Contractors looking to enhance their employees’ project management skills can enroll them to take part in the ABC Project Management Institute held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The course includes two non-concurrent five-day sessions providing the students with tools to improve profitability and productivity and increase quality and customer satisfaction. 

The leader of Philadelphia’s Ironworkers Local 401, Joseph Dougherty, was convicted Jan. 20 on charges of racketeering conspiracy and counts of vandalism and extortion. The court found him guilty of and responsible for the use of arson, intimidation and violence in order to secure jobs for members of the union. The conviction came more than two years after the Quaker Meetinghouse jobsite of longtime ABC member E. Allen Reeves, Inc., of Abington, Pa., was the target of vandalism during the 2012 Christmas holiday causing an estimated $500,000 in damages.

As a leader in the construction industry, you have to always stay on top of the newest industry trends, the best practices among project management and business development and how to address issues such as workforce development and safety within your company. Join us in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., March 3-6, during the Workforce Conference as we bring together construction professionals and top executives throughout the country to share and collaborate on ways to become the best in the industry.

ABC is reminding its contractor member firms that 2014 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300A work-related injury and illness log summaries must be posted in a visible spot on all construction sites Feb. 1 through April 30. 

The ABC Heart of American Chapter and OSHA formalized an alliance to protect the safety and health of Missouri and Kansas construction workers during a signing ceremony Jan. 15. 

This year, Autodesk released a new form of licensing called Desktop Subscription, or as some call it, rental licenses. As an ABC member, you can get this subscription service with minimal cost through ABC Project Virtual.

ABC of Texas and the Central Texas Chapter of ABC filed a lawsuit Jan. 13 challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ambush election final rule. The suit was filed jointly with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Texas in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. 

NCCER is collecting information on craft professional salaries in order to complete research and compile recruiting materials on behalf of the construction industry. ABC members can help NCCER’s efforts by completing their craft professional wage survey by Jan. 16.

The U.S. House of Representatives Jan. 8 voted 252-172 to pass the ABC-supported Save American Workers Act (H.R. 30), which would replace the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) definition of “full time” as 30 hours or more per week with the traditional definition of 40 hours. Before the vote, ABC sent a letter urging Congress to support the bill and markedit as “Key Vote” for their 114th Congressional Scorecard because under the ACA’s current 30-hour rule, many employers will be forced to reduce employee work hours and wages.  

ABC submitted comments on Jan. 5 to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) expressing their strong opposition to the proposed rule that would require government contractors to report summary data on employee compensation to the DOL. ABC urges the OFCCP to withdraw their proposal.