Category: News Line

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The ABC Florida East Coast and Central Pennsylvania chapters recently hosted their first construction technology events in order to help their members use technology to develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably. ABC’s Tech Alliance and Tech Marketplace members were featured speakers at the event.

The Florida East Coast Chapter kicked off its event on March 31 with a keynote speech by Rob McKinny from ABC Tech Alliance member Safesite, who provided a comprehensive overview of the current state of construction technology with a focus on safety technology.

“I am so proud of the Florida East Coast Chapter staff and board of directors for committing to lead our industry through the lens of technology at this inaugural event,” said Peter Dyga, president and CEO of the chapter. “The overwhelmingly positive feedback from our members has further solidified the value of offering these opportunities to help them expand their resources in winning work and delivering on that work profitably and safely. We are already looking forward to making this an annual event with an even bigger return in early 2023.”

The Central Pennsylvania Chapter hosted its event the following day with a keynote speech from Jeff Sample, an industry expert from tech company JOiN, who discussed construction technology in the decade ahead.

ABC members at both chapter events learned:

• How some of the most successful local, regional and national companies are creating a culture of innovation and tech mindfulness in their organizations; 
• How a group of Penn State students perceive the use of technology in the construction industry;
• Why purpose-built safety technology can make jobsites and people safer; and
• Future technologies that could affect their businesses.

Other chapters hosting tech events this year include ABC Keystone  on May 23 and ABC Southern California on June 9. A consortium of ABC chapters are hosting a Joint Tech Summit in the Washington, D.C., region on June 23.

If you have any questions about attending one of the upcoming events, please contact Matt Abeles or Josef Burkart.

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Earlier this month, the U.S. House and Senate established a conference committee to continue debate on the House-passed H.R. 4521, the America COMPETES Act, and the Senate-passed S. 1260, the United States Innovation and Competition Act. Both bills contain troubling, restrictive labor policies that would dilute the effectiveness of the legislation and limit opportunities for much of the construction industry to participate in new programs authorized under these bills. 

ABC opposes the following provisions in both bills and urges you to contact your U.S. representatives and senators to support the removal of this language during conference committee negotiations.

National Apprenticeship Act

• Includes the ABC-opposed National Apprenticeship Act which passed the House by a vote of 247-173.
• This proposal, drafted without bipartisan input, continues to include the rigid registered apprenticeship system into law; limits access to apprenticeship opportunities for hardworking Americans; directly discriminates against the industry performing on a merit shop basis; allows unions involved in a collective bargaining agreement to restrict the pool of apprentices; and limits the portability of registered apprenticeship programs throughout the country.

Card Check

• Section 20302 of H.R. 4521, “Solar Component Manufacturing Supply Chain Assistance,” authorizes a system known as “card check,” which would result in the elimination of secret ballot elections as a method for determining if employees want to be represented by a union.Inclusion of this language would set a dangerous precedent for future legislation.
• Under a card check scheme, workers choose whether they want union representation by signing cards in public before their colleagues and union organizers, exposing workers to coercion, intimidation and harassment.
• Card check, which was included in the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, has been historically rejected by Congress on a bipartisan basis.

Mandatory Arbitration

• Section 20302 of H.R. 4521 would implement mandated government interference in labor-management relations, which deprives workers of the opportunity to vote on their collective bargaining agreements by imposing mandatory arbitration when negotiations do not meet a specified timeframe.

Union Neutrality

• Section 20204 of H.R. 4521, “Critical Supply Chain Resilience Program,” states that to be eligible for a grant, loan or loan guarantee, the recipient is required to “remain neutral in any union organizing effort for the term of the grant, loan, or loan guarantee” or maintain any existing collective bargaining agreement during the life of the loan and for two years after completing repayment of the loan.
• Neutrality agreements limit the ability of workers to hear both sides of the argument in a unionization effort, unfairly influencing and coercing employees while shutting employers out of the process.

Expansion of Davis-Bacon

• Sections 20302, 23911 and 20304 of H.R. 4521, and Section 2506, “Semiconductor Incentives,” and Section 28, “Regional Hub Technology Program,” of S. 1260, would all expand Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements, some into new areas of federally assisted, private industry construction projects.
• Expanding Davis-Bacon would decrease the value to taxpayers, fail to improve ongoing wage discrimination cases by the U.S. Department of Labor, drive up the cost of construction projects, lengthen the time for projects to be completed and severely affect small and minority-owned businesses.
• ABC supports removing Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements from H.R. 4521 and S.1260.

