More than 800 attendees participated in Merit Week Feb. 11-12 in Maui, Hawaii, where they took advantage of learning and networking at ABC’s BizCon and Merit Canada’s International Open Shop Conference, and celebrated the achievements of the winners during the Excellence in Construction Awards.

Construction industry professionals and ABC chapter staff have until March 7 to take advantage of the early bird registration rates offered for the 2014 Workforce Development Conference April 29-May 2 in Birmingham, Ala.

The U.S. Navy’s Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific Acquisition Department is soliciting responses to a survey issued regarding the potential use of a government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) on a federal contract for the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha District is seeking comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of a PLA within the Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes Fort Carson and the U.S. Air Force Academy. 

A Southwest Missouri school district was the first local government entity in the state to take advantage of the changes made to Missouri’s prevailing wage law in an effort to lower construction costs on potential new construction projects.

The nation's highest tax court decided last week a contentious construction accounting case in favor of the taxpayer, a California homebuilder, that had been in a decade-long dispute with the IRS over the use of the completed contract method (CCM). While in this case the builder is a residential developer, the precedent may have a broader impact for the tax treatment of long-term construction contracts. 

As part of an effort to expand its existing Lead Paint Renovation and Repair Painting rule to include public and commercial buildings, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dec. 6 proposed to issue a related information collection request (ICR) to general contractors. As part of the Commercial Properties Coalition, ABC submitted comments Feb. 4 offering suggestions related to the scope and clarity of the questions in the ICR and the burden it will place on respondents with respect to time and cost.

Ten members of Ironworkers Local 401, Philadelphia, Pa., were indicted and have been arrested for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to commit criminal acts of extortion, destruction of property, and assault in order to force nonunion construction contractors to hire union ironworkers. In addition, the indictment included the $500,000 in damages at ABC member E. Allen Reeves, Inc.’s Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting House project in 2012 as one of the crimes allegedly committed by the defendants.

A health care alert from Washington Council Ernst & Young on the final rule implementing the employer mandate provisions under the health care law is available for ABC members. The health care alert provides an overview of key provisions included in the final rule and also outstanding issues. 

Seven ABC member companies, representing 20 chapters, were ranked in Fortune Magazine’s annual “Top 100 Companies to Work For” list. They include: Edward Jones, DPR Construction, Plante Moran, Baker Donelson, PCL Construction, Ernst & Young, TDIndustries and Kiewit Corporation.

ABC Feb. 13 signed a joint resolution outlining a partnership and commitment to free enterprise and the merit shop philosophy with Merit Canada, the voice of Canada's eight provincial open shop construction associations.