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ABC Members One-Stop Guide to the FY-25 State Budget
19 days late… New York State finally has a budget deal in place. Lawmakers passed a whopping $237 billion budget early Saturday evening. This budget is $8 billion more than last year’s $229 billion budget. Most notably, the Governor made a deal on housing, which was one of the key parts holding up the final…
Construction Backlog Indicator Rebounds in March, Contractor Confidence Improves
Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 8.2 months in March from 8.1 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted March 20 to April 3. The reading is down 0.5 months from March 2023. View ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index tables for March. View the full Construction…
Construction Materials Prices Increase 0.4% in March
WASHINGTON, April 11-Construction input prices increased 0.4% in March compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices also increased 0.4% for the month. Both overall and nonresidential construction input prices are 1.7% higher…
ABC Corrects the Record on PLAs
In a recently published opinion article, “Project Labor Agreements Bring Accountability to Large Scale SUNY Projects”, by Bill Banfield, he makes blatantly incorrect promises about Project Labor Agreements (PLAs). The entire article is based on a false premise. ABC can’t stand by and allow these false narratives to prevail. Doing so would lead to PLAs…
Prevailing Wages on Off-site Prefab Will Cost NY Thousands of Jobs
ABC opposes the New York State Legislature’s proposed legislation to mandate prevailing wage mandates on construction work performed at an offsite custom fabrication facility. If passed, this law will drive the custom fabrication industry out of the state and eliminate union and nonunion jobs, resulting in a significant step backward for the already struggling economy. …
ABC Urges Biden Administration To Withdraw Its Illegal, Ineffective and Costly Apprenticeship Proposed Rule
WASHINGTON, – Associated Builders and Contractors submitted comments on March 18 on the U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial proposed rule overhauling regulations related to government-registered apprenticeship programs, or GRAPs. In more than 40 pages of comments, ABC urged the DOL to withdraw the illegal and misguided provisions of the proposal that will unnecessarily increase costs and discourage GRAP…
Bad News: Construction Input Prices Increