ABC's Workforce Development Conference, April 29-May 2, Birmingham, Ala., has been reinvented to allow attendees to create a unique schedule based on their specific interests and training needs. The event will feature more than 40 educational sessions via six tracks: management and implementation, safety, workforce development, increasing productivity, emerging technologies and association management. It also will feature courses on ABC’s Project Virtual and preconference workshops on safety, lean construction and the 2014 National Electrical Code. 

The Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Feb. 10 issued a final rule implementing the employer mandate provisions included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The final rule makes some changes to the proposed rule issued in December 2012, including phasing in provisions for businesses with 50 to 99 full-time employees and those that offer coverage to most but not yet all of their full-time workers. Generally, ACA mandates that employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees offer a certain level of health coverage or be subject to new taxes. A fact sheet issued by the Treasury provides an overview of the phase-in included in the fi

Interstates Companies, Sioux Center, Iowa, was named Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) 2013 Contractor of the Year during the 24th annual Excellence in Construction Awards ceremony, which was held Feb. 11 in Maui, Hawaii. 

During the last presidential campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama proudly told audiences, “We need to strengthen our unions by letting them do what they do best—organize our workers … That's why I am fighting to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)…We'll make it the law of the land when I'm president.” When Democrats took the White House and held onto Congress in November 2008, Obama’s promise seemed all but certain. However, EFCA, also known as “card check,” met with quick and persistent resistance from both sides of the aisle. The passage of EFCA, which at one time seemed inevitable, stalled

As expected, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Feb. 5 reissued a proposed rulemaking that will reduce the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place from the current average of 38 days to as few as 10. 

The Los Angeles district of The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is requesting comments from the construction industry on the potential use of a project labor agreement (PLA) on the Asphalt and Concrete Pavement Repairs and New Improvements primarily at Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, Calif. 

ABC General Counsel Maurice Baskin Feb. 4 testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections during a hearing titled, “OSHA’s Regulatory Agenda: Changing Long-Standing Policies Outside the Public Rulemaking Process.” On behalf of ABC and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Baskin addressed a Feb. 21, 2013, letter of interpretation (LOI) from OSHA allowing union agents and community organizers for the first time to accompany safety inspectors into nonunion facilities, as long as an unspecified (non-majority) number of employees in the nonunion work place designate one.

ABC chapters and members can honor a Craft Professional or Craft Instructor by submitting a nomination for the 2014 Craft Professional of the Year (CPOY) and Craft Instructor of the Year (CIOY) Awards by March 7. The CPOY winner will receive a brand-new truck and the CIOY winner will receive a cash prize May 2 at ABC’s Careers in Construction Awards Ceremony.

An updated summary of employer requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is available for ABC members in a reference document provided by Washington Council Ernst & Young. The document is available on the health care law employer tool kit (login required) on ABC’s website.

ABC is now accepting volunteers to judge the 2014 National Craft Championships on May 1 in Birmingham, Ala. ABC members with recognized experience and expertise in a craft who are interested in participating should submit a judge’s form, found on the NCC website, to [email protected] indicating one of the 13 craft competitions they plan to judge.