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On Feb. 4, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4521, the America COMPETES Act by a vote of 222-210. The ABC-opposed bill is filled with anti-competitive provisions that would impose harmful labor policies, including instituting “card-check” provisions, expanding prevailing wage requirements and restricting access to the nation’s registered apprenticeship system for nonunion workers through the ABC-opposed National Apprenticeship Act.
On Feb. 7, ABC, as a member of the Waters Advocacy Coalition, filed comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” applicable to all Clean Water Act programs.
On Feb. 4, President Biden signed Executive Order 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, which mandates the use of PLAs on federal construction projects of $35 million or more in value.
On Feb. 7, the Biden administration’s White House Task Force On Worker Organizing And Empowerment issued its report on how to boost union membership in the federal government and public and private sectors.
On Jan. 28, ABC submitted comments to the Federal Highway Administration on behalf of member contractors who install and perform work related to electric vehicle charging stations and other alternative clean energy fuel stations. ABC said needlessly excluding all contractors and workers who do not participate in the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program and/or government-registered apprenticeship programs from building EV charging station and alternative fuel projects could be problematic.
Republican governors are pushing back on Biden administration actions steering federal dollars for infrastructure projects to state and local governments prioritizing pro-labor policies.
On Jan. 26, ABC, as a steering committee member of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Heat Injury and
ABC has added Wisconsin Chapter member Dan Bertler of Supreme Structures Inc. to the Beam Club Hall of Fame Level.
On Jan. 26, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it is withdrawing its COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applied to employers with 100
On Jan. 14, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the department, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for 2022. This final rule went into effect on Jan. 15, 2022. The increased penalty levels apply to any penalties assessed after the effective date of this rule.