Welcome to the Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, one of the more than 75 chapters nationwide. ABC is a major non-profit construction industry trade association with a nationwide membership of over 23,000 firms. ABC has grown more than 500% since 1970 making it the fastest growing construction trade association in America. ABC represents general contractors and sub-contractors of all trades, plus suppliers of materials and equipment, and other professionals associated within the construction industry.
WHATS HAPPENING?
Victory for Taxpayers –
Fair and Open Competition Saved in Ventura County
Disagreements Among
County Supervisors Kills Project Labor Agreement Proposed for $250 Million
Hospital
At a special meeting this morning (Tuesday, March 13), the
Ventura County Board of Supervisors rejected (on a 2-2-1 vote) a motion from
the board chairman to require contractors to sign a Project Labor Agreement
oriented toward the demands of the Tri-Counties Building and Construction
Trades Council in order to work on a $250 million county hospital project. Fair
and open competition is saved on this project!
It would have been the first government-mandated Project
Labor Agreement within the Central Coast counties of Ventura, Santa Barbara,
and San Luis Obispo counties.
Before the vote, county supervisors heard a lengthy
presentation from county public works staff and county counsel about hundreds
of hours of work on negotiations with various stakeholder groups – in
particular the Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council and the
Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters – to come to an agreement on
provisions concerning core workforce limitations, jurisdictional dispute
resolution, and mandatory union initiation fees and dues paid by all workers
under the PLA. The county was not able to resolve differences between the
Building Trades and the Carpenters concerning jurisdictional dispute
resolution.
Supervisor Peter Foy pointed out that the county had spent
more than $1 million trying to develop a PLA and made a motion to move forward
in bidding the hospital without a PLA, which he regarded as unnecessary and
wasteful. He even dared to refer to “the free market” and “the taxpayers” in
his statement. That motion failed to get a second.
Supervisor Linda Parks complained that she was being forced
to vote on a 33-page contract she hadn’t been able to read because it was
provided by staff after 6:00 p.m. on Monday, March 12. Parks asked if anyone on
the board had read it, and Supervisors Kathy Long, John Zaragoza, and Steve
Bennett said they had read it. Supervisor Steve Bennett said there were no
compelling new things in the PLA and it was time to move forward.
Supervisor Kathy Long then made a motion for the board to
vote on the staff recommendation to adopt a PLA with a “safe harbor” provision
on core workforce and jurisdictional dispute resolution for the Carpenters
union, provided all parties sign the PLA by Friday, March 16. Board chairman
John Zaragoza instead moved for adoption of the version of the PLA supported by
the Tri-Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. That motion failed
2-2-1.
There are three prequalified design-build entities for
bidding on the project: Hensel-Phelps Construction, McCarthy Construction, and
Clark Construction.
Staff reported that Clark did not object to a PLA because
union contractors would perform all of its major trade work and at least 90% of
the total work. Staff also reported that Hensel-Phelps noted that it employs
its own workers under the jurisdiction of the Carpenters trade (which a
Carpenters union official claimed to comprise 30% of the work).
McCarthy was planning to use a large Merit Shop electrical
contractor that has Ventura County employees. A McCarthy representative
declared that if the county approved a PLA as proposed, it would drop its plan
to bid unless the county provided time to prequalify unionized electrical
subcontractors. According to Public Works staff, prequalifying more electrical
contractors would delay the project for up to 4-6 months at a cost of $400,000
per month. Showing a low priority for open competition and fiscal
responsibility, the board chairman John Zaragoza declared that the county would
still have two bidders if McCarthy dropped out.
See material provided by staff to the board here.
Among those to be credited with this
victory are the Ventura County Contractors
Association and Eric Christen of the Coalition
for Fair Employment in Construction. Also assisting were Kevin Korenthal of
KOREN
Communications and other individuals who shall remain unnamed.
Also, you’re encouraged to send an
email to Supervisor Peter Foy thanking him for his lonely yet unabashed public
support for free markets and fiscal responsibility: supervisor.foy@ventura.org
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Thursday, February 23, 2012
At a campaign stop in Phoenix, Repulblican Presidantial Candiate Mitt Romney criticized Rick Santorum's performance in the latest debate. The former Governor also promoted his plan to reduce taxes across the board by 20%. Romney speaks at the Asscociated Builders and Contractors BizCon.
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USACE, VA ISSUE PLA
SURVEYS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS (02/15/2012)
The United States Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued two surveys requesting information from
the construction industry on the potential use of project labor agreements
(PLAs) on projects in West Virginia and California. The U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) also has issued a PLA survey for a project in North Las
Vegas, Nev.
All ABC members and construction professionals are encouraged to respond to the
requests for information and tell the USACE and the VA that government-mandated
PLAs harm competition, increase costs, and impede economy and efficiency in
government contracting.
During the past several months, federal agencies have issued several similar
surveys requesting information about the potential use of PLAs on federal
construction projects in regions nationwide. ABC National has taken the
opportunity to respond to all PLA surveys as they are issued and encourages its
members to do the same.
For more information on PLAs, visit www.thetruthaboutplas.com
website and Facebook page.
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CONSTRUCTION BACKLOG FALLS 3.2 PERCENT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2011
BUT, BACKLOG IS UP 10.9 PERCENT FROM ONE YEAR AGO
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today released its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) for the fourth quarter of 2011. CBI declined 3.2 percent from the previous quarter from 8.1 months to 7.8 months, but is still up 10.9 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. CBI is a forward-looking economic indicator that measures the amount of nonresidential construction work under contract to be completed in the future.
“Overall, the latest CBI numbers indicate a degree of stalling in the recovery of the nation’s nonresidential construction industry, likely due to a combination of the soft patch that developed in the broader economy early last year, a number of seasonal factors and the winding down of federal stimulus projects,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “But the good news is that given the recent acceleration in economic and employment growth, CBI is positioned to rebound more forcefully during the quarters ahead.
“In addition, the most recent data reflect the ongoing expansion in privately funded construction activity as opposed to the contraction of publicly funded construction,” Basu said. “The nation’s smaller construction firms are gaining an advantage from this shift, in contrast to the decreased construction activity among the larger firms that had benefitted from earlier federal stimulus projects and military base realignment-related construction.”
Regional Highlights
o Construction backlog expanded in the Northeast from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, but declined in the South and West, and was essentially unchanged in the Middle States.
o Construction backlog is higher in every region of the nation compared to one year ago.
o Companies in the South, some of which are located in high-growth states such as Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, reported the lengthiest backlog at 8.9 months, up 14.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010.
CBI Map of Regions: Fourth Quarter 2010 v. Fourth Quarter 2011
Analysis
“The disparity between regional construction activity is on the rise,” said Basu. “One year ago, the difference in backlog between the South region, with the lengthiest backlog, and the West region, with the shortest backlog, was 1.98 months. During the fourth quarter of 2011, this gap rose to 2.81 months, with the South reporting a backlog of 8.92 months and the West at 6.11 months.
“The South appears to be the region most positively impacted by rebounding nonresidential construction, largely due to its central importance to the nation’s energy industry,” Basu said. “The West continues to deal with many issues, including the impact of weak residential real estate markets and stressed state fiscal conditions, both of which impact the vitality of broader regional economies.”
For regional trend data go here.
Industry Highlights
o All industry segments monitored by ABC’s CBI declined in average construction backlog from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, but backlog is up on a year-over-year basis in both the commercial/institutional and infrastructure categories.
o Construction backlog in the commercial/institutional segment fell from 8.4 months in the third quarter of 2011 to 7.8 months in the fourth quarter, but remains 11.4 percent above the level reported one year ago.
o Heavy industrial is the only segment in which construction backlog declined from the same time one year ago. Backlog for this segment fell from 6.6 months in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 5.7 months in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Analysis
“The biggest surprise in the data is the lack of momentum in construction backlog associated with the heavy industrial category,” said Basu. “Manufacturing capacity utilization, or to what extent a nation uses its productive capacity, stood at just 71.4 percent during the third quarter of 2011, down from a typical historic level of more than 80 percent. This implies capacity utilization must rise a bit more before the industry experiences a significant increase in construction backlog.”
For Industry trend data, go here.
Highlights by Company Size
o During the fourth quarter, construction backlog for firms with annual revenue exceeding $100 million declined 3 percent. However, firms in this category continue to report the largest construction backlog among all revenue categories.
o Construction backlog for firms with less than $30 million in annual revenue remained at roughly the same level between the third and fourth quarter, but is up 14.1 percent year over year.
o Construction backlog for firms with annual revenue ranging from $30 million to $50 million increased from 7.3 months to 7.4 months during the fourth quarter.
o In the $50 million to $100 million revenue category, construction backlog declined from 9.7 months to 8.9 months during the fourth quarter, but is still 4.2 percent higher than the fourth quarter of 2010.
Analysis
“The most important finding in this quarter’s report is the growing construction activity taking place among smaller firms,” Basu said. “Early in the recovery, the lion’s share of construction work seemed to favor firms with annual revenues in excess of $50 million. This had much to do with federal infrastructure spending. As the economic recovery has broadened to encompass more construction segments, work has steadily spread to smaller firms – a trend that is likely to continue.”
For Company Revenue trend data, go here.
To read more about CBI click here.
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The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), along with co-plaintiff U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Feb. 3 filed a motion in federal court seeking summary judgment in a lawsuit to overturn the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) “ambush election” rule.
ABC strongly opposes the “ambush election” rule because it would significantly limit an employer’s ability to educate employees about the pros and cons of union representation. In addition, publication of the rule was muscled through the approval process at an expedited pace by a two-member Democrat majority of the NLRB before recess-appointed Member Craig Becker’s (D) term expired. When the final rule was passed in December 2011, the CDW immediately filed a lawsuit to block the rule.
In the motion CDW laid out “fatal flaws” with the board’s rule, pointing out that it exceeded the board’s statutory authority and violated the First and Fifth amendments, which guarantee the right to free speech and due process. In addition, the CDW noted that the board members violated the Regulatory Flexibility Act by failing to provide evidence that the rule won’t have a significant impact on small businesses. The motion called the two-member decision improper and “capricious.”
The CDW also cited former Sen. and President John F. Kennedy, who emphasized that employees need at least 30 days to decide how to vote in NLRB elections.
“Then-Senator John F. Kennedy said over 50 years ago that employees need time to hear from both sides prior to an election,” said Geoff Burr, CDW chairman and ABC’s vice president of federal affairs. “That was true then and it’s true now. The NLRB rule is unfair to employers and employees, contrary to Congressional intent and needs to be overturned.”
In response to CDW’s motion, the NLRB filed a motion asking the judge to uphold the regulation.