On May 6, AGC member Gus Bruner, President and Project Executive of Caliagua, Inc., based in Anaheim, California testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee for a hearing on “Growing Jobs through Infrastructure Investment.” He highlighted how federal investments in infrastructure can play an essential role in rebuilding our economy and creating well-paying jobs for the American people. The testimony centered on workforce policies that support career and technical education, tailoring of federal workforce programs to local employer needs, and to reject policies that restrict job growth and the economic recovery that is desperately needed. 

 

The AFL-CIO announced that it’s spending more than $1 million on tv and radio ads in Arizona, Virginia and Alaska to target key senators needed to advance the PRO Act  — the greatest threat to open-shop and union construction in decades. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has committed to advancing the bill if just three more senators, on top of the current 47, pledge their support for it. In response, AGC unleashed a Construction Advocacy Fund-financed digital advocacy and public relations campaign that urges the still uncommitted Democratic Arizona Senators Krysten Sinema and Mark Kelly to oppose the PRO Act. AGC is preparing similar efforts in Alaska and Virginia. AGC, with support from the Fund, has been one of the only business groups to publicly push back against the PRO Act, having invested about $500,000 in public relations efforts to date. Your company has the power to help defeat the PRO Act and to help the Fund secure legislative victories for our industry. Please consider joining your industry peers in making a corporate contribution to the Fund today. 

Would provide $35 billion in the nation’s water infrastructure 
 
On April 29, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed (89-2) the bipartisan Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (S.914). The act authorizes more than $35 billion for the Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) grant programs and revolving loan funds for water and wastewater infrastructure targeting upgrading aging systems, climate change resiliency, implementing new technologies and aiding marginalized communities. Action now moves to the House of Representatives, where AGC will continue to press for robust investment in water infrastructure. 

$15 on federal contracts beginning in 2022  
  
On Apr. 21, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) requiring federal contractors to pay a $15 minimum wage to employees working on federal contracts. The increase builds on a 2014 EO signed by President Barack Obama that previously raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10, indexed to inflation. President Biden’s E.O. orders all agencies by January 30, 2022, to incorporate a $15 minimum wage in new contract solicitations, and by March 30, 2022, all agencies will need to implement the $15 minimum wage into new contracts.  The E.O. indexes the minimum wage to inflation for every year after 2022 and orders the Department of Labor to issue regulations by November 24, 2021, to implement the requirements of this order. 

 

 

On April 30, AGC and its coalition partners met with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to raise concerns about and question the need for a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS) 14 months into the pandemic. AGC highlighted the conflicting messages delivered by the administration. On the one hand, the administration continues to highlight the significant decline in case rates, hospitalizations, and great progress towards ending the pandemic through vaccination efforts. On the other hand, OSHA remains determined to issue an ETS to address what it calls grave dangers posed to workers, despite construction remaining an OSHA-identified low exposure industry. AGC and its partners also stressed the importance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and OSHA aligning their respective protocols if an ETS is to be issued. Confusion remains among employers and employees alike due to conflicts between the April 27 CDC guidance and OSHA’s January 29 guidance. The CDC guidance allows for different protocols for the vaccinated versus unvaccinated. The OSHA guidance provides that the vaccinated and unvaccinated should be treated the same and follow established mask and social distancing requirements. 

Nominates Michael L. Connor 
 
On April 27, President Biden announced the nomination of Michael L. Connor to be become the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works (ASACW).  According to the announcement, Mr. Connor is currently a partner in the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP.  Mr. Connor has spent much of his career in the public sector, including serving under President Obama as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2014 to 2017.  The ASACW is one of two positions the president appoints to oversee the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program.  The ASACW will require confirmation by the U.S. Senate.  President Biden has already appointed Jaime A. Pinkham as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, a position that does not require Senate confirmation.

 

Register today. In preparation for the May 24 integration of SAM.gov, AGC is pleased to invite you to hear from GSA officials about the merger of beta.SAM.gov and SAM.gov. This program will provide a detailed presentation of what is (and what is not) changing when SAM.gov integrates with beta.SAM.gov on May 24, 2021. The presentation will focus on the general overview of the new SAM.gov, not be a deep dive into specific functionalities on the certain integrated systems, such as the former fbo.gov site. Participants will learn about how they can access the data and tools they use today in SAM.gov in the modernized site. 

 

 

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) finalized its recent proposal to officially withdraw a Trump administration final rule clarifying the standard for employee versus independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The withdrawal is effective immediately without any replacement or new guidance and employers are advised to rely on past court decisions and WHD guidance to determine whether those workers are employees under the FLSA or independent contractors. 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.

 

AGC of America and our survey partner, HCSS are asking all highway and transportation members involved in highway construction work to evaluate the state of highway work zone safety by completing this annual survey. We want to collect information on the number, severity, impacts and potential solutions to highway work zone crashes. Our intention is to use the information we collect from this survey as the main focus of a media and public education campaign we will launch the week before Memorial Day and the traditional start of the summer driving season. 
  
Please take a few minutes to complete this important highway work zone safety survey by May 14: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G9QGDVT. And of course, please do not hesitate to contact Brian Turmail at 703-459-0238 or brian.turmail@agc.org with any questions, comments or concerns about this survey and our plans to use it to promote highway work zone safety.

 

The AGC Annual Convention provides contractors of all sizes the opportunity to gain business-critical insights into the issues most affecting their operations. From risk management to safety on the jobsite to the latest in project management solutions, AGC brings together experts from across the industry to share their knowledge and help prepare contractors to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Register by June 16 and save $150.00 off admission. 

 

The PRO Act is being sold as something simple, a law designed to guarantee employees of their right to organize and bargain collectively, but the legislation within is far more than meets the eye. AGC and its members have the power to stop it. Find out how in the most recent edition of AGC of America’s official publication, Constructor magazine.