Author: agcnews

Calling it a “Vital Safety Issue,” Associated General Contractors of America, Other Groups, are Partnering with the CDC to Spend Week of April 19th Urging Construction Workers to Get Vaccinated When They Can The Associated General Contractors of America and other groups are partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to spend the week of April 19th urging construction workers to get their COVID-19 vaccines as soon as they are able. As part of the campaign, the association will distribute educational materials about the vaccine, as well as a new industry public service announcement urging construction workers to get their shots. “Construction workers…

AGC filed comments opposing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) recent proposals to withdrawal the Independent Contractor status and rescind the Joint Employer definition under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). AGC supports the Trump administration’s previous revisions to both rules, opposes these recent DOL actions and fully expects the opportunity to provide public input on any future revision or adoption of guidance regarding either rule. AGC has long called for federal clarification of the independent contractor status and preservation of legitimate independent contractor relationships, such as those that have historically existed in the construction industry. Likewise,…

On April 15, AGC participated in a small roundtable with the White House’s National Economic Council centered on President Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers. The executive order directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council to consider proposing amendments to the FAR to promote enforcement of the Buy American Act of 1933. The White House staff briefed AGC on the direction of proposed rulemaking and AGC gave feedback to better inform the FAR Council’s as to the impact domestic product preference policies have on those building the nation’s infrastructure. …

On April 15, AGC, along with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and other industry stakeholders, called on Congress to authorize $200 billion in highway and bridge stimulus or “down payment” funding in any infrastructure package, available to be obligated through 2026 at 100 percent federal share. The request also asks that Congress provide $487 billion for the Federal-aid Highway Program as part of the upcoming five-year surface transportation reauthorization due by October 1. According to a recent USDOT report, the current investment backlog for highways and bridges stands at $756 billion. This funding request would finally address this…

On April 13, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) published a notice about an annual $1 billion transportation infrastructure grant program, formerly known as the BUILD and TIGER grant programs, and renamed the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. Projects submitted for RAISE funding will be evaluated based on criteria that include safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation, and partnership. The USDOT will also newly prioritize projects that demonstrate improvements to racial equity, reduce impacts of climate change, and create good-paying jobs, similar to new criteria recently set out for the INFRA grant…

Senate Republicans are reportedly preparing a counteroffer to the White House’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal. West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito and others in a Republican working group have stated that such a proposal would be in the range of $600 to $800 billion, more targeted in scope— focusing on traditional infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports, airports, broadband, and water infrastructure— and would be funded by unspecified user fees. AGC will continue to monitor Congressional activity on infrastructure and surface transportation reauthorization negotiations. For more information, contact Alex Etchen at alex.etchen@agc.org or Cory Gattie at cory.gattie@agc.org.

According to the latest Contractor Compensation Quarterly (CCQ) published by PAS, Inc., construction executive staff wage increases came in at 3.8% for 2020 and are projected to rise by an average 3.4% in 2021.  Though it is pointed out that historically executive staff predictions are low and readers are warned that it might not be until late in the second quarter that we get a better sense of true year end expectations. PAS reports that they just finished their 2021 Construction/Construction Management Staff Salary Survey and that the results project a 3.2% increase for middle managers and professionals in the 2021, with only 4%…

AGC chapters and members should be aware that fraudulent unemployment claims are on the rise. While this has been a problem throughout the pandemic and while the construction industry is not a unique target, many AGC members have reported experiencing such claims and some have reported a spike in recent weeks. The problem has spread across the country. States – which are largely overwhelmed with both legitimate and illegitimate unemployment claims due to the pandemic – are each responding in their own ways, but the federal government has also taken some action. On April 14, the U.S. Department of Labor…

Now that the country is on course to see all adult Americans eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in a matter of days, and an increasing number of employees are returning to the workplace, vaccination status is likely to be an increasingly common topic over the coming weeks and months. This has led many AGC members to ask: when and how can employers ask their workers whether they’ve been vaccinated without getting into hot water? Whether it’s an innocent question asked while trying to make conversation or an inquiry posed to determine whether someone can return to normal duties, employers need to…

The Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) has released its latest edition of the Union Labor Costs in Construction. The report covers trends in collectively bargained compensation in the industry, providing data analyses by region, time, and trade. It can be a valuable resource when preparing for collective bargaining negotiations, particularly when used in conjunction with CLRC’s latest Settlements Report. CLRC reports that the plurality of total package (wages and fringe benefits) rates paid by union contractors in 2020 fell in the $50.01-$60.00 range. Nearly 73 percent fell in the in the $40.01- $70.00 range. Regionally, the largest average total package in 2020 – $69.45…