Author: Crystal Yates

Choose the meetings you would like to attend on July 29-31 This summer, AGC is holding a series of meetings at its national headquarters on July 29-31st to provide a forum for members to discuss key sustainability and environmental compliance issues on their to do lists. Participants are able to choose which meetings they would like to attend (i.e., sustainability, compliance, or both). Please register here for one—or all three! Finally, past and current members of the Environmental Committee will have the opportunity to RSVP for a closed-door Fly-in with Environmental Regulators on August 1st. Partial Day Meeting – For travel…

On April 17, the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) proposed rescinding the definition of “harm” in the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Trump administration is seeking to align regulations with the underlying statutes and relevant Supreme Court decisions. At issue is whether the inclusion of habitat modification in the current definition of “harm” is contrary to the term “take” in the statute. The possibility for a “take” of a species is central to ESA permitting on projects, often delaying projects from breaking ground. According to the proposed rule, the addition of habitat modification to the…

Choose the meetings you would like to attend on July 29-31 This summer, AGC is holding a series of meetings at its national headquarters on July 29-31st to provide a forum for members to discuss key sustainability and environmental compliance issues on their to do lists. Registration is open now and participants can choose which meetings they would like to attend (i.e., sustainability, compliance, or both). July 29 – First-Ever Sustainability Roundtable Discussions – Full Day Meeting – Opportunity for peer-to-peer discussion on topics chosen by participants in advance. There should be time for discussion on 14-16 topics. Hosted by…

AGC of America joined a coalition amicus brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on April 23, 2025, in Brown-Forman Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The brief supports Brown-Forman Corporation’s efforts to invalidate the NLRB’s 2023 Cemex decision. The Cemex decision makes it easier for unions to gain recognition without a secret-ballot election. The brief argues that Cemex improperly shifts burden from unions to employers by requiring an employer, upon a union’s request for 9(a) voluntary recognition, to either recognize the union or file a petition for an election. This ruling departs from longstanding precedent that placed the…

In an April 23 comment letter, AGC responded to the Trump administration’s request for feedback on aligning the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (2023). The decision in that case greatly narrowed the scope of federal jurisdiction over waters, which is central to when expensive and time-consuming Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404 permits are needed on construction projects. The 2023 conforming rule in response to Sackett is legally flawed and remains on hold in 27 states due to AGC-supported litigation. In its comments, AGC urged…

Survey Closes COB April 25 AGC of America is seeking member input to aid in its consideration of a new member benefit offering. The association is considering partnering with an outside group to offer a workforce citizenship service. The service would provide: The program is expected to provide the following advantages to participating companies: To help AGC gauge member interest and to consider impacts upon member workforces, please take this short, anonymous survey by end of the day on Friday, April 25.

According to the latest Contractor Compensation Quarterly (CCQ) published by PAS, Inc., construction executive staff wage increases came in at 5.2% for 2024 and are also projected to rise by an average 4.4% by 2025 year-end. The actual 2024 increase compared to the 2024 projected increase was .5% higher, so it is possible we will see this same trend in 2025. For comparison, WorldatWork is projecting a 3.8% average increase for all executives in 2025. PAS also just finished the 2025 Construction/Construction Management Staff Salary Survey which indicated a 2024 actual pay increase of 4.6% and an overall projected increase of 4.1%…

The all-new Tenth Edition of AGC’s Supervisory Training Program (STP) is now available! Join AGC of America for a free webinar about it on Wednesday, May 21, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. STP is a training curriculum custom-designed for construction supervisors. It aims to enhance their skills in areas like leadership, communication, planning, and risk management, ultimately improving jobsite productivity and a company’s bottom line. Key points about the new STP to be covered in the webinar: Register for the webinar today to learn more!

The Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) has released its annual report on Union Labor Costs in Construction. The report is useful for understanding current trends in collectively bargained compensation for union craft workers in the construction industry, providing data analyses by region 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. The report shows 71 percent of the total package rates paid in 2022 fell in the $45.01–$75.00 range, predictably, in 2022 there was a higher percentage of total package rates in the upper end of the…

AGC of America has released a new resource to assist the growing number of AGC members facing owner requirements and preferences for project labor agreements (PLAs). The association unveiled the Annotated Template Project Labor Agreement on April 10 at an educational session on PLAs during its Annual Convention in Columbus, OH. The annotated template provides sample PLA clauses and commentary that contractors may find useful for reference and a starting point for negotiations, explained Denise Gold, AGC’s Vice President for Corporate & Labor Legal Affairs, at the session. It is not presented as a model or standard agreement, as “no…