Send your message to your members of Congress today, and download the ABC Action app to keep up with ABC advocacy initiatives on the go.

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On April 12, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a National Emphasis Program—Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards, which expands on the agency’s ongoing heat-related illness prevention initiative and campaign by setting forth a targeted enforcement component and reiterating its compliance assistance and outreach efforts.

The purpose of the NEP is to identify and eliminate or reduce worker exposures to occupational heat-related illnesses and injuries in general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture. It targets more than 70 specific industries (refer to Appendix A) expected to have the highest exposures to heat-related hazards and resulting illnesses and deaths. Effective April 8, the NEP will remain in effect for three years unless canceled or extended by a superseding directive.

According to the press release, “As part of the program, OSHA will proactively initiate inspections in over 70 high-risk industries in indoor and outdoor work settings when the National Weather Service has issued a heat warning or advisory for a local area. On days when the heat index is 80 F or higher, OSHA inspectors and compliance assistance specialists will engage in proactive outreach and technical assistance to help stakeholders keep workers safe on the job. Inspectors will look for and address heat hazards during inspections, regardless of whether the industry is targeted in the NEP.” Read the NEP fact sheet for more information.

In addition, learn more about OSHA’s May 3 stakeholder meeting on heat-related hazards and the agency’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings.

Continue to read Newsline for further updates.

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DOL Regional Virtual Listening Sessions on Possible Changes to the Overtime Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division previously announced that it is reviewing its overtime regulations. DOL is now offering five regional virtual listening sessions in May and June and would like to hear feedback from employers on possible revisions to the regulations. Learn more about the dates, times and how to register for the virtual regional meetings.

In March, ABC National and other employer groups participated in DOL and Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy listening sessions on a possible new overtime rule. ABC expressed serious concerns about DOL moving forward with an overtime proposal and urged the department to postpone any future rulemaking.

May 3 Stakeholder Meeting on OSHA Initiatives to Protect Workers From Heat-Related Hazards

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration invites interested parties to participate in a virtual stakeholder meeting on May 3 from 12-5 p.m. to learn about the agency’s initiatives to protect workers from heat-related hazards. OSHA will provide an overview of its ongoing activities, as well as an introduction to the agency’s rulemaking process and ways for the public to participate in that process.

In addition, participants are invited to provide public comments and ask questions related to OSHA’s ongoing efforts to prevent heat injury and illness in outdoor and indoor work settings.

• If you would like to attend, provide public comment or ask questions, please register online.
• You may also submit written comments and additional materials electronically until Aug. 1, 2022.

Learn more about OSHA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings and read ABC’s comment letter.

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On April 5, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it is starting an enforcement program that identifies employers who failed to submit Form 300A data through the agency’s Injury Tracking Application. The enforcement program will begin in early April and was developed in response to recommendations from the Government Accountability Office to improve reporting of summary injury and illness data.

Establishments with 250 or more employees currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records, and establishments with 20-249 employees classified in specific industries with historically high rates of occupational injuries and illnesses are required to electronically submit information from their OSHA Form 300A. This year, covered establishments were required to submit information from their completed 2021 Form 300A by March 2.

According to OSHA’s release, “The program matches newly opened inspections against a list of potential non-responders to OSHA’s collection of Form 300A data through the ITA and reports all matches to the appropriate OSHA area office. If the area office determines that the establishment on the list is the same establishment where the inspection was opened, OSHA will issue citations for failure to submit OSHA Form 300A Summary data.”

The release further states, “In addition to identifying non-responders at the establishment level, the agency is also reviewing the 2021 submitted data to identify non-responders at a corporate-wide level. This corporate level review is being conducted for the nation’s largest employers.”

For more information, visit OSHA’s website on Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements and Electronic Submission of Records.  

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On March 31, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced new directive 2022-02: Effective Compliance Evaluations and Enforcement, which rescinds directives issued under the Trump administration aimed at increasing the certainty, efficiency and transparency of the department’s operations for the contractor community.

