Posts tagged public works projects

    News Article

    Unions, contractors clash over proposal to require labor equity in Spokane projects

    August 24, 2025 // Priority hires must either be a graduate from a state-certified pre-apprenticeship program; a veteran, person of color, woman, those formerly convicted of a crime, formerly homeless or a tribal member; or living in an area of the city with higher rates of poverty and lower rates of higher education and employment. “We do not believe the government should mandate or compel any firm to change its labor policies in order to perform these projects,” said Cheryl Stewart, executive director for the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors, during a Monday reading of the proposal. “This law is not inclusive, it’s exclusive: over 85% of Washington’s workforce is non-union, and 98% of women- and minority-owned firms are non-union, and these contractors and their employees would be shut out or forced to change their labor policies.”

    benefits Carpenters Local 59 construction workers contractors ethnic healthcare Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 73 Ironworkers Local 14 labor equity Labor shortage minority-owned non-union contractors people of color pre-apprenticeship Public Dollars for Public Benefit law public works projects Spokane Spokane City Council unions veteran Washington women-owned

    Press Release Research ● Labor Unions

    ABC to Biden Administration: Withdraw the DOL’s Davis-Bacon Proposed Rule

    May 18, 2022 // “The DOL’s proposed rule does little to improve or modernize Davis-Bacon Act regulations in the face of decades of complaints by government officials, taxpayer watchdogs and industry stakeholders critical of this regulatory boondoggle well-known for increasing the cost of construction, discouraging competition from small businesses and diminishing the value of taxpayer investment in government infrastructure projects,” said Ben Brubeck

    Associated Builders and Contractors Ben Brubeck Biden administration DOL inflation INFRASTRUCTURE Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Labor shortage public works contracts public works projects publicly funded construction projects regulatory reform Small Business Supply chain union labor unionized contractors wage determination process

    News Article Research ● Labor Unions

    Exclusive: 16 GOP Governors Oppose Biden’s Executive Order Creating Monopoly On Federal Construction Contracts

    April 26, 2022 // Reducing competition from some of the best union and nonunion construction firms and workers will exacerbate the construction industry’s skilled labor shortage, delay projects, and increase construction costs by estimates of 12% to 20% per project, which will result in fewer infrastructure improvements, less construction industry job creation, and higher taxes.

    Asa Hutchinson Associated Builders and Contractors Barack Obama Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research Biden administration Bill Lee bipartisan legislation Brian Kemp bridges Bureau of Labor and Statistics Chris Sununu collective bargaining Congress construction costs Doug Burgum Executive Order Executive Order 14063 federal agencies Federal Construction Contracts federal overreach Gabe Kaminsky GOP Governors government agencies government-mandated Governor Mike Parson Governor Pete Ricketts Governor Tate Reeves Greg Abbott Henry McMaster hiring hall housing increase construction costs Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act job creation Joe Biden Kim Reynolds Kristi Noem Labor shortage Los Angeles Mark Gordon Maryland maximum regulatory flexibility Mike Parson Monopoly New Jersey nonunion contractors Pete Ricketts project delays Project Labor Agreements public works contracts public works projects Rand Corporation Republican Governors roads Ron DeSantis Spencer Cox Tate Reeves taxes taxpayer-funded unions