The Construction Industry Needs to Hire an Additional 550,000 Workers in 2020

Construction Spending

Source: Census Bureau Value of Construction Put in Place Survey Annual Historical Data and “Annual Total Table”

ABC Comments on DOL's IRAP Rule

On March 11, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a final rule , officially titled Apprenticeship Programs, Labor Standards for Registration, Amendment of Regulations, which establishes a process for creating high-quality, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs by organizations that apply to become DOL recognized Standards Recognition Entities. The rule prohibits SREs from recognizing IRAPs in the construction sector. DOL’s press release on the proposal is available here.

H-2B Cap Increase Comes With New Conditions for Employers

On March 9, ABC joined the H-2B Workforce Coalition in a letter to the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to raise concerns over the release of a temporary final rule to implement supplemental H-2B visas.

Subcommittee Begins Conversation to Reauthorize the 1937 National Apprenticeship Act

On March 4, the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment held a hearing entitled “Reauthorizing the National Apprenticeship Act: Strengthening and Growing Apprenticeships for the 21^st Century.” The National Apprenticeship Act, also known as the Fitzgerald Act, has not been reauthorized since its enactment in 1937 and the Subcommittee released a discussion draft bill to reauthorize the act ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.  

ABC Hits the Airwaves to Advocate for Merit Shop Construction

Ben Brubeck, ABC’s vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs, conducted 11 radio and TV interviews during the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 27 in Washington, D.C. Brubeck discussed the outlook for construction spending and infrastructure investment, highlighted the industry’s response to its current skilled labor shortage and promoted the benefits of fair and open competition on taxpayer-funded construction contracts.

Federal Agencies Publish Databases of Active Guidance Documents

Multiple federal agencies recently published searchable databases of all respective guidance documents currently in effect in an effort by the Trump administration to promote transparency and make these documents readily available to the public.

ABC Weighs In on House Subcommittee Hearing on Infrastructure Investment

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 investment framework, the Moving Forward Framework.  

ABC Applauds Long-awaited NLRB Joint Employer Final Rule

On Feb. 26, the National Labor Relations Board issued its final rule on the standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. ABC is pleased that the final rule clearly delineates and limits the types of control that would be treated as creating joint-employer status under the NLRA.
 

Baltimore City Council Contemplates PLA Mandate

A bill introduced in the Baltimore City Council by Councilmember Shannon Sneed and Council President Brandon Scott would make sweeping changes to the City of Baltimore’s procurement laws. The proposed ordinance, File 20-0488, would impose government mandated project labor agreements on any construction contract valued at $25 million or more. 

The PRO Act Passes in the U.S. House of Representatives

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 and seven Democrats opposed it, along with Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.). ABC urged members of Congress to oppose the PRO Act, considering the vote a “KEY VOTE” for the ABC Legislative Scorecard on the 116^th Congress.