White House and Department of Labor (DOL) staff attempts to lower contractor margins and raise public-construction costs hit a roadblock late last month in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Lubbock Division. Associated General Contractors of America-led plaintiffs prevailed in a challenge to three provisions in the DOL’s “Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations” final rule,…
Read MoreAn Associated General Contractors of America and Louisiana AGC chapter suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana challenges the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s late-2023 final rule, per February 2022 White House executive order, mandating project labor agreements (PLA) on major federal construction work. The White House lacks the authority to impose sweeping labor policies that…
Read MoreThe Associated General Contractors of America followed up challenges noted here last month to a Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council rule requiring Project Labor Agreements (PLA) on federal construction contracts exceeding $35 million. By offering perspectives on competition, federal labor and procurement statutes, and taxpayer dollar stewardship, the group exposes the dubious nature of what its counsel calls the PLA…
Read MoreSources: Associated General Contractors of America, Washington, D.C.; CP staff An Associated General Contractors of America and Louisiana AGC chapter lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana challenges the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s late-2023 final rule, per February 2022 White House executive order, mandating project labor agreements (PLA) on major federal construction work. The White…
Read MoreIf major construction project permitting, workforce and procurement challenges were not enough, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has injected additional complications by making good on a White House directive requiring Project Labor Agreements on 100-plus contracts annually where federal funds exceed $35 million. Administration officials argue that PLAs promote economy and efficiency by eliminating the risk of delay associated with…
Read MoreSources: Associated Builders and Contractors, Associated General Contractors of America, Washington, D.C. Merit shop and union contractors’ top national representatives will seek court action in response to a final Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council rule, Federal Acquisition Regulation: Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects. Effective December 2023, it implements an early-2022 White House executive order requiring federal construction…
Read MoreSources: Associated General Contractors of America, Washington, D.C.; CP staff AGC Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sandherr plans to retire from his post of 27 years, effective March 31, capping an overall 37-year tenure with the organization. “I am grateful to have retained the confidence of AGC’s officers and Board for these many years,” he says. “I am also fortunate to…
Read More
Ahead of a month or more of vacation for some Washington, D.C. regulars, the White House instructed the Department of Labor to issue a first ever Hazard Alert in response to an unusually hot July. The agency will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction, while its Occupational Safety and Health Administration belabors a…
Read Moreby Pierre G. Villere Among the most frustrating aspects of life as we went through the pandemic, and which haunts us still today, is the employment picture. There is no minimizing the magnitude of the human tragedy, with an official tally of over 5.2 million hospital admissions and a stunning 1.04 million deaths; the sheer human loss is unspeakable. But…
Read MoreCharah Solutions, Inc. in Louisville, Ky., was selected as the 2021 Second Place Construction Safety Excellence Award recipient in the Associated General Contractors of America Construction Safety Excellence Awards. Charah Solutions competed in the Specialty Division’s 500,000 to 1.5 Million Work Hour category. This marks the fourth straight year in which the fly ash marketer and coal combustion residuals management…
Read More