Nearly 800 members attended ABC’s 2017 Legislative Week in Washington, D.C., last week. See highlights of all the events on ABC’s Flickr account, including speakers Vice President of the United States Mike Pence, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, Sen. Todd Young (R-Inc.) and more.

On June 27, President Trump nominated William Emanuel, a shareholder with ABC’s general counsel, Littler Mendelson P.C., to fill the remaining seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Emanuel is a member of Littler’s Traditional Labor Practice Group and has extensive experience representing trade associations, hospitals, school districts, manufacturing companies and others in a wide range of labor matters.

ABC recently launched a new workforce development website, workforce.abc.org. The site features information on training and education, career paths, safety and diversity programs and workforce development programs ABC manages around the country. Our flexible, affordable craft and safety training leads to industry-recognized, national credentials for today’s leading construction positions. Together, we help individuals train, transform and triumph as they pursue meaningful careers that advance their potential and build strong communities.

It is with great sadness that ABC announces the death of Rosita Howell on June 23. Known to many ABC’ers as “Z,” Rosita  served as executive assistant to ABC national presidents Kirk Pickerel and Dan Bennet.  She started her career at ABC in the 1970s and worked for the association for all but a few on the intervening years, when she worked for past National Chair Gary Hess at Hess Mechanical, and retired from ABC in 2011. 

On June 22, the U.S. Senate issued the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, a substitute to the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA), which would repeal and replace several provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The Senate bill was slated for a vote this week; however, on June 27 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delayed the vote until after the July 4 recess due to a lack of support for passage. 

ABC and the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC) signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the two organizations to work jointly to ensure that all contractors have a fair and equal opportunity to compete for and win contracts to build federal, state and locally funded construction projects. The agreement was signed by Chuck Goodrich, ABC 2017 chair, and CEOs Mike Bellaman and Susan Au Allen, respectively, during ABC’s board of directors meeting on June 21.

Speaking to a sell-out crowd, Vice President of the United States Mike Pence thanked the “Marine Corps of American politics—the first on the beach for freedom in the workplace—the Associated Builders and Contractors of America” for their service to the nation and the communities where they live and work. Pence headlined the association’s annual Legislative Day in Washington, D.C., June 22, addressing more than 400 members before they swarmed Capitol Hill to tell members of Congress the merit shop story.

On May 24, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released an interpretation letter in response to a question on whether a supervisor’s advice to continue participating in daily stretching exercises constitutes medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes.

On June 27, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it was proposing to delay the electronic reporting portion of the final rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” from July 1, 2017 to Dec. 1, 2017. 

Industry executives, suppliers and stakeholders joined ABC members for the third annual ABC Diversity & Inclusion Summit in Washington, D.C., on June 19-20. The program was headlined by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson and included sessions on diversity and inclusion success stories, the Tuskegee University architecture and construction science program and the impact of ABC’s Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP) on MBE companies.