Photo by Ian Wagreich, Copyright U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foxx told transportation conference he also advocates reducing project costs, through steps such as having federal agencies "harmonize" their project reviews. Related Links: Prepared text of Foxx's speech before U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference Boxer Seeks to Unveil New Transportation Bill in April (enr.com 2/18/2014) [subscription] Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is taking an ambitious approach to the next surface-transportation bill, due later this year, saying that “a one- or two-year Band-Aid won’t cut it this time.”In a Feb. 20 speech kicking off a day-long U.S. Chamber of Commerce transportation conference in
Courtesy of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Leaders from U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, AASHTO, ARTBA, National Association of Manufacturers (left to right) testify about need for new transportation bill. Related Links: Link to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Webcast, prepared testimony Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) says she is aiming to have a new, multi-year surface-transportation bill ready for a vote by her panel in April.But because the Boxer committee’s jurisdiction is limited to highway policy, it will be up to the Finance Committee to tackle the most critical issue for
Related Links: OSHA page on crystalline silica rulemaking Link to Sept. 12, 2013, Federal Register Notice A coalition of construction industry associations has asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to withdraw its proposal to tighten crystalline silica exposure limits for construction workers.But organized labor, including the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Dept., says that the proposed rule is necessary to protect workers from developing silicosis, cancer and other silica-related illnesses.The proposed rule, published in the Sept. 12, 2013, Federal Register, would set a new permissible exposure limit standard of 50 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3), which is much
White House photo by Chuck Kennedy Obama signs directive boosting base wage for contracts with solicitations published starting on Jan. 1, 2015. Further annual increases begin in 2016, to reflect inflation. Related Links: Text of executive order Federal Construction Minimum Wage Hike Impact May Be Small (ENR blog 1/28/2014) President Obama has signed an executive order that boosts the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for federal contractors in the construction and services industries starting in 2015, with further annual increases for inflation, beginning on Jan. 1, 2016. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.Construction industry officials and
Related Links: Federal Register Notice Court Strikes Down New NLRB Rule (2012) The National Labor Relations Board has reissued a proposal to streamline the union-representation election process that is virtually identical to a controversial rule first proposed in June 2011.Employer-oriented construction and business groups opposed the original changes, saying the proposed revisions would not give employers enough time to prepare for union elections.In May 2012, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated the rule, saying the board lacked a quorum when the changes were issued. The court did not make a judgement on the merits of the
Courtesy Howard I. Shapiro and Associates OSHA will receive public comments on the cranes and derricks proposal until March 12, 2014. Related Links: Federal Register Notice Crane Industry Representatives Weigh in on Rule at OSHA Meeting OSHA has proposed extending the compliance date for crane-operator certification requirements. Published in the Federal Register on Feb. 10, the proposed rule would extend the compliance date for the crane-operator certification requirements by three years, to Nov. 10, 2017.A number of construction industry, union and crane certification groups have argued for a change to the construction crane and derrick requirements, finalized in August 2010.
The U.S. government still owes contractors good faith and fair dealing, a federal appeals court ruling indicates.Some attorneys believed that good faith and fair dealing had been pared back in previous court cases, but the appellate court’s Feb. 11 ruling in favor of Metcalf Construction Co. v. U.S. is apparently good news for contractors.Construction industry associations had filed briefs supporting Metcalf, a Hawaii-based general contractor that had been hired by the U.S. Navy in 2002 to build housing units under a design-build contract. The ground conditions involving expansive soils and the presence of chlorate, a pollutant, vastly exceeded what the
Related Links: BLS Information on January Employment Situation Associated General Contractors of America news release Associated Builders and Contractors News Release The construction industry added 48,000 jobs in January, bringing its employment to its highest level since July 2009.According to the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released its monthly unemployment report Feb. 7, despite the particularly severe weather in much of the nation, construction employment totaled 5.92 million in January, an increase of 48,000 from the previous month. The gains in the construction in January more than offset a decline of 22,000 in December.Jobs gains occurred in
Related Links: Fact sheet on proposed rules. Court Strikes Down New NLRB Rule (May 2012 ENR story) The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) plans to reissue a proposal to streamline the union representation election process. The proposal, to be published in the Feb. 6 Federal Register, is virtually identical to a controversial rule first proposed in June 2011. Employer-oriented construction and business groups opposed the original changes, saying that they would not give employers enough time to prepare for union representation elections. The groups successfully challenged the 2011 rule in court. In May 2012, the U.S. District Court for the
Photo by AP Wideworld Joe Oliver, Canada's natural-resource minister, said he was "encouraged" by State Dept.'s EIS. Related Links: State Dept. Information on Keystone XL EIS EPA Says Ketystone Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Insufficient The State Dept. has issued a final environmental impact statement on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline that determines the project probably would not have a major effect on carbon emissions during its construction period.The EIS, which the State Dept. released on Jan. 31, is not the final up-or-down ruling on whether the project can be constructed. Still to come is an Obama administration decision on
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