ABC’s Greg Sizemore, vice president of HSE and workforce development, joined the secretaries of labor, education, commerce and stakeholders from industry, education and government in the Oval Office on May 10 to present the final report from the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion to President Trump. The report outlines how industry-recognized apprenticeship programs and other innovations can help meet the need for highly skilled workers in all industry sectors.

On May 9, the Trump administration released its Spring 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to release through the end of the year and into 2019. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has extended the deadline for filing the 2017 EEO-1 Survey from March 31 to June 1, 2018. According to the EEO-1 Survey webpage, an email will be sent to the EEO-1 company contact introducing the new EEO-1 Survey application. Any questions on the new survey should be directed to 1 (877) 392-4647. 

According to the final report of the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, apprenticeship programs offer workers a career path with paid, on-the-job training and provide employers with highly trained workers, but they are insufficient to address the growing skills gap in many industries. ABC commended the secretaries of labor, education and commerce for leading the task force comprised of representatives from industry, education and government to generate new ideas to expand the role of apprenticeships and help more individuals achieve the American Dream.

On May 9, Chuck Goodrich won the Indiana House of Representatives District 29 Republican primary against three other candidates with 47 percent of the vote. Goodrich will face Democrat Tracy Roberts in November’s general election for the Noblesville, Ind. House of Representatives seat.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will begin enforcement of the final rule on occupational exposure to beryllium in the construction industry on May 11, 2018. According to its May 10 press release and interim enforcement memorandum, OSHA will begin enforcing on May 11 the new lower 8-hour permissible exposure limit (PEL) and short-term (15-minute) exposure limit (STEL) for construction. 

On April 30, Linda McMahon, Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, recognized numerous small business entrepreneurs, including ABC member Keith Porta, as part of National Small Business Week 2018.

It’s #TimeToBuild! ABC will be celebrating Infrastructure Week, May 14-21, with an awareness campaign highlighting the critical importance of infrastructure. Visit infrastructureweek.org for sharable factoids and information how to participate or plan your own event, look for daily Infrastructure Week social media posts on ABC National’s social media channels and follow the conversation using the hashtags #ABCMeritShopProud and #TimeToBuild.

ABC chapters across the country are celebrating Construction Safety Week 2018, May 7-11. These chapters are raising awareness about the importance of safety by hosting events, sharing resources, hosting safety stand-downs and more.

Prices for inputs to construction materials expanded 1.3 percent in April and are 6.4 percent higher than at the same time one year ago, according to an ABC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This represents the largest month-over-month increase in almost three years and the largest year-over-year increase since October 2011. Prices for nonresidential construction inputs increased 1.6 percent on a monthly basis, and are up 6.3 percent year over year.