News

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Greater Tennessee Chapter News & Updates

From category archives: Test

ABC National News

2020 ABC National Convention coming to Nashville

Next.Stop.Nashville

ABC- Greater TN Members win National Excellence in Construction Awards

Congratulations to our National Excellence in Construction Award Winners in Tennessee

CATEGORY: Commercial - $25 to $100 Million
AWARD: Eagle Award
CONTRACTOR: Skanska USA
PROJECT NAME: Lifeway Christian Resources New Headquarters
PROJECT LOCATION: Nashville, Tenn.

CATEGORY: Electrical Commercial - $2 to $10 Million
AWARD: Eagle Award
CONTRACTOR: Gaylor Electric
PROJECT NAME: The Scott Hamilton Center for Proton Therapy
PROJECT LOCATION: Franklin, Tenn.

CATEGORY: PRE-ENGINEERED BUILDING
AWARD: Eagle Award
CONTRACTOR: T.W. Frierson Contractor Inc.
PROJECT NAME: American Wonder Porcelain 
PROJECT LOCATION: Lebanon, Tenn.

CATEGORY: Historical Restoration/Renovation $25M to $100 Million
AWARD: Pyramid Award
CONTRACTOR: Skanska USA
PROJECT NAME: Cordell Hull State Office Building Renovation and Parking Garage
PROJECT LOCATION: Nashville, Tenn.



Tennessee construction unemployment hits record mark for January 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Estimated January not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates dropped in 48 states -- including Tennessee -- on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. As the January 2019 national NSA construction unemployment rate fell 0.9 percent from a year ago to 6.4 percent, the construction industry employed 343,000 more workers nationally compared to January 2018, according to BLS numbers. In Tennessee, the NSA construction unemployment rate for January was 4.8 percent, a decrease of 1.6 percent from January 2018’s rate of 6.4 percent. Tennessee's 4.8 percent 3.7 percent lower than the 8.7 percent mark in January 2017 and the lowest state rate on record for January. Tennessee also compares favorably to neighboring states, such as Alabama (5.8), Georgia (6.0), Kentucky (10.1), Mississippi (9.6), South Carolina (4.7) and North Carolina (5.4).  The lowest state rate i ... Read the rest of entry »

ABC Calls for Expanding Apprenticeship Opportunities in Congressional Testimony

On behalf of Associated Builders and Contractors, Mike Holland, chief operating officer, MAREK Companies, testified today before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about the need to modernize and expand apprenticeship opportunities in the United States. Read the press release...

Persuader Rule rescinded

In 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) began a campaign to hold McDonald’s USA, LLC liable for alleged unfair labor practices committed at restaurant locations owned by McDonald’s franchisees. The NLRB took the position that corporate McDonald’s controlled employment relations at franchise locations enough to qualify as a joint employer with the franchisee. Read our Press Release...

ABC in Knoxville serves on panel to delay Health Insurance Tax

Crownover (ABC- Greater Tennessee, Knoxville) participates in Knoxville Chamber Roundtable Knoxville, TN (August 30, 2017) – Local business leaders met Wednesday at the Knoxville Chamber to discuss how the health insurance tax, or HIT, will impact Tennessee small businesses in 2018 if it is not delayed immediately by Congress. Business leaders called on the state’s senators and representatives in Congress to lower premiums and provide financial relief to the state by ensuring that the HIT does not go into effect in 2018.  “Time is of the essence to delay this tax again,” said Terry Turner, President of the Knoxville Chamber and small business owner of All Occasions Party Rental. “We are all making insurance decisions in the next few weeks for next year and we need certainty from the federal government.” The discussion occurred one week ahead of hearings scheduled by Tennessee’s Senator Lamar Alexander on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education ... Read the rest of entry »

Associated Builders and Contractors Praises President's Commitment to Infrastructure Investment in Address to Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb., 28- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) issued the following statement from Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Kristen Swearingen in response to President Trump’s pledge to commit needed resources to rebuild American infrastructure and to work with the business community to craft a transparent regulatory system that will encourage business investment during tonight’s address to the joint session of Congress: "Associated Builders and Contractors applauds President Trump’s pledge in tonight’s address to the joint session of Congress to commit needed resources to rebuild America's infrastructure and work with the business community to craft a transparent regulatory system that will encourage business investment. We are hopeful that the president’s call to ‘create a level playing field for American companies and workers’ will translate into policies that guarantee that all qualified contractors are able to compete for taxp ... Read the rest of entry »

Construction Industry Alliance Announces New Resources Aimed at Preventing Suicides

Contact:Jeff Leieritz (202) 905-2104 [email protected] 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 »