On Feb. 26, ABC sent a letter calling on Congress to consider how its infrastructure investment agenda could impact merit shop contractors and the small business community during a hearing titled Moving America’s Infrastructure Forward. Convened by U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business’ Contracting and Infrastructure Subcommittee, the hearing was timed to coordinate with the recent release of Democrats’ $760 billion infrastructure investm

On Feb. 6, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the disingenuously named Protecting the Right to Organize Act by a vote of 224 to 194.  Five Republicans voted for the bill: Reps. Don Young (Alaska), John Katko (N.Y.) and co-sponsors Jeff Van Drew (N.J.), Chris Smith (N.J.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.). Seven Democrats opposed the bill, along with Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.): Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Joe Cunningham (S.C.), Kendra Horn (Okla.), Ben McAdams (Utah), Lucy McBath (Ga.), Stephanie Murphy (Fla.) and Kurt Schrader (Ore.). ABC urged members of Congress to oppose the PRO Act, considering the vote a “KEY VOTE” for the ABC Legislative Scorecard on the 116th Congress.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans Employment and Training Service is accepting employer applications for the 2020 HIRE Vets Medallion Program Award, which recognizes employers for their efforts to recruit, employ and retain our nation’s veterans. In 2019, the program recognized 427 employers for their dedicated efforts to hire American veterans, including ABC member United Rentals. The deadline to apply is April 30.

Construction industry employment grew by 192,000 wage and salary workers to 8.35 million in 2019, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Greg Sizemore, ABC’s vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development and vice chair of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, spoke on a panel at the Construction Leadership Network Conference last week in Houston to discuss substance abuse and the rise of suicide in the construction industry.

The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to quality, safety, craft and management education, talent management and diversity, and community relations.  This past month, 22 ABC members became Accredited Quality Contractors.

On Sept. 25, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor held a markup on H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act.  During the markup, representatives debated the merits of the bill and sought to add and remove provisions. Each amendment submitted by Democrats passed, while those submitted by Republicans failed via a party line vote. 

On Aug. 26, ABC submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule on apprenticeship programs, which initially excludes the construction industry and the military from provisions intended to expand apprenticeships and close America’s skills gap.

Last week, ABC’s Vice President of HSE and Workforce Development, Greg Sizemore, made a presentation to the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee on the importance of continuing workforce development reforms at the state level.

On June 25, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule on apprenticeship programs that would establish a process for creating high-quality, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs by organizations that apply to become DOL recognized Standards Recognition Entities. DOL’s new release on the proposal is available here.