ABC of Florida signed on to President Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers” at an event celebrating career and technical education in Tampa, Florida, yesterday, committing to educating and developing at least 5,000 construction workers over the next five years. ABC members attended the president’s speech on workforce development at Tampa Bay Technical High School and participated in a roundtable discussion with area business leaders convened by the White House to highlight the need to expand apprenticeship programs.

Nonresidential construction spending contracted 1.6 percent on a monthly basis in June, according to an ABC analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Spending totaled $742.4 billion on a seasonally adjusted annual rate for the month, a 4.2 percent increase from the same time one year ago. Private nonresidential spending fell 0.3 percent in June, while public nonresidential spending contracted by 3.5 percent.

ABC praised Congress and the administration for passing a bipartisan reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, one of the key federal programs that supports vocational education programs that align with local workforce needs and lead to industry-recognized credentials.

On July 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking titled Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. According to OSHA, the proposal seeks to better protect personally identifiable information or data that could be re-identified with a particular individual by removing provisions of the 2016 Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule.

Estimated June construction unemployment rates fell in 15 states on a year-over-year basis, rose in 33 states and were unchanged in two states (Arizona and New Hampshire), according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by ABC.

ABC members have set the standard for safety, performance and integrity in the construction industry since 1950. After topping 21,000 members in 2017, ABC has a goal of adding 1,000 new like-minded companies committed to excellence and delivering high-value, to join in 2018. Now it’s easy to recommend a colleague at onekmoresway.org, and chapter staff will follow up to close the deal.

The U.S. economy expanded at an annualized 4.1 percent rate during the second quarter of 2018—the fastest rate of quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2014, according to an ABC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data.

On behalf of ABC, Mike Holland, chief operating officer, MAREK Companies, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about the need to modernize and expand apprenticeship opportunities in the United States. 

On July 19, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service proposed revisions to regulations governing sections 4 and 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The public has until Sept. 24, 2018 to comment on the proposed rules. 

ABC urged the U.S. House of Representatives to pass two bills that would modernize vital health care programs and provide much-needed relief to small businesses and their employees, designating them as key votes for its scorecard on the 115th Congress on July 23.