Author: agcnews

AGC to Meet with White House On April 26, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) submitted its draft COVID-19 ETS to the White House for final review. The review process generally takes a few weeks to no more than 90 days. Given the pressure the White House is under from organized labor, worker advocacy groups and Democrats, it is expected that the review process will be expedited. While there has been very limited opportunity to engage in the rulemaking process, AGC, along with their coalition partners will meet with the White House on Friday, April 30 to raise concerns…

AGC Seeks Clarity on Conflicts Between CDC & OSHA Guidance On April 27, the CDC issued updated guidance for fully vaccinated individuals related to mask use, social distancing and COVID-19 testing requirements, among other things. The agency clarified that fully vaccinated people can, “visit with other fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask or social distancing” as well as “participate in outdoor activities and recreation without a mask, except in certain crowded settings and venues.” AGC expects the new guidance will create confusion among contractors and workers and has reached out to CDC and OSHA for clarification due to conflicts between the…

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land and Odessa, Texas Have Worst 12-Month Employment Losses, While Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. and Sierra Vista-Douglas, Ariz. Lead List of 104 Metros with Job Gains Construction employment decreased from March 2020 to March 2021 in 203, or 57 percent, of the nation’s metro areas, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today. Association officials said that the industry’s broader recovery in many parts of the country is being hampered by rising materials prices, supply chain disruptions and project cancellations. “Nearly twice as many metros have lost construction jobs as gained them in…

As the director of marketing and social media for Small Giants, Kimberly Werner has worked in the design and construction industry since 2003, joined Small Giants in 2009 and moved to Colorado in 2015 to lead the expansion of Small Giants in the Denver market. In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities of proposal development, websites and social media, she focuses on Denver’s business development to showcase Small Giants as an industry marketing expert. In addition to being an active member of the AGC America Business Development Forum Steering Committee, Kimberly serves as the Denver Chapter President of the BD Guild, Communications Chair of the…

Christina Pasquariello, Project Manager for P. Agnes, Inc. in Philadelphia, has been a member of GBCA’s Construction Leadership Council Steering Committee since 2019. She also sits on GBCA’s Membership Committee, which leads GBCA’s member recruitment and retention programs. Christina’s interest in construction began at a young age, when her father, Patrick Pasquariello, III (pictured with Christina), would take her to job sites on the weekends. Early on, she knew that she wanted to work in the family business and follow in her father’s footsteps. Like many construction professionals in family businesses, she earned a degree outside of construction (in her…

Would Add New Federal Labor Requirements to Getting Tax Credits On April 21, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), along with 24 Democratic colleagues, introduced legislation that would significantly rewrite the federal tax code’s incentives for energy and clean production, create significant new incentives for renewable energy production, and add notable new labor provisions. The bill would require projects above residential size that receive tax credits to comply with federal labor requirements, including registered apprenticeship requirements that AGC opposes. In current law, renewable energy tax incentives are technology specific (e.g. the production tax credit for wind, solar, or biomass),…

Supports AASHTO Request for Additional Highway & Bridge Investment On April 21, AGC, along with 78 other organizations, urged Congress to oppose one-size -fits-all mandates on state and local communities limiting their ability to construct new highway capacity—a policy that was included in the $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill passed by House Democrats last July. Such policy would adversely affect transportation construction contractors and could stymie efforts to better connect communities to jobs, healthcare facilities, and schools, or to better link businesses in communities to markets. AGC also called for support of the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) request to drive down the…

Sen. Schumer Promises PRO Act Vote with 50 Senators Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Angus King (I-Maine) recently pledged their support for passing the PRO Act—the greatest threat to open-shop and union construction in decades—joining 44 Democrats and one Independent (Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.)) who already committed to support the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently told AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka that the PRO Act would receive a vote in the U.S. Senate if 50 senators pledge to support it. Only three Democratic senators—Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.) and Mark Warner (Va.)—are needed to reach 50. Special interest groups are insisting Senate…

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department announced on April 21 further details of tax credits available under the American Rescue Plan to help small businesses, including providing paid leave for employees receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. Eligible employers, such as businesses and tax-exempt organizations with fewer than 500 employees and certain governmental employers, can receive a tax credit for providing paid time off for each employee receiving the vaccine and for any time needed to recover from the vaccine. For example, if an eligible employer offers employees a paid day off in order to get vaccinated, the employer can receive a tax…

AGC Learns More About Loan Forgiveness for PPP Loans Over $2 Million AGC remains in negotiations with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) about the potential for a settlement of its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lawsuit. The target of that lawsuit is the “Loan Necessity Questionnaire” that has delayed action on many PPP loan forgiveness applications for loans over $2 million. The talks have produced both good and bad news. The good news is that SBA has yet to deny any of the approximately 460 applications that AGC members have filed for forgiveness of loans over $2 million. The bad news…