ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman sent President-elect Trump a letter urging him to guarantee government neutrality in federal construction contracting on January 4. The letter urged President-elect Trump to rescind President Obama’s Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to require project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal contracts to build projects of $25 million or more on a case-by-case basis, and replace it with the executive orders 13202 and 13208, which prohibit PLAs from being required on federal and federally assisted construction projects.

Save the date and support the competitors of the 2017 National Craft Championships by volunteering to serve as a judge. All judges must be an ABC member and have a demonstrated expertise in one of the following crafts

Kentucky became the 27th Right to Work state and 21st state without a prevailing wage after Gov. Matt Bevin signed ABC-supported legislation. The free enterprise-based laws are historic victories for the merit shop platform and provide tremendous momentum at the state level to begin the 2017 legislative season.

President-elect Donald Trump named Andy Puzder as his choice to serve as Secretary of Labor Dec. 8. Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns the fast food restaurants Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, is a long-time advocate for job creation. He also served as an advisor to the Trump campaign during the presidential election. 

President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office on January 20, 2017, to formally become the 45th President of the United States. The 58th presidential inauguration involves a swearing-in ceremony at the United States Capitol, followed by a luncheon, and then a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. For updates on the Inauguration Day festivities, visit the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies’ website.  

More than a dozen ABC members took advantage of the inaugural ABC at AU program in Las Vegas Nov.14-16. Autodesk University (AU) draws hundreds of construction professionals from all size businesses to see, touch, and try the latest industry technology and attend any of the 180 construction related classes.

On Nov. 18, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment (Fall Protection Systems) final rule. This is an update for general industry and does not change the construction standard. This update could impact maintenance activities being completed on a facility. OSHA indicated that under the final rule they have worked to align the general industry standard with the construction standard. 

On Dec. 1, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a document entitled recommended practices for safety and health programs in construction.  This document is meant to help small and medium contractors who may not have safety and health specialists on staff to create proactive programs to keep their workplace safe. The recommendations do not change any existing obligations from OSHA standards or create new legal obligations, rather is meant only as advisory. 

The new site allows members and staff to search for ABC members across the country by name, chapter, location, sales volume or type of construction. Plus, you can search for members that participate in STEP, have signed the Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace Pledge and those who have federal designations. Members can also manage their membership information, including verifying company name, chapter, CSI and NAICS codes and designations.

The U.S. Congress passed the Continuing Resolution, Stopgap Funding Bill (CR), Dec. 9 to prevent a government shutdown and continue funding for federal programs and services until April 28, 2017. The short-term spending bill maintains the current budget cap level of $1.07 trillion put into place under the Budget Control Act of 2011 and continues funding provisions included in currently enacted fiscal year 2016 Appropriations legislation.