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Negotiators conducting collective bargaining between January and June of this year agreed to raise construction craft workers’ wage and fringe benefits by an average of 2.8 percent or $1.58 during the first contract year, according to the Construction Labor Research Council’s (CLRC) latest Settlements Report. This compares to 2.8 percent or $1.65 for the same period in 2019 and 2.9 percent or $1.67 for all of 2019.

PSA’s Will Promote Workers’ Rights to Paid Sick Leave, Safe Workplaces, and Lawful Pay

Pilots Expand Mediation Program and Modify Conciliation Process

On July 8, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) passed legislation to fund related programs for fiscal year (FY) 2021. If enacted, this measure would provide significantly increased funding for surface transportation programs consistent with levels offered in the recent House passed INVEST in America Act. In addition, the bill would provide funding for economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, including an additional $3 billion for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program and $3 billion for grant and facility upgrade programs through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This measure will now be taken up for consideration by the full Committee. With the FAST Act, legislation that currently authorizes surface transportation programs, set to expire on September 30, it is incumbent that Congress soon come to an agreement on legislation to reauthorize these programs. 51���� will continue to monitor this and other FY21 funding measures as they move through the legislative process. Click here for a detailed breakdown of funding levels in this measure.

Chris has worked in the construction industry for over 25 years in various marketing, business development and public relations positions. In 2008, Chris founded Atlas Marketing to tell stories for people who build things. The agency, based in Pittsburgh, specializes in marketing, social media, digital development, crisis communications, public relations and marketing strategy. Since inception, the agency has worked hard to simplify the complex stories of labor organizations, government agencies, general contractors, specialty contractors and statewide industry associations. In addition to being a member of the 51���� BD Forum, Chris is co-host of the Building PA Podcast, a podcast that showcases the construction industry throughout Pennsylvania and a frequent speaker on the topics of crisis communications and telling stories for the construction industry.

Twice a year the Administration updates its Unified Agenda with projected timelines for rulemakings and other actions. The spring agenda, released June 30, 2020, shows some delay in movement on key water programs that 51���� has been tracking due to their relevance to the construction industry. 51���� summarizes these developments below.

Together, 51���� of America and its Michigan Chapter have extended the association’s long string of successful efforts to establish that the commercial general liability insurance (CGL) policy sold to construction contractors across the United States does provide coverage for property damage resulting from unexpected and unintended defects in a subcontractor’s workmanship (unless one of the policy’s specific exclusions applies). On June 29, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court became the latest of many state supreme courts to agree that such damage is an “occurrence.”

On July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure investment bill—the largest and broadest federal investment in the nation’s infrastructure ever. Among the investment included in the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2) is more than $500 billion for transportation construction, $130 billion for school construction, and $75 billion for water infrastructure construction. The bill, however, also includes certain untenable policies added during the largely partisan legislative process. Those policies are highly unlikely to advance through the Republican-controlled Senate, which will not consider this infrastructure package, or be enacted given President Trump’s veto threat. The Senate is more likely to consider targeted, more modest infrastructure investment—absent such policies—when it puts forth its pandemic relief bill by the end of July.

New Survey by the Associated General Contractors of America and HCSS Catalogs Work Zone Risks for Motorists and Workers as Construction Activity Increases Amid Growing Number of Road Trip Vacationers

Together, 51���� of America and its Maryland Chapter have plugged a potential loophole in standard contract provisions intended to preclude costly litigation over the damage that a project suffers during construction. The association’s victory in Maryland’s highest court means the standard provisions will continue to have their intended effect, precluding litigation over property damage that the builder’s risk insurance will cover.