Category: News Line

Pinnacle award winners

Contractor: Nova Group   
Location: Napa, Calif.

Contractor: PCL Industrial Construction Co.   
Location: Houston, Texas

Contractor: SDV Construction, Inc.   
Location: Albuquerque, N.M.

Contractor: Three Rivers Corp.   
Location: Midland, Mich.

excellence award winners

Contractor: Barriere Construction Co, LLC   
Location: Metairie, La.

Contractor: Centennial Contractors   
Location: Reston, Va.

Contractor: Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing   
Location: Dallas, Texas

Contractor: Cianbro Corporation   
Location: Pittsfield, Maine

Contractor: Classic Industrial Services, Inc.   
Location: Baton Rouge, La.

Contractor: Color Works Painting   
Location: New Castle, Del.

Contractor: Environmental Holdings, Inc.   
Location: Morrisville, N.C.

Contractor: Fisher Contracting Co.   
Location: Midland, Mich.

Contractor: hth companies, inc.   
Location: Union, Mo.

Contractor: Interstates Companies   
Location: Sioux Center, Iowa

Contractor: JM Coull Inc.   
Location: Maynard, Mass.

Contractor: Kwest Group LLC   
Location: Perrysburg, Ohio

Contractor: Lauren Engineers and Constructors
Location: Abilene, Texas

Contractor: Manhattan Construction Co.   
Location: Tulsa, Okla.

Contractor: McKinney Drilling Co. LLC   
Location: Hanover, Md.

Contractor: MKD Electric   
Location: Elgin, Ill.

Contractor: Performance Systems Inc.   
Location: WaiPahu, Hawaii

Contractor: Price Electric
Location: Robins, Iowa

Contractor: Primoris- James Construction   
Location: Baton Rouge, La.

Contractor: Ref-Chem LP   
Location: Houston, Texas

Contractor: Richard Construction, Inc.   
Location: Beaumont, Texas

Contractor: RLS Construction Group   
Location: Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Contractor: Robins & Morton    
Location: Birmingham, Ala.

Contractor: S & B Engineers and Constructors, LTD   
Location: Houston, Texas

Contractor: Safway Services   
Location: Laurel, Md.

Contractor: Saulsbury Industries   
Location: Odessa, Texas

Contractor: Structure Tone   
Location: Dallas, Texas

Contractor: The Mundy Companies   
Location: Houston, Texas

Merit Award Winners

Contractor: C.O. Falter Construction Corp.    
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.

Contractor: Callahan Construction Managers    
Location: Bridgewater, Mass.

Contractor: Comfort Systems, VA   
Location: Chesapeake, Va.

Contractor: GE Insulation Co.   
Location: Sanford, Mich.

Contractor: Kelley Construction   
Location: Louisville, Ky.

Contractor: Northern Electric Inc.    
Location: Green Bay, Wis.

Contractor: Peterson Beckner Industries   
Location: Houston, Texas

Contractor: RCL Construction Co. Inc.   
Location: Sanford, Mich.

Contractor: Roy Anderson Corp.   
Location: Gulfport, Miss.

Contractor: Samet Corporation
Location: Greensboro, N.C.

Contractor: W.T. Byler   
Location: Houston, Texas

Contractor: Wayman Fire Protection, Inc.   
Location: Wilmington, Del.

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Nominations & Appointments

On Feb. 16, President Trump announced R. Alexander Acosta as his nominee for Secretary of Labor. Acosta is currently the dean of the Florida International University College of Law and previously served as an assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division and as a member of the National Labor Relations Board.  His nomination followed Andy Puzder’s withdrawal from the confirmation process.

The president also named Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor on Feb. 20.  

The U.S. Senate confirmed former Rep. Mick Mulvaney as Director of the Office of Management and Budget on Feb. 16 and Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 17.  

For an overview of administration activity and insight into potential legislative and regulatory actions, view the archived Feb. 16 webinar “Learn the Latest on the Trump Administration” (login required).

More information on the administration’s executive actions and appointments is also available on the White House Briefing Room website.

For a recap of administration activity between Feb. 9 – Feb. 15, please read this Newsline article.

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Construction Executive magazine is excited to announce the launch of its new mobile app for use on Apple, Android and Kindle devices. Readers will now have access to a mobile version of articles from the printed magazine, which covers topics ranging from construction industry news and market developments to business issues and technology trends. 

