AGC of America’s Union Contractors Committee and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) hosted a special event at the Carpenters International Training Center (CITC) in Las Vegas, NV, during AGC’s Annual Convention on March 8. Convention attendees enjoyed small-group tours of the exceptional, recently expanded 17-acre CITC campus, which now boasts 1.2 million square feet of classrooms, guest rooms, dining rooms, conference rooms, shops, and event space. A reception followed, at which Carpenters General President Doug McCarron, AGC CEO Steve Sandherr, and CITC Executive Director Bill Irwin gave brief remarks.
Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations completed during 2016 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and benefits of $1.18 per hour or 2.6 percent, according to the annual year-end Settlements Report issued by the AGC-supported Construction Labor Research Council. For newly negotiated multi-year contracts, the average negotiated second-year increase was $1.59 or 2.8 percent, and the average third-year increase was $1.61 or 2.9 percent.
Union representation in the construction industry (covering all occupations) rose from 14.0% in 2015 to 14.6% in 2016, according to an annual report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”) January 26. The number of union-represented employees in the industry also rose over the year, from 992,000 to 1,095,000, while the total number of workers in the industry rose from 7,109,000 to 7,488,000. Union membership in the industry similarly increased, from 13.2% to 13.9%.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released a new “resource document” about the rights of employees and applicants with mental health conditions. The document, Depression, PTSD, & Other Mental Health Conditions in the Workplace: Your Legal Rights, is written in question-and-answer format for an employee audience, but it is also useful for employers as it demonstrates the EEOC’s interpretation of the law and of employers’ obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
If you have not yet registered for AGC of America’s 98th Annual Convention, do so today and be sure to sign up for the special event at the Carpenters International Training Center (CITC)!
Urges Trump Administration to Repeal and Replace
On December 16, 2016, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council issued an interim final rule to implement the Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors executive order and the related final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on September 30. The FAR Council rule took effect on January 1, 2017.
Construction employment slipped by 3,000 jobs in December, while average hourly earnings accelerated, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that recent construction spending numbers and their own survey of members suggest demand for construction remains strong, suggesting that the lack of hiring may be due to a shortage of available workers. “This report presents mixed signals about the state of the construction industry,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “Although a dip in employment might normally be a sign of declining demand, in this case the industry is raising wages and taking other steps to attract and retain workers. Construction spending in November hit a 10-year high, with one-month and year-over-year increases in all major segments. Looking ahead, contractors say they expect more work in every category in 2017 than in 2016.” Read full news release here.
In response to a request for comments from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, on Dec. 19, AGC notified the agency that improvements are needed to the way it collects wage data from construction contractors. The Wage and Hour Division is responsible for setting the prevailing wage rate for federal and federally assisted construction projects covered by the Davis-Bacon Act and currently uses wage surveys to collect wage data from contractors. The agency’s request for comments is a required part of the regulatory process as the agency seeks to extend the use of its current wage survey form (Form WD-10), which expires in 2017.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held in September that the shareholders and officers of a double-breasted (a.k.a. “dual-shop”) construction company can be indicted and could go to prison if the government proves they fraudulently misrepresented that their business was a lawful double-breasted operation with two separate companies. According to the indictment, the defendants, who failed to maintain the separateness of their two corporations, reported to the Massachusetts Laborers Benefit Funds (MLBF) the hours worked by employees of their union company but not their non-union company, and, based on these false reports, failed to make payments due to the MLBF.