On Sept. 28, after failing to secure the support of at least 59 of his Senate colleagues, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., requested that his efforts to attach language on federal permitting reform for energy projects be removed from the must-pass continuing resolution, ensuring smooth passage of a government funding bill ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.

The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy will host a roundtable to discuss the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s proposed rule that would require federal contractors and their subcontractors to enter into project labor agreements for federal construction projects of $35 million or more. The virtual roundtable will take place on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, from 1-2 p.m. ET. ABC encourages all federal contractors and sub

According to a September 2022 survey of ABC contractor members published today, 98% oppose President Biden’s proposed rule mandating project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more. PLA schemes needlessly increase costs and exacerbate the construction industry’s skilled labor shortage because they exclude almost nine out of 10 workers from participating in these contracts.

ABC recently released a new action alert to help members tell the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to withdraw a controversial proposed rule opposed by ABC that would require project labor agreements on federal construction contracts of $35 million or more.&l

An important survey of ABC contractor members seeking to gauge opinions and experiences with government-mandated project labor agreements closes this week. It is vital that as many ABC members as possible respond to the survey before the deadline. Member feedback will provide essential support for ABC’s comments opposing the Biden administration’s harmful proposed rule that requires PLAs on all federal contracts of $35 million or more.

Nine of 10 Build Design + Construction’s recently published list of the 90 best hospitality sector contractors and construction management firms are ABC members. These successful contractors were ranked based on 2021 revenue.

ABC’s National Craft Championships won the Spirit of EEC Award during the Engineering and Construction Contracting Association’s Perspectives Conference on Sept. 8 in San Antonio. ABC national chair-elect Milton Graugnard; NCC Chair Bill Lastinger; retired NCC Committee member Mike Stilley; Brandon Mabile, 2020 Young Professional of the Year and businesses development manager at Performance Contractors; and NCC director Jarrell Jackson accepted the award at the conference.

On Sept. 15, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it had expanded its Severe Violator Enforcement Program to include all hazards and OSHA standards and focus on repeat offenders in all industries.

On Sept. 19, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2188 into law, enacting restrictions effective Jan. 1, 2024, on employers’ use of cannabis metabolite testing to penalize existing employees and candidates for employment. AB 2188 lends definition to an emerging nationwide landscape of adjustments in state employment regulation to increasingly permissive medical and recreational cannabis laws.

On Sept. 15, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced that it was ex