Call to Action: Oppose President Obama’s Blacklisting Proposal

There is still time to make your voice heard in the fight against an Obama administration proposal targeting federal contractors that will drastically reshape federal contracting, harm ABC members and trample the principles of fair and open competition.

Last week, ABC sent out an action alert to ABC member federal contractors requesting members submit formal and substantive comments in opposition to the Obama administration’s “blacklisting” proposal into the official rulemaking record before the Aug. 26, 2015, deadline.

ABC created a template letter that can be downloaded here and customized to reflect your company’s concerns with the proposal and experience as a federal contractor. To submit comments, please send your customized letter to [email protected] by Monday, Aug. 24, 2015, and we will file your letter with the agencies before the deadline.

This week, ABC launched a campaign through ABC’s grassroots program and Action App for mobile devices asking all ABC members to submit a brief comment opposing the proposal. Take action now, in advance of the Aug. 26 deadline.

Protect free enterprise by speaking out against this costly and problematic executive overreach today.

Background

On July 31, 2014, President Obama issued Executive Order 13673 titled “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,” also known as the “blacklisting” Executive Order, which requires federal contracting agencies to consider contractors’ history of labor law violations when awarding certain federal contracts.

ABC has serious concerns with the proposal, which may result in quality federal contractors being arbitrarily and unfairly blacklisted from future federal contracts by newly designated bureaucrats. The proposal imposes a sweeping new regulatory scheme on federal contractors that will disrupt the federal procurement process, significantly increase red tape and costs for both government and industry, and serve as a barrier to federal contracting for many businesses.

See what ABC is doing to fight the blacklisting proposal at abc.org/blacklisting. To learn more about the proposal itself, including a list of the 14 federal laws covered by the proposal; covered violations; and parameters of what are considered “serious,” “willful,” “repeated,” or “pervasive” violations, review this Littler Mendelson memo provided by ABC General Counsel Maury Baskin.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact ABC Director of Labor and Federal Procurement Ben Brubeck, [email protected].