Tennessee Names Ann McGauran State Architect

NASHVILLE- Today the Tennessee State Building Commission voted unanimously to appoint Ann McGauran as State Architect. McGauran is the first woman to serve Tennessee in this capacity since the position was created in 1955.  McGauran is a Senior Architect and Facilities Management Professional who has more than 25 years of architectural and project management experience. Since 2014, she has been working in the Tennessee Department of General Services, most recently serving as the Executive Director of Business Operations, in the STREAM Division. McGauran has substantial experience as an architect in the private sector, including with Vanderbilt Medical Center, where she worked as a project manager and in other capacities.  The State Architect and staff serve as support for the functions of the State Building Commission and also provides oversight for all state capital projects and real estate transactions that are under authority of the State Building Commission, to assure compliance with State ... Read the rest of entry »

Member News: Industrial Manager with Turner Construction Company Attains National Design-Build Certification

Huntsville, AL – Brian Knowles with Turner Construction Company’s Huntsville office has successfully completed the requirements for the nationally recognized Designated Design-Build Professional™ (DBIA™) certification. The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) awarded designated status to Knowles upon his successful completion of coursework and formal examination in all aspects of design-build project delivery. By completing these requirements, candidates earn the right to display “DBIA” after their names, identifying them to design-build end-users and the industry at large as professionals experienced in this form of project delivery. “Congratulations to Brian and all our Turner colleagues who have obtained their DBIA certification,” states Tom Manahan, Senior Vice President and Industrial Construction Executive with Turner. He continues, “An increasing number of our clients see the advantages of the design-build delivery model for many of their proje ... Read the rest of entry »

Construction Industry Alliance Announces New Resources Aimed at Preventing Suicides

Contact:Jeff Leieritz (202) 905-2104 leieritz@abc.org For Immediate Release Construction Industry Alliance Announces New Resources Aimed at Preventing Suicides   WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 6– Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today announced new resources made available to its members through its membership in the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention. ABC joined the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA)-led alliance in October 2016 to help provide resources and disseminate information on suicide prevention and mental health awareness in the construction industry, with a goal of building a zero-suicide industry. A 2016 Center for Disease Control (CDC) report showed that construction is one of the most at-risk industries for suicide, with 1,324 of the 12,300 suicides (10.8 percent) studied occurring among individuals who worked in the construction or extraction industries. To fight this epidemic, ABC is encouraging member fi ... Read the rest of entry »

Federal Judge Imposes Injunction Against DOL’s Controversial Overtime Rule:

ABC praises the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Districtof Texas for issuing a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. DOL’sburdensome and costly overtime final rule. Prior to the injunction the rule was scheduled to go into effect onDecember 1st and would have doubled the current minimum salarythreshold for employees that are exempt from overtime pay and would automaticallyincrease every three years.  Construction contractors are pleased that the court hasstepped in to provide relief from another overreaching and burdensomeregulation from the Obama administration’s Labor Department.  The rule would have taken workplace flexibilityaway from employers and may have required some employers to consider switching certainemployees from salaried to hourly positions. Additionally, the rule would have had a significant impact on commercialand industrial construction projects “since many of them last longer than threeyears” and are carefully planned to stay on time ... Read the rest of entry »

Associated Builders and Contractors Congratulates President-elect Trump

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 9– Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today released the following statement on the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.“Associated Builders and Contractors congratulates President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence and looks forward to working with this administration to craft policies rooted in free enterprise that will encourage open competition and result in greater business investment and more construction jobs,” said ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman. “With his background in real estate and development, Trump is very familiar with the obstacles to economic growth ABC members face, including our broken regulatory system, the increasingly difficult challenge of finding affordable health care coverage for employees, a growing shortage of appropriately skilled labor and the highest effective tax rate of any industry. We are hopeful that Trump will select judicial nominees that respect the traditional princi ... Read the rest of entry »

Associated Builders and Contractors Applauds Court Injunction Against (Blacklisting) Rule

The judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, issued a preliminary injunction late Monday night against the Fair Pay and Safe Work Places Rule which has been dubbed the (Blacklisting) Rule.   ABC is pleased the court ruled that the Obama Administration cannot order private businesses to publicly disclose mere accusations of labor law violations that have not been fully adjudicated. By issuing this decision, the court has maintained the first amendment rights of government contractors and protected them and tax payers from the poorly crafted Blacklisting Rule.  In her decision, the judge said that the groups that initiated this lawsuit earlier this month-including the ABC-had properly demonstrated immediate ongoing injury to their members if the rule is allowed to take effect. Before Mondays action halting the new regulation, the Department of Labor had planned to start its roll out of the executive order today. ABC was represented by Maury Baskin ABC&r ... Read the rest of entry »

Governor Haslam, State Rep. Eddie Smith and ABC of Greater TN join ABC to highlight Careers in Construction Month

Knoxville, Tenn., October 14- ABC of Greater Tennessee, Governor Haslam, and State Representative Eddie Smith joined together today to highlight Careers in Construction Month. "The Construction trade industry nationwide is facing about a 1.1 million shortage of the workforce," said State Representative Eddie Smith, "so today we are here to highlight some of the things happening in Knoxville. The construction trades industry needs your help." Construction has provided fulfilling, family-supporting careers for American workers for generations. However, industry growth, an aging workforce and a lack of emphasis on the lucrative construction career track in our schools has contributed to a shortage of skilled workers in the industry. This shortage is projected to reach 1.1 million skilled workers over the next decade, according to the Construction Labor Market Analyzer. That's why ABC of Greater Tennessee has committed over the next year to work with our area schools on promoting the trades within our lo ... Read the rest of entry »