Specifically, the new directive rescinds and replaces the four directives below:

• Directive 2018-06: Contractor Recognition Program (Aug. 24, 2018)
• Directive 2018-08: Transparency in OFCCP Compliance Activities (Sept. 19, 2018)
• Directive 2020-02: Efficiency in Compliance Evaluations (April 17, 2020)
• Directive 2021-02: Certainty in OFCCP Policies and Practices (Dec. 11, 2020)

The directive, which has the stated goal to “promote effective enforcement and greater federal contractor compliance with equal employment opportunity laws,” makes a number of significant changes to the OFCCP compliance evaluation process, including:

• Rescinds 45-day delay between OFCCP publishing a Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letter and issuing scheduling letters requiring documents/data.
• Requires all affirmative action plan data be provided within 30 days of receipt of scheduling letter, rescinding previous eligibility for 30-day extension period.
• Broadens the scope of information OFCCP may request in a supplemental request, including documents from a period of two years before a scheduling letter is sent.

Overall, the directive indicates the OFCCP will be taking a more aggressive enforcement approach under President Biden. For more information, read ABC general counsel Littler Mendelson’s article, “New OFCCP Directive Increases Employer Burden in Compliance Review Process.”

“The new directive radically alters OFCCP’s approach toward compliance reviews and removes guardrails that had been put in place to ensure that the agency’s actions would be consistent with the law and due process,” Littler Mendelson said in the article.

ABC will continue to monitor OFCCP’s operations and provide updates in Newsline.

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With the shortage of skilled workers reaching 650,000 this year alone, educating, upskilling and retaining the industry’s current workforce is critical. This means an organization’s workforce development program and processes are more important than ever. The ABC Workforce Development Management System was created to evaluate such programs and validate what each organization is already doing or identify areas for enhancement.

The Workforce Development Management System is a no-cost, easy-to-use assessment designed to assist users with a self-evaluation of their workforce development program, using 11 key components of world-class programs.

WDMS participation benefits include:

• Applying the 11 WDMS key components assists in identifying a starting point and road map to follow in establishing a workforce development program.
• If an organization has an established workforce development program, applying the WDMS key components validates the robustness and effectiveness of the program and identifies opportunities for enhancement.
• Annual implementation of the WDMS affords a participating organization with a badge signifying the organization’s dedication to workforce development. Digital badges may be used on proposal documents, marketing materials and social media.
• Use of the WDMS allows for the analysis of annually aggregated data to determine collective industry workforce development trends.

Additional information can be found in this infographic or at abcwdms.org. Apply today!

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Franz Eston June, former ABC president (now the role of the ABC chair of the board of directors), died on Friday, March 18, 2022.

June was born Dec. 15, 1934, in Hudson, New York. He began his working life as a draftsman in an apprenticeship program for General Electric in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In the late 1960s, after working for Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin) in Florida, June and his family relocated to Lake Jackson, Texas, where he worked for Dow Chemical. Through contacts he made at Dow, June and his business partners started Gulf States Inc., an industrial electrical contracting, construction and maintenance company in Freeport, Texas.

June was incredibly active in his community. He helped form a trades apprenticeship program at Brazosport College in Lake Jackson and served as the first president of the ABC Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. He served as president of ABC National in 1981.

June is survived by three daughters, Melissa, Rebecca and Mary, along with sons-in-law Michael and Jeff, as well as his grandchildren, David, Emily and Celia.

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On March 30, ABC sent a letter to a Congressional subcommittee cautioning that more regulations and less worker freedom, combined with the construction industry shortage of 650,000 workers in 2022, will make it harder to fill any jobs created by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

ABC sent the letter to the U.S. House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development for a hearing titled “Skill, Upskill, and Reskill: Analyzing New Investments in Workforce Development” to underscore the workforce development challenges facing small construction businesses.

ABC advocated against President Biden’s Executive Order 14063 requiring federal construction contracts greater than $35 million to be subjected to project labor agreements, explaining that potential jobs and infrastructure improvements created by the IIJA will be severely hindered. That’s because PLA mandates increase the cost of construction by 12% to 20% and reduce competition by excluding 87.4% of the construction industry workforce that chooses not to join a union.

At the hearing, Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, the vice ranking member of the committee, discussed how President Biden’s executive order mandating PLAs is costly to taxpayers and discriminatory against most of the construction workforce as contractors seek to compete for federal contracts. Watch Rep. Williams’ statement and question on the topic here.

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