Author: admin

On Feb. 9, shortly before the White House released its 2019 budget request, both chambers of Congress passed, and the president signed, a funding agreement that sets a budget for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. The deal will raise federal spending caps by $300 billion in 2018 and 2019 and suspend the debt limit until 2019. 

While some Republicans expressed concerns about the increased deficit spending included in the budget deal and the need for funding offsets, most touted the agreement as a success for the U.S. military. It will provide a more than $160 billion increase in base level defense spending and an additional $140 billion in overseas contingency operations funding, which supports the U.S. military war effort and is not subject to budget caps. 

The bill included some funding offsets, but it is estimated to increase the deficit by $24.3 billion during the next five years. Both Democrats and Republicans touted increased funding for a number of critical government programs, including $84 billion for disaster relief and an additional $20 billion for transportation and infrastructure priorities.

As part of the agreement, the corresponding congressional appropriation committees will still have to take up separate bills; Congress has until March 23 to pass a spending bill for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2018. 

Shortly after the president signed the bipartisan budget agreement, the Office of Management and Budget released its budget request for Fiscal Year 2019 on Feb. 12. Officially titled “An American Budget,” the president’s request shows the priorities of the administration and acts as a guide that Congress may choose to follow while creating spending bills.

According to the budget proposal, the administration’s biggest priorities include the following.

• Infrastructure: The 2019 budget provides $21 billion next year toward an infrastructure spending plan worth $200 billion over 10 years, which the White House says will help spur $1.5 trillion in spending when combined with state, local and private funds. 
• Border security: The $23 billion request includes $18 billion toward a wall along the Mexican border, $2.7 billion to detain up to 52,000 undocumented immigrants, and $782 million to hire 2,750 more customs and immigration agents.
• Opioid treatment: President Trump proposes an additional $10 billion in discretionary spending for opioid treatment.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) priorities include expanding access to apprenticeships, reforming Job Corps and more than 40 other workforce development programs, expanding Association Health Plans (AHPs) and providing for up to six weeks of paid family leave for new parents.

It is important to note that the president’s budget request is not legally binding or an agreed-upon compromise with Congress, but rather acts as a theoretical marker of the administration’s priorities. More information can be found on the White House website.

Powered by WPeMatico

Eight of the nation’s top 25 construction companies are ABC members, according to Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) recently published annual list of Top 500 Specialty Contractors. These successful contractors were ranked based on 2017 revenue.

1. EMCOR Group, Inc.
2. Mastec, Inc.
3. The Brock Group
4. Comfort Systems USA
5. MMR Group Inc.
6. M.C. Dean Inc.
7. Centimark Corp.
8. Steelfab Inc.

According to ENR, “After eight years of growth, the market still is thriving. Further, most specialty contractors believe it will continue to improve through the end of 2018 and have backlogs to prove it.”

Powered by WPeMatico

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) President and CEO Michael D. Bellaman issued the following statement on President Donald Trump’s infrastructure proposal:

“ABC applauds the president for sending Congress a plan to rebuild America’s infrastructure. It is now time for lawmakers to develop legislation and policy to efficiently modernize America’s infrastructure and drive economic growth and prosperity for all Americans.

“ABC is pleased that the president’s plan mirrors many of the key principles ABC believes will deliver the most value to taxpayers. For example, addressing regulatory burdens, such as streamlining the federal infrastructure permitting process, will reduce costs and increase the speed of project approval and completion. And expanding efforts to train the next generation of skilled workers will give more Americans the chance to take advantage of the jobs created by these infrastructure projects and help reduce the construction industry’s workforce shortage.

“We look forward to working with the White House and Congress as the infrastructure plan moves through the legislative process.”

Powered by WPeMatico

February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) month, and it comes at the perfect time to celebrate the students, teachers and industry partners who are growing the career readiness of America’s construction workforce. 

According to the Association for Career and Technical Education, the federal government spends more than $80 billion to assist students pursuing higher education. At the same time, the federal government only spends $1.1 billion to support CTE programs that lead to high-wage careers in industries like construction. Increasing CTE availability requires more funding as well as more program support.

In partnership with hundreds of CTE programs across the country, ABC chapters and member companies help students train for a high-wage career, transform interests into marketable skills and triumph as professionals in the construction industry.

Americans are ready to rebuild our neglected infrastructure, focusing on schools, highways, bridges, dams and public transit. However, we must not neglect the big challenge ahead of us: filling a shortage of 500,000 skilled construction workers—a number that could double if the promise of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill from Washington becomes a reality.

CTE is notably effective, and we need to invest in providing more young Americans with educational opportunities that align with the careers that build and rebuild our communities.

