Photo by AP Wideworld Union construction workers in Indianapolis rally in favor of prevailing rates in Indiana. Related Links: Wall Steet Journal prevailing wage editorial Republicans Put Repeal of Prevailing Wages on Front Burner On July 1, state prevailing wages in Indiana pass into history, following repeal by state lawmakers in April. Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois are the next states where repeal is possible, provided the political chips fall into place.How much of a catalyst Indiana will be for repeal elsewhere remains unclear. The state's open-shop contractors are looking forward to bidding on projects they believe they had no chance
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics release with data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis Construction's unemployment rate continued to decline in May compared with April's level and the year-earlier rate as the industry added 17,000 jobs, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.BLS, in a report released on June 5, said that construction's May jobless rate fell to 6.7% from April's 7.5%. It also was a steep drop from May 2014's level of 8.6%.Last month's rate was the lowest for May since 2006, when it was 6.6%.
Union dominance of state-funded public works faces its most serious challenge in decades, with Republican governors and lawmakers campaigning to topple or pare long-standing prevailing wage laws.The Midwest is a particular hot spot, as it has been in the past, but the wage contests are playing out from Nevada to New York, where Democrats also are divided.In New York City, a program that provides financial benefits to affordable housing is the heart of an apparent disagreement between Mayor Bill DeBlasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats. DeBlasio wants to exempt such housing from prevailing wages while Cuomo seems not to.In
Enlarge EFCG Diversity decreases with seniority and responsibility, says EFCG survey. Related Links: Industry Women Tackle Still Nagging Worksite Challenges Experts Outline Key Workforce Rule Changes for Federal Contractors Via Executive Order, Obama Pushes for Ethical Contracting EFCG Human Resources Linked-In Group link Meeting diversity goals for employee numbers and pay continues to daunt engineering and construction firms, but their human-resource managers say they face their own challenges in gaining more visibility and influence in company C-suites.In its latest survey of HR trends in design, design-build and program management firms, financial management consultant EFCG found that the median proportion of
The issue of workplace sexual harassment galvanized ENR's "Groundbreaking Women in Construction" gathering on May 6 as attendees at all industry levels shared incidents and impacts. In an electronic poll, 68% of attendees said they had been sexually harassed at work or thought they had been. More than 65% of attendees work for construction or CM firms.
Related Links: Bureau of Labor statistics release with data tables ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's statement and analysis AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's statement and analysis Construction’s April unemployment rate plunged to 7.5% from its year-earlier level of 9.5% as the industry added a solid 45,000 jobs, the Labor Dept. has reported.The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report on the nation’s employment picture, released on May 8, also showed that construction’s jobless rate was well below March’s 9.4% figure.The 7.5% rate last month was the industry's best April number since 2006, when the level was 6.9%.The BLS rates aren’t seasonally
Photo by Greg Aragon for ENR Union-sponsored gathering of women in the building trades focused on how industry can increase pre-apprentices and boost long-term careers for women. The Los Angeles event, held on May 1-3, attracted a record turnout. Pushing to become a more visible, vocal and valued segment of the construction workforce, more than 1,000 women craftworkers—a record number—convened in Los Angeles this month for a union- sponsored conference to share best practices in everything from pre-apprenticeships to coping with a hostile workplace to long-term career creation."The goal of this conference is to increase the numbers of women coming
Related Links: Future Depends Upon a Safe Workforce Contractor Groups Praise New Job Training Law Her freshman year at Mississippi State had not gone as planned, and Holley Thomas needed something to do. Back home in Double Springs, Ala., she decided to try an automotive manufacturing and robotics curriculum at a local community college. The last of the required courses was welding, and she dreaded it. Still, it was a requirement, so she plunged in.She loved it. While making a weld, she experienced the feeling of peace and concentration described by skiers, golfers and fly-casters, an opportunity to block out
Photo by Bruce Buckley / ENR Unions' President Sean McGarvey (above) pushed broad outreach, while conferees responded well to Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt (below). Photo by Bruce Buckley / ENR Faced with a bitterly divided political environment in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in the U.S., construction unions are making a key strategic shift to stay out of the fray and build bipartisan support as the 2016 campaigns heat up. Sean McGarvey, president of North America's Building Trades Unions, told the group's legislative conference that the labor movement and the Democratic Party should not be considered "philosophical soul mates."At the
Courtesy of AIM Electrical specialist Brad Diehl (seated) is joined by COO Donn Rosen (right) and President Troy Perez on project task. With a close-knit workforce and low-key workplace, Houston-based AIM Electrical Consultants seems to have a formula that has kept sparks flying at the firm for 18 years, even through down times.The consultant’s 13 employees are treated like family with a relaxed dress code and flexible schedules but also profit sharing and 401Ks and robust health insurance at the financially-savvy firm. “Three percent of profits were rolled into employee 401Ks last year,” says Donn Rosen, a disabled Vietnam veteran
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