Nearly one-third of U.S. metro areas lost construction jobs between August 2020 and August 2021, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today. Association officials noted that the job losses are occurring as the fate of a bipartisan infrastructure bill that would boost demand for construction remains uncertain in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division published a new resource for stakeholders in the construction contracting community: the Davis-Bacon Wage Determination Conformance Request Guide.
AGC has posted the fifth edition of the Construction Inflation Alert, a document to help owners, officials, AGC chapters, and others understand what contractors are experiencing regarding materials costs, production lead times, and supply-chain bottlenecks.
Guidance Expected as soon as September 24
On September 18, AGC put forth a bevy of concerns for OSHA to consider as the agency works on regulations requiring all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or mandate that any workers who remain unvaccinated produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis. AGC and its members have encouraged voluntary COVID-19 vaccination for their employees since the vaccines became available. The construction industry has proven throughout the pandemic that it can work in a safe and essential manner. OSHA has previously deemed many construction activities as low exposure risks. AGC is reviewing viable legal options in the event the regulations put forth by OSHA exceed the agency’s authority.
House Republican Leadership & Progressive Democrats Unite Against Bill
The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to the announcement today that the House Republican leadership will encourage its party members to vote against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill:
ORLANDO – Louisiana, Mo.’s Champ Clark Mississippi River Bridge replacement was the most significant construction project of 2020, the Associated General Contractors of America announced today. As a result, the project’s contractor, Massman Construction Co., received the association’s Construction Risk Partners Build America Grand Award, as well as the award for the best design-build civil and a Marvin M. Black Partnering Excellence Merit award.
The Associated General Contractors of America and Procore Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: PCOR), a leading provider of construction management software, are launching a new scholarship program to assist African American and disadvantaged minority students who are studying construction fields at historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs. The new scholarship is being made possible thanks to a $250,000 challenge gift from Procore that the association will now fundraise to meet and exceed.