Author: agcnews

On October 15, AGC called for the establishment and implementation of a nationwide plan for the distribution of approved coronavirus vaccines in letters to President Trump and candidate Biden. Within that plan, AGC articulated the need to help avoid interruptions of the essential work that the construction industry performs as the result of voluminous and conflicting government guidelines and orders, among other things. AGC continues to remind government officials and the public of the construction industry’s designation as essential and its ability to operate in a safe and effective manner throughout this pandemic. For more information, contact Jimmy Christianson at jimmy.christianson@agc.org.

On October 21, legislation to provide an additional half trillion in COVID-relief failed to advance in the Senate. The Senate also considered a narrower bill to extend, modify, and provide additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), but it was blocked as well. While the PPP legislation provided some important improvements to the PPP program and allowed businesses to take out “second draw” loans, it failed to address AGC’s biggest priority for PPP: reversing the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) decision to disallow tax deductions for business expenses associated with PPP loan forgiveness. This decision will lead to a surprise…

As of October 22, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appear close to agreement on an approximately $2 trillion COVID-relief bill. The details of exactly what would be included in such a bill remain largely under wraps. Outstanding issues include the size of state and local government funding and liability protections for businesses. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated that he would allow a vote on a bipartisan agreement after it passes the House. However, as negotiations remain fluid and days before the election for writing, reviewing, and voting on a final bill dwindle, the chances of…

As previously reported, AGC and many other members of the business community, including the American Council of Engineering Companies, the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have called on President Trump to rescind Executive Order 13950 on “Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.” The EO has already caused much confusion and uncertainty. AGC remains concerned that it could cause much more. AGC also fears that it could fuel federal investigations of government contractors for simply trying to promote diversity and combating discrimination in the workplace. AGC engaged one of Washington’s leading law firms to take a hard look at the EO…

According to the latest Contractor Compensation Quarterly (CCQ) published by PAS, Inc., Open Shop contractors anticipate skilled craft hourly wage increases of 2.64% in 2020 (2.91% excluding zeros). Actual increases for 2019 were 3.25% (including zeros) and 3.26% (excluding zeros). These increases are across the board for all craft, contractor types, sizes, and regions of the country. WorldatWork reports 2020 actual construction increases at 3.1% for Non-exempt Hourly Non-union positions. Historically, our projected numbers are slightly lower than the actual year end figure, but in this year of COVID-19, that most likely won’t be the case. The chart below shows how open…

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has revamped the Employment Referral Resource Directory (ERRD). The ERRD lists government and nonprofit organizations as references to assist federal contractors’ hiring of qualified applicants. ERRD was developed as a compliance assistance tool to help federal contractors identify local job referral services for veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, and minority groups. OFCCP hopes these updates will allow federal contractors to navigate the directory more easily to meet their compliance obligations. The new modernized ERRD provides the following benefits: OFCCP has committed itself to providing proactive, meaningful compliance assistance to help contractors understand and…

Only eight states and the District of Columbia have recouped the severe pandemic-induced losses of construction jobs that occurred last spring, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today. Association officials warned that job losses will become even more widespread unless lawmakers promptly renew and expand the loan program that enabled firms to temporarily retain and rehire many workers. “New spikes in coronavirus cases, along with ongoing pandemic-related costs and revenue losses, are causing ever more private owners, developers, and public agencies to delay and cancel projects,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief…

Collective bargaining negotiations settled during the first three quarters of 2020 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and benefits of 2.7 percent or $1.59, reports the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) in its latest Settlements Report. This compares to an average first-year increase of 2.8 percent or $1.66 reported during the same period in 2019 and of 2.9 percent or $1.67 reported for all of 2019. Negotiated increases, measured by percentage, steadily rose by about 0.1 percent per year from 2011 through 2018, and then remained stable from 2018 to 2019. “However, with the 0.2 percent reduction in the size of…

Officials Say Nationwide Plan Should Set Clear Distribution Priorities, Warn that Delegating Responsibility for Distributing Coronavirus Vaccine to State & Local Officials will Lead to Confusion, Delays, & Hardship President Trump and candidate Biden should establish and implement a nationwide plan for the distribution of approved coronavirus vaccines, the Associated General Contractors of America advised today in a letter to the two presidential candidates (Trump and Biden). Establishing such a nationwide plan will help avoid the confusion, delays and potential economic hardships that would result from delegating all responsibility to state and local officials. “A thoughtful and comprehensive plan to rollout the ultimately approved vaccine for the coronavirus will ensure that the construction industry…

On October 15, AGC—along with the American Council of Engineering Companies, American Institute of Architects, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others—called on President Trump to rescind his Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.  The EO will generate further confusion and uncertainty, lead to non-meritorious investigations, and hinder the ability of employers to implement critical programs to promote diversity and combat discrimination in the workplace. Earlier this year, AGC launched its own diversity and inclusion initiative—Culture of Care—to advance the construction industry as the industry of choice for diverse and talented workers by building inclusive work environments in firms nationwide. AGC…