Author: agcnews

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…

As of October 15, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin continue talks on finding a compromise on additional COVID-relief legislation but appear to be at yet another impasse. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Republicans will take up their own relief legislation the week of Oct. 19, which will be similar, if not identical, to legislation voted on in the Senate on September 10 that failed along party lines. If this package fails again, then the Senate is expected to take up legislation similar to S. 4773, the “Continuing the Paycheck Protection Program Act”…

AGC of America, jointly with nine other associations that are members of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (“CDW”), submitted an amicus brief to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) in a case reviewing the contract bar doctrine on October 8. The contract bar doctrine precludes a union representation or decertification election during the term of a legitimate collective bargaining agreement, up to a three-year term. The NLRB invited amicus briefs in the Mountaire Farms case to provide input as to whether the Board should rescind the contract bar doctrine, retain it as it currently exists, or retain it with modifications. The…

The 2021 competition is now open for one of the country’s most rigorous business safety competitions – AGC’s Construction Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA), sponsored by Willis Towers Watson. This episode highlights AGC-member Faith Technologies – the 2020 Grand Award Winner. Faith’s CEO Mike Jansen and their VP of Safety Rocky Rowlett talk about their safety program, their video series called Charged! and share some of their very own best safety practices. Also hear WTW’s Construction Safety and Risk Control Leader Mike Fredebeil discuss an incredible additional benefit of the safety excellence awards: the annual publication of a free document that…

As employers face unimaginable disruptions during the pandemic, they are still bound by compliance and reporting health care requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Despite relief provided to employers to date, there remains a need for greater regulatory compliance relief. Health care requirements and compliance rules prior to the coronavirus were complex and that complexity has grown. In response to this growing complexity, the Partnership for Employer-Sponsored Coverage—of which AGC is a member—called on the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department to provide compliance safe harbors under the ACA on the affordability test along with increased time and flexibility to…

On Oct. 5, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft National Recycling Strategy for public input. The strategy organizes high-level actions around three strategic objectives to improve the U.S. recycling system: 1) reduce contamination, 2) increase processing efficiency, and 3) improve markets. The draft strategy is available for public comment through December 4, 2020. The draft strategy takes a look at what factors are stressing the recycling system in the United States today from confusion about which materials can be recycled to reduced markets for those products. To read the National Recycling Strategy and provide comments visit: https://www.epa.gov/americarecycles/national-recycling-strategy-and-framework-advancing-us-recycling-system.…

On September 22, President Trump issued an “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.” While the EO does not establish a blanket prohibition on diversity and inclusion (D&I) training of employees by government contractors, it does set forth restrictions on the content of such training. The U.S. Department of Labor must undertake a rulemaking to implement the terms of the EO and that rulemaking could put forth a better understanding of the restrictions required under the EO before it can take effect. AGC continues to review the EO and will provide additional information. For more information, please Jimmy Christianson…

On September 24, AGC, along with a coalition of associations, sent Congress a list of over 130 priorities as the House and Senate conference to reconcile the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2021 (NDAA). Both defense bills authorize roughly $8 billion for military construction and contain a host of procurement and environment provisions. Some noteworthy provisions would have particular impact on federal construction contractors: 1) the House version includes an AGC supported requirement for federal agencies to initially pay at least 50 percent of the actual (incurred or committed) cost of the unilateral change order, 2) the House version would dramatically alter how military construction is procured, which AGC…