“Readers who like our coverage of innovation and safety are responding favorably,” says Lauren Pinch, Construction Executive’s managing editor. “Our audience is a group on the go, from commercial and industrial builders to construction software developers and high-level executives, so the mobile app is a great addition to our suite of products.”

For a full list of features that are included in the mobile app, please see the full press release. You can download the app here. 

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Terry Buschert of Architectural Metals Inc. in Comstock Park, Mich., is using junk metal to help send kids to summer camp. Terry is known as Scrap Man, and he is one of four finalists for the ABC Craft Professional of the Year.

ABC presents the Craft Professional of the Year award to a construction craft professional who excels in his or her field while also demonstrating a commitment to safety, training and the merit shop philosophy. The 2017 winner will receive a brand-new 2017 Ram Tradesman Crew Cab truck from the award’s exclusive sponsor, Tradesmen International, with custom upgrades donated by ABC business partner Ram Commercial. In addition, each of the finalists received a tool kit from Bosch.

Terry was named Craft Professional of the Year by the West Michigan chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, and is now in the running for the national title.

“It highlights someone who is a leader, who really takes initiative in the field” said Jenn Schottke with ABC West Michigan. “It also recognizes someone who has taken a role in mentoring construction professionals in their company.”

Terry takes the scrap metal and turns it in for cash, but he doesn’t keep the money for himself. Instead, he uses it to send West Michigan kids to camp.

Terry puts up signs at construction sites across West Michigan to help get every ounce of scrap metal he can. “Every project he is on, he asks if he can have a dumpster where he can put their scrap metal waste,” Schottke said. Terry says over the past 13 years he has raised more than $130,000 to send about 700 children from low income families to camp.

Check out ‘Scrap Man’ being interviewed by Fox17 West Michigan.

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On Feb. 16, the 2017 Construction General Permit (CGP) went into effect; the revised CGP was issued by the EPA on Jan. 11, 2017. The 2017 CGP replaces the 2012 CGP; the permit includes stormwater runoff from construction sites that disturb one or more acres, or sites that are a part of a larger common plan of development. The 2017 CGP will last for five years.
 
More information on the 2017 GCP can be found on EPA’s website.

Resources:

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On Feb. 15, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, former CKE Restaurants CEO Andrew Puzder, withdrew from consideration of the position. Prior to his withdrawal, Puzder was slated to appear before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for a hearing on Thursday Feb. 16.
 
On Feb. 16, President Trump nominated Florida International University’s College of Law dean Alexander Acosta to head the U.S. Department of Labor. Under former President George W. Bush, Acosta was confirmed by the U.S. Senate three times, as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and as a U.S. Attorney in Miami, Fla. Acosta is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito when he was a judge on the Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
 
A date for Acosta’s confirmation hearing has not been set, but his confirmation process will continue to be covered in Newsline. 

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For an overview of administration activity to date and insight into potential legislative and regulatory actions, register for the Thursday, Feb. 16 webinar “Learn the Latest on the Trump Administration” presented by ABC’s general counsel Littler Mendelson, P.C.

Nominations & Appointments
The U.S. Senate confirmed Steven T. Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury on Feb. 13 as well as David Shulkin as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
 
The U.S. Senate confirmed Linda McMahon to lead the Small Business Administration on Feb. 14. 

For more information on the administration’s executive actions and appointments, visit the White House Briefing Room website.

For a recap of administration activity between Feb. 2 – Feb. 8, please read this Newsline article.

Public Safety and Law Enforcement 
On Feb. 9,  President Trump signed three executive orders, including: 1) directing the administration’s new Attorney General to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who engage in crimes against law enforcement officers, 2) establishing a task force to reduce crime in communities across the nation, and 3) refocusing federal resources on disrupting transnational criminal organizations.

National Security
Following the resignation of Lt. General Michael Flynn (Ret), President Trump named Lt. General Joseph Keith Kellogg, Jr. as Acting National Security Advisor.  

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On July 8, 2016 ABC and a coalition of stakeholders filed a lawsuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) final rule on Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, commonly referred to as the “electronic reporting and anti-retaliation final rule.” The complaint filed on July 8, immediately challenged the anti-retaliation provisions of the final rule that limit post-accident drug testing and safety incentive programs. On Feb. 8, the complaint was amended to include the provisions that would require many employers to electronically submit detailed injury and illness records to OSHA, which would then be posted on the internet. 
 
The anti-retaliation provisions of the final rule went into effect on Dec. 1, 2016. The electronic reporting provisions went into effect Jan. 1, 2017, and will be phased in over a two year period. More information on the compliance dates can be found here.
 
ABC will continue to keep members updated on any developments in the lawsuit through Newsline.  

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On Feb. 6, Missouri became the 28th Right to Work state in the country and the sixth state to take action since 2012 after Gov. Eric Greitens (R-Mo.) signed ABC-supported legislation, SB 19. 

“Associated Builders and Contractors thanks Governor Greitens, Speaker Richardson, Senate President Pro Tem Richard, Representative Rehder, Senator Brown, and many others, for their leadership in allowing workers to freely decide whether to join a labor union, a policy that will benefit all of Missouri,” said ABC HOA President Michele Roberts-Bauer. “Our leaders in the legislature articulated the need for a better business environment in Missouri leading up to last November’s historic election, and the voters agreed with this message by electing a governor, and majorities in the House and Senate, who support the merit shop principles of free enterprise.”

SB 19 was approved by the Senate on January 25 by a vote of 21-12 and was then passed in the House by a vote of 100-59 on February 2. Governor Greitens, who was elected in November, was a vocal proponent of Right to Work during his campaign. His predecessor, Gov. Jay Nixon (D-Mo.), vetoed a Right to Work bill that was sent to his desk in 2015. The legislation is scheduled to go into effect on August 28.

ABC supports Right to Work laws because they guarantee workers can seek employment without fearing they will be required to join (or pay) a union if they are hired. These laws simply allow workers who do not want to participate in collective bargaining to opt out of joining the union or paying dues or fees. If all or most of the members of a bargaining unit believe union representation will advance their interests, then nothing in a Right to Work law prohibits them from exercising their federally protected right to organize a union and collectively bargain with their employer. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that private sector employment grew 5.2 percent faster in Right to Work states than non-Right to Work states from 2003-2013. Additionally, U.S. Department of Commerce data show that per capita disposable income, adjusted for cost of living, was higher in Right to Work states than the national average in 2013.

In November 2016, ABC released its latest Merit Shop Scorecard rankings;  plagued in part by its failure to adopt a Right to Work law to date, Missouri’s business environment ranked 29th in the country. The meritshopscorecard.org website reviews state-specific policies and information significant to the success of the commercial and industrial construction industry. Specifically, the scorecard grades states on their Right to Work status, policies on prevailing wage and project labor agreement (PLA) mandates, their construction job growth rate, commitment to developing a well-trained workforce, career and technical education (CTE) opportunities and results, and use of public-private partnerships (P3s). 

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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today announced that more than 170 of the top construction apprentices and trainees in the country will compete in the 30th annual National Craft Championships, March 1-2 during ABC’s Workforce Week ‘17 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Competitors from 27 states will contend for gold, silver and bronze medals and a safety award in 13 competitions representing 11 crafts. The two-day competition includes a written exam and a hands-on, practical test where competitors will demonstrate their high-level craftsmanship and safety best practices.

“The National Craft Championships is a great opportunity to show off the exceptionally skilled and well-trained craftsmen and women that work on Associated Builders and Contractors member jobsites,” said 2017 ABC National Chair Chuck Goodrich, president of Gaylor Electric Inc. Indianapolis. “ABC looks forward to showing off the very best the merit shop construction industry has to offer, including six Gaylor Electric apprentices, and drawing needed attention to the terrific career opportunities available in the construction industry.”

The annual National Craft Championships was first held in Orlando, Fla., in 1987. Apprentices and craft trainees will compete in:

• Carpentry: Residential/Commercial
• Electrical: Commercial-Industrial
• Electrical: Residential-Commercial
• Fire Sprinkler
• HVAC
• Instrumentation Fitting
• Insulation
• Millwright/Industrial Maintenance Mechanic
• Pipefitting
• Plumbing
• Sheet Metal
• Welding-Pipe
• Welding-Structural

NCC is part of ABC’s effort to raise the profile of careers in construction and highlight the $1.1 billion ABC member companies spend annually on workforce development. In addition to the competition, the NCC Expo will feature masonry and power line demonstrations, welding simulators, a crane simulator, an interactive fall-protection demonstration and tool and training demonstrations.

In addition to NCC, Workforce Week ’17 also features the Excellence in Construction® Awards, which will honor $2.4 billion worth of the best merit shop construction projects from 2016, ABC’s National Safety and Diversity Excellence Awards and world-class education programs for the commercial and industrial construction industry.

All Workforce Week events take place at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. To see the National Craft Championships agenda, visit nationalcraftchampionships.org.

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