Visit workforce.abc.org for more information.

Powered by WPeMatico

The following ABC contractor members were featured on Fortune’s “The World’s Most Admired Companies” list. Almost 4,000 experts, including executives, analysts and directors, voted on the companies, which received high scores in social responsibility, long-term investment value, corporate assets, quality of products and services, global competitiveness, innovation, people management and quality of management.

Visit the Fortune website to view the full list.

Powered by WPeMatico

On Feb. 5, 2018, ABC joined the Association of General Contractors (AGC), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Leading Builders of America (LBA) in sending a letter to Republican and Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to express support for broad, bipartisan reform to the U.S. immigration system and recommend policies that would help address the workforce needs of construction industry employers.  

In the letter, the group calls for a new, market-driven guest worker program for construction to help address the systemic labor shortages in the industry. The letter also calls for the creation of a fair and efficient employment verification system. With the current debate in Congress surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, the letter calls for a solution that provides individuals under this policy with a path toward earned permanent residency, as well as for the extension of temporary protected status (TPS) for deserving nations. Finally, the letter calls for the protection of construction contractors from discrimination or retaliation for participation in any border wall construction or other construction that addresses the needs of our national security.

ABC has previously supported legislation to improve E-Verify with safe harbor for employers acting in good faith, the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 3711).

ABC believes that immigrants currently authorized to work in the United States have helped to fill gaps in our workforce, and any immigration reform must deal with these individuals through a merit-based system that recognizes the needs of our country’s construction workforce. Currently, it is estimated that more than 100,000 DACA and TPS recipients work in the construction industry.

A recent bill in the California State Legislature would ban state government contracts for any company that works to help build any wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. ABC believes this action would set a dangerous precedent and eliminate necessary protections for fair and open competition when it comes to government contracts. 

Powered by WPeMatico

The unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows growth in both public and private construction spending, according to an analysis by ABC. Construction added 36,000 net new jobs in January, an impressive increase of 0.5 percent on a month-over-month basis.  

During the past 12 months, construction has added 226,000 net new jobs, which translates into 3.3 percent growth. The nation added 200,000 jobs across all non-farm segments in January, with construction comprising a strong 18 percent of that growth.

Nonresidential construction added 16,400 net new positions in January, including substantial job growth in the heavy and civil engineering (6,300 jobs) and nonresidential specialty trade (12,400 net new positions) segments. The growth of staffing levels in heavy and civil engineering is indicative of rising public construction expenditures, while the growth in nonresidential specialty trade contractors appears to be more closely related to stronger private spending. At 7.3 percent, the construction unemployment rate is 2.1 percentage points lower than it was a year ago, consistent with the notion of expanding human capital shortfalls. The national unemployment rate remains at 4.1 percent for a fourth consecutive month.

“Any lingering concerns regarding the labor market after December’s somewhat weak report should be completely dispelled by now,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “America’s economy is now firing on many cylinders due to a combination of solid consumer spending growth, accelerating business outlays and stronger exports. All of this ends up translating into demand for construction services, which remains on the rise and continues to trigger strong hiring.

“While nonresidential net construction employment dipped by 2,300 positions in January, the segment has added nearly 19,000 jobs on a year-over-year basis. Other nonresidential construction segments, including heavy and civil engineering and specialty trade contractors, have added significantly to employment on both monthly and annual bases,” said Basu. “Given the elevated number of available construction job openings still in place, staffing levels are likely to grow in future months, though that growth will continue to be constrained by the paucity of available talent that has contractors scrambling.

“While today’s employment report was upbeat, there are some growing concerns. The decline in nonresidential construction employment on a monthly basis may be indicative of overbuilding and market saturation in certain markets. Inflationary fears also are building, prompting interest rates to head higher and stock prices to become meaningfully more volatile. Both construction wages and materials prices have emerged as components of a broader inflation story. While the near-term economic outlook remains rosy given the economy’s abundant momentum, there are some grey clouds forming on the horizon of which contractors should be aware,” said Basu.

Powered by WPeMatico

Nonresidential construction spending expanded 0.8 percent in December, totaling $720.4 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to ABC’s analysis of data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents the fifth consecutive month during which the pace of nonresidential spending has increased. 

Nonresidential spending expanded 0.1 percent on a year-over-year basis and sits at its highest level since March. Private nonresidential construction spending increased 1.1 percent for the month, but is down 2.5 percent year over year, while public nonresidential spending increased 0.4 percent for the month and 4.4 percent for the year. Spending in the power and manufacturing categories, which are two of the largest nonresidential subsectors, contracted by a combined 10.3 percent, or $18.2 billion, since December 2016.

“While data releases are important for many reasons, including helping us to understand what happened in the past, their principal value lies in clarifying our shared understanding of the probable future,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.  “Today’s data release, which essentially confirms the existence of the ongoing construction expansion cycle, is less useful than usual.The obvious reason is that the December data reflect a pre-existing pattern of construction spending. The future is likely to represent a departure from prior trends, in large measure because of the recently passed tax reform bill.

“Even before the United States enacted tax reform, global and domestic financial systems were flush with liquidity and capital,” said Basu. “The tax cut will further bolster liquidity and confidence, which will ultimately translate into more construction starts and spending. If long-awaited progress is made on infrastructure spending, the construction recovery will likely transition from solid to spectacular. Note that the transportation category has already expanded 12.9 percent on a year-over-year basis. During much of the past three years, spending growth generally has been concentrated in a number of key private construction segments, while public construction has tended to lag.

“Of course, industry insiders are scratching their collective heads regarding how to amass enough human capital to actually deliver construction services on time and on budget,” said Basu. “Frankly, that’s a mystery. The implication is that any infrastructure package must be accompanied by action that helps expand apprenticeship programs, steps up investment in two-year colleges, encourages high schools to offer career and technical education, and encourages more people to leap into the U.S. labor force.”

Powered by WPeMatico

President Trump delivered his first State of the Union Speech on Jan. 30, calling America “a nation of builders.” ABC responded to the key components of the president’s address that focused on rebuilding America’s infrastructure, developing an effective workforce in the United States, the success of tax reform, and the need to fix our broken immigration system while continuing to grow a strong economy with limitless opportunities for all Americans.

ABC President and CEO Michael D. Bellaman issued the following remarks on President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech.

“Associated Builders and Contractors appreciates President Trump’s focus on creating a strong economy with limitless opportunities for all Americans. The president is right, America is a nation of builders, and ABC and its members are confident about the direction of the U.S. economy and the construction industry and stand ready to help rebuild America’s infrastructure.”

INFRASTRUCTURE

“ABC is encouraged by the president’s commitment to rebuild America’s infrastructure. The president’s remarks mirror many of the principles ABC wants to ultimately be included in the forthcoming infrastructure plan. Lawmakers and regulators must capitalize on the president’s executive order to reduce project approval timelines while continuing to respect sensible environmental regulations. ABC also advocates for increasing the use of public-private partnerships, embracing technology that improves efficiency and safety and championing an inclusive policy of promoting robust competition that welcomes all qualified Americans and businesses to fairly compete to rebuild America’s taxpayer-funded infrastructure.”

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

“With the promise of an infrastructure bill that could create hundreds of thousands of construction jobs over the next ten years, ABC is pleased to hear the president promote the benefits of vocational schools and repeat his push for America to invest in workforce development. This is a critical time for the construction industry, which already needs to hire an estimated 500,000 skilled workers to fill a backlog of existing jobs. Reducing barriers to meet the workforce development needs of the construction industry and America’s skilled workforce is a crucial component of rebuilding America’s infrastructure and driving economic growth.”

TAX REFORM

“ABC has witnessed the positive effects that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is already having on job creation and company confidence. Thanks to tax savings, ABC members are planning to invest in new equipment, ideas and talent.”

IMMIGRATION

“ABC also welcomes the president’s remarks on immigration reform and is encouraged by the conversations taking place on Capitol Hill and in the White House. While we agree that we need to secure our nation’s borders, there must be reforms that address the workforce needs of employers.”

Powered by WPeMatico

On Jan. 26, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced an extension for the public to submit responses related to its Request for Information (RFI) on the 2014 “ambush” election final rule, also known as Representation-Case Procedures. The deadline for submitting information has been extended from Feb. 12 to March 19, 2018. 

On Dec. 14, the NLRB published an RFI asking for information on the rule, which overhauls the procedures for union representation by drastically shortening the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place.  

The NLRB is seeking feedback on three questions:

1. Should the 2014 election rule be retained without change?
2. Should the 2014 election rule be retained with modifications? If so, what should be modified?
3. Should the 2014 election rule be rescinded? If so, should the board revert to the representation election regulations that were in effect prior to the 2014 election rule’s adoption, or should the board make changes to the prior representation election regulations? If the board should make changes to the prior representation election regulations, what should be changed?

Responses are limited to 25 pages. Visit the NLRB webpage for more information on how to submit responses. 

ABC will be submitting a response on the RFI. Members can contact Karen Livingston or Kelly Tyroler if they have any questions.

Powered by WPeMatico