ABC Responds to Senate Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10—Associated Builders and Contractors today released the following statement on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which passed the U.S. Senate today by a vote of 69 to 30. The bill would provide $550 billion in new infrastructure investments. “This infrastructure package contains the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in a generation and could yield crucial wins for the American people and construction industry,” said Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. “It is promising to see progress made toward modernizing our nation’s roads, bridges, water infrastructure, transit, railways, ports and other critical infrastructure This bipartisan accomplishment is something that has eluded Congress for decades and is proof of the possibilities when lawmakers choose compromise over conflict. “Commonsense provisions in this bill will cut down on unnecessary delays in federal construction projects and help addres ... Read the rest of entry »

Tennessee construction industry celebrates passage of construction industry worker protections

NASHVILLE, TENN., April 8th. – The state’s construction industry today celebrated the passage of HB 1112/SB 1150 (Rep. Kevin Vaughan/Sen. Jack Johnson), which would protect local workers from overreaches by local governments in drastically changing construction industry standards.  “Too often, local governments get it wrong when it comes to modernizing construction industry standards,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Greater Tennessee President/CEO, Clay Crownover. “This legislation will ultimately protect local workers and businesses by preventing local governments from overreaching beyond state and federal law when it comes to construction industry standards.” This legislation would protect worker’s privacy by making it illegal for local governments to ask for the personnel information of employees, bars the requirement of contractors to abide by safety laws in excess of what is required under federal occup ... Read the rest of entry »

Tennessee construction industry expresses opposition to changes in Metro Construction Industry Standards

NASHVILLE, TENN., March 17th. – The state’s construction industry today expressed opposition to Metro legislation, 2021-676, that would radically change Metro Nashville’s procurement code and construction industry standards, saying the measure is based on non-objective and unsubstantiated data that do not accurately reflect the state of the industry or its record in Nashville and could tilt the balance of the Procurement Board, which plays a major role in awarding Metro contracts, against merit shop contractors and workers.  “This legislation hurts the very people it is intended to help, the workers of Nashville. The legislation invades the privacy of local workers and requires compliance with extreme safety standards that are undefined, do not currently exist, and for which Metro is without authority to promulgate. It will increase construction costs for the city and kill local construction jobs. Safety and fairness in contracts are our members’ numbe ... Read the rest of entry »

Legislative Update: Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Tennessee Adds to Legislative Advocacy Team

March 4, 2021 - The Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Tennessee is proud to announce the hiring of Nathan Ridley to assist and eventually lead our Tennessee General Assembly and local government advocacy team. "We are excited to announce the addition of Nathan to our already exceptional state and local lobbying team," said Clay Crownover, ABC Greater Tennessee President/CEO. "Nathan has the necessary experience and contacts to continue to assist us in protecting the rights and interests of merit shop contractors from Middle to East Tennessee for years to come." Nathan serves as Counsel for several trade associations and utility service and financial service providers before the Tennessee General Assembly and Executive Branch and various regulatory boards.  He practices law in the Nashville office of the firm Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP.  He also serves as Secretary for the law firm’s Tennessee political fund.  Before joining the la ... Read the rest of entry »

TN Legislature Approves Resolution Congratulating ABC Greater Tennessee on its 50 Years

Majority Leader William Lamberth (R) of the Tennessee General Assembly provided a legislative resolution congratulating the ABC Greater Tennessee chapter upon its fiftieth anniversary.

The resolution stated that the legislature recognizes that the ABC Greater Tennessee chapter has made a significant contribution to the success of the construction and merit shop industries. 

In addition, the resolution added that, “For half a century, the ABC Greater Tennessee chapter has made significant contributions to train the next generation of the State of Tennessee's workforce, and its members are worthy of our approbation.”

ABC Greater Tennessee president Clay Crownover stated, “To be recognized for our fiftieth anniversary and the recognition of the importance of membership in our organization and the training that our association provides is a great honor." 

ABC Announces Annual Member Awards

ABC Greater Tennessee announces our annual member Excellence in Construction Award winners for 2020. From contractors to volunteers, we’re thankful to have members who help our chapter thrive – even in difficult years like 2020. Please join us in congratulating this year's chapter award recipients! ROGERS BELL AWARD Ray Bell and Joe Rodgers, whose names appear on our original articles of incorporation, were two of the founding members of the ABC Greater Tennessee Chapter. Their passion for merit construction laid the groundwork for our chapter's successes today. If it weren’t for Ray Bell and Joe Rodgers and a core of other courageous contractors, ABC Greater Tennessee wouldn’t be here today.  We are proud to present this year's Rodgers-Bell Award to Dan Brodbeck of Compass Partners, long-time member in constant service to ABC on both the chapter and national level. This award is presented annually to the ABC ... Read the rest of entry »

ABC launches safe and healthy construction pledge

From ABC National WASHINGTON, D.C. May 28, 2020—Associated Builders and Contractors recently launched the Safe and Healthy Construction Pledge, an industry-wide call to action to redouble construction jobsite safety commitments under new protocols due to the coronavirus outbreak. Open to all U.S. contractors and industry associations, the pledge calls for prevention, preparedness and response plans to prevent injuries and disease and safeguard total human health. “The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the critical need for leadership commitment to construction worker safety and health by every contractor in America,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC’s vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development. “While ABC members are already evaluating and mitigating the risks associated with COVID-19 on jobsites every day, this pledge signals a significant and permanent paradigm shift to raise the bar on safety, total human health and hygiene protocols on const ... Read the rest of entry »

ABC Greater Tennessee Instructor Named ABC National 2020 Craft Instructor of the Year

Nashville, Tennessee, May 19 - Associated Builders and Contractors Greater Tennessee today announced Bryan Gamble, a certified electrical contractor and education instructor for the chapter, was named the ABC National 2020 Craft Instructor of the Year. Gamble will be honored during the Careers in Construction Awards at ABC Convention 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee, on Aug. 19. ABC presents the annual Craft Instructor of the Year Award to an instructor who possesses outstanding creativity, a positive attitude and the ability to transfer knowledge through communications skills and innovative teaching to promote lifelong learning to the future construction workforce.  "Bryan is a very special instructor that keeps his students interested," says ABC Greater Tennessee Director of Education Michele Correnti. "He plans new and innovative ways to reach all the different levels of learning. Not only does he have a passion for t ... Read the rest of entry »

Governor Lee appoints ABC Greater Tennessee President/CEO to Economic Recovery Group to Reboot Tennessee Economy

Nashville, Tenn. -- Today, Governor Bill Lee established the Economic Recovery Group, a joint effort between state departments, members of the legislature and leaders from the private sector to build guidance to safely reboot Tennessee’s economy.

“COVID-19 has not only created a public health crisis, it has hurt thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of hardworking Tennesseans,” said Gov. Lee. “As we work to safely open Tennessee’s economy, this group will provide guidance to industries across the state on the best ways to get Tennesseans back to work.”

The group is led by Tennessee Department of Tourism Development Commissioner Mark Ezell.

“This public-private partnership will prioritize connection, collaboration, and communication across industries, the medical community and state government” said Ezell. “We’re grateful to these leaders for serving at a critical time in our state’s history.”

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February’s Construction Spending Decline Indicates What’s to Come, Says ABC

WASHINGTON, April 1—National nonresidential construction spending fell 1.8% in February, but is up 2.5% compared to the same time last year, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, spending totaled $795.1 billion for the month. Private nonresidential spending declined 2% on a monthly basis and is down 0.7% compared to February 2019.  Public nonresidential construction spending was down 1.5% for the month, but is up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. “Data characterizing the economy prior to the coronavirus outbreak continues to trickle in,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While nonresidential construction spending declined in February, according to today’s data release, the decline was modest and overall performance was not substantially different from prior months. “However, with communities in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California an ... Read the rest of entry »