briefing Room; CP staff

President Donald Trump has enlisted Associated General Contractors of America CEO Stephen Sandherr and Associated Builders & Contractors CEO Michael Bellaman to participate in Construction/Labor/Workforce, one of 16 Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups informing federal, state or local actions as pandemic response measures ease. Joining them are Bechtel Corp. CEO Brendan Bechtel and Flour Corp. CEO Carlos Hernandez, plus AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka; International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ Jim Hoffa; International Union of Operating Engineers’ Jim Callahan; Laborers’ International Union of North America’s Terry O’Sullivan; and, North America’s Building Trades Union’s Sean McGarvey.

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ABC underscores leading safety indicators for OSHA audience

Source: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.

Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Health, Safety, Environment and Workforce Development Greg Sizemore emphasized proactive measures to prevent workplace hazards and reduce recordable incidents at a public, Occupational Safety and Health Administration-hosted meeting in the nation’s capital. The early-November gathering was part of a new OSHA initiative to develop leading indicator tools for safety and health performance in high-hazard industries, and create a repository of resources for companies, industry groups and other organizations.

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Merit shops, unions air differences on new apprenticeship programs

The Associated Builders & Contractors weighed in on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed apprenticeship program rule, which initially excludes the construction industry and military. The proposed rule would establish a process for creating high-quality, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs (IRAP) by organizations that apply to become DOL-recognized Standards Recognition Entities. The agency would not initially accept applications from entities that create “Industry Programs” in construction, because it considers construction a sector that already has significant registered apprenticeship opportunities.

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Multiemployer pension backstop plan advances on Capitol Hill

Sources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

Just ahead of its August recess, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act (H.R. 397), with 29 Republicans joining the majority in a 264-169 vote. Advocates argue the measure is needed to protect the pensions of 1.3 million workers in certain multiemployer pension plans (MEPP)—up to half of which cover construction trades participants—and prevent a Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) collapse. 

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Concrete defies construction input price drop

Sources: Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.

An Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI) data indicates that construction input prices decreased 1.3 percent on both a monthly and year-over-year basis, the latter metric representing the first such occurrence in nearly three years.

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