President Obama’s recess appointment of nominee Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board has drawn objections from industry groups and praise from labor unions. Becker, associate general counsel for the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union, was one of 15 recess appointments Obama announced on March 27. Democrat Mark Pearce, another longtime union attorney, received a recess appointment to the NLRB, too. Also on Obama’s list is Rafael Borras, a vice president in URS Corp.’s mid-Atlantic region. He was named Dept. of Homeland Security undersecretary for management. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved Becker on
Congress has approved another stopgap authorization for airport construction grants and other Federal Aviation Administration programs. The latest extension, which gained final congressional approval on March 26, will keep Airport Improvement Program funds flowing through April 30. The measure is the 12th FAA extension since Sept. 30, 2007, when the last multiyear aviation law expired. The new one-month stopgap gives Congress time to work on a new long-term FAA bill. When lawmakers return from a two-week spring break, they can begin to reconcile the two-year, $35-billion FAA authorization the Senate passed on March 22 and the three-year, $53.5-billion bill the
Now that legislation revamping the nation’s health-care system has been signed into law, construction companies and unions are poring over its provisions, trying to determine the impact of its sweeping changes. Some suggest the measure, enacted on March 30, will drive up firms’ premiums. Others are taking a wait-and-see approach. “The devil is always in the details,” says Stuart Binstock, CEO of the Finishing Contractors Association. Whether the law will produce the benefits its architects hope for isn’t clear, says American Subcontractors Association spokesman David Mendes. “When you’re talking about budget reductions and the costs for the program,” he says,
CityCenter, the country’s largest private development, is being sued by Perini Building Co., a unit of Tutor Perini Corp., Sylmar, Calif., over work disputes on the $8.5-billion, 18 million-sq-ft Las Vegas Strip complex of hotels, homes and entertainment. On March 25, Perini filed a lawsuit in Clark County Eighth Judicial District Court against several entities controlled by property owners—MGM Mirage Inc. and Infinity World Development Corp., both units of Dubai World, the investment arm of the Persian Gulf state—seeking $490 million for unpaid construction work on the hotel-casino. The 13-page complaint says the construction contract grew from $3.5 billion to
Despite progress in Congress on a multiyear aviation measure, it looks like another extension—the 12th since 2007—is on its way for Federal Aviation Administration programs, including airport construction grants. The Senate on March 22 approved a two-year, $35-billion FAA authorization by a 93-0 vote. Todd Hauptli, American Association of Airport Executives’ senior executive vice president, says, “Passage of the Senate bill is an important step in the legislative process [and] overdue.” The aviation bill next must be reconciled with a three-year, $53.5-billion measure the House passed last May. There’s no dispute about the funding for FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP)
States and construction companies forced to cope with stopgap federal bills that provided transportation funding on the installment plan now have a bit more breathing room. The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, signed into law on March 18, includes yet another highway-transit extension. But this one stretches through December, and these days, that almost qualifies as a long-term bill. State and industry officials would much rather have a multiyear measure, but in this election-shortened year, the nine-month bill appears to be the best they will get. New law also bolsters Highway Trust Fund with $19.5-billion transfer from general
While President Obama signed the health-care reform legislation into law at a jubilant White House ceremony on March 23, grim-faced Republicans geared up for a battle in the Senate over a “reconciliation” package that amends the bill just signed into law. Riding with that reconciliation measure is the fate of a provision that has divided the construction industry. That provision, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), was in the Senate-passed version of the bill and thus is now law. It requires construction companies with more than five full-time employees and a payroll of $250,000 or more to offer health-care coverage
URS Corp., San Francisco, has settled a lawsuit by the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation on all claims by the state over the collapse of the I-35 bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis on Aug. 1, 2007. The settlement was for a reported $5 million. URS was hired by the state to inspect and recommend action on state bridges, including the I-35 bridge. The company denies any wrongdoing or fault in the matter and says the settlement lets it “avoid the cost and time of further litigation with the State.” It points out that the National Transportation Safety Board concluded
Rocky economic times, green infrastructure, lean construction and helping the industry be heard were themes at the Associated General Contractors of America convention in Orlando on March 17-20. AGC has to be about “the industry, not about the politics,” says AGC’s new president, Ted Aadland, CEO of Aadland Evans Construction Inc., Portland, Ore. “We can’t afford to be a partisan organization. We need to work with elected officials in both parties on the issues.” Aadland said AGC is like “the sleeping giant”—members can “wake up” to influence those who make codes and regulations and reach out to other construction associations
After a delay of more than seven months, a two-year, $34.6-billion Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization finally has made it to the Senate floor. For construction, the bill’s key item is the $8.1 billion it would provide for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants, which finance runway work and other infrastructure projects. Of the bill’s $8.1 billion, $4 billion would be for 2010 and $4.1 billion would be for 2011. Funds would be subject to annual appropriations. This year’s AIP appropriation is $3.5 billion. If the Senate passes the bill, the next step would be a conference with the House, which approved
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