Steve Klessig, vice president of architecture and engineering, Keller Inc., Kaukauna, Wisconsin, took the reins as the 2021 ABC national chair at ABC’s March board of directors meeting in Grapevine, Texas, on March 9.

On March 9, the U.S. House passed H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, by a vote of 225-206. Five Republicans joined Democrats in pushing this bill forward, while only one Democrat, Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), opposed the bill.

On March 12, the U.S. Small Business Administration released new guidance that clarifies the Lobbying Disclosure Act definition of “lobbying” expenses and will be used to calculate the 15% thresholds for 501(c)(6) organizations receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans. Since December, ABC has advocated for the SBA to use the LDA in calculating lobbying activity and has continued to push the administration to release clear guidance on this critical issue for ABC and its chapters.

On March 12, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) into law, including a controversial provision providing a Congressional Budget Office-estimated $86 billion taxpayer bailout of struggling multiemployer pension plans.

At the ABC national convention, Tim Mongeau, director of workforce development, announced the pilot of the new online Workforce Development Management System. The WDMS is a simple yet comprehensive self-assessment to evaluate an organization’s current workforce development program to identify opportunities for enhancement and validate they’re on the right track.

In accordance with Executive Order 13999, on March 12, the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA issued its National Emphasis Program—Coronavirus Disease 2019, which focuses OSHA enforcement efforts on companies that put the largest number of workers at serious risk of contracting COVID-19. In addition, the program prioritizes employers that retaliate against workers for complaints about u

From March 7-13, ABC celebrated Women in Construction Week to raise awareness of the growing role of women in the construction industry and encourage women to consider a career in construction. ABC demonstrated the success of women in the industry through social media posts, letters to the editor and op-eds published in various media outlets.

On March 12, ABC joined a coalition of construction, housing and real estate organizations in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to address price increases of lumber in the United States over the past year.

All ABC contractor members will receive the monthly Construction Backlog Indicator/Construction Confidence Survey in their inboxes on Monday, March 22. Please encourage your members to respond and help us understand the market forces that are shaping the construction outlook for the coming months.

Today, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division announced proposals to rescind the Trump DOL joint employer and independent contractor final rules. The public has until April 12 to comment on both proposals.