While work may have slowed or been delayed in some cases, what you may or may not know is the role NRMCA has played in influencing governors to keep the construction pipeline open. To date, 28 states have officially declared all construction as an essential service; 15 states have not acted on declaring what is an essential service, so construction has been unaffected; six states have limited their scope of what is essential and only one state (Pennsylvania) has shut down construction, but declared ready mixed concretre, cement and aggregate operations essential (it is scheduled to reopen construction on May 1).
NRMCA began this effort on March 19 by quickly forming a rapid response team of its Build With Strength (BWS) coalition partners that provided governors and their staff guidance on what the “essential” language in their executive orders should look like, at least as it pertained to the construction industry. In several cases, this messaging was also delivered through our state affiliates with their direct outreach methods to governors as well as NRMCA Producer and Associate members communicating through their respective channels. This BWS public affairs effort also echoed this messaging through the coalition’s social and communications outreach. This initiative has been showcased on the BWS website.
Many states have announced their guidelines for construction (with appropriate safety guidance on site safety and social distancing), in some cases as soon as May 1. This list is subject to change as some governors may change their respective date; NRMCA staff will update this as needed.
For more information, contact NRMCA Senior Vice President of State and Local Government Affairs John Loyer at jloyer@nrmca.org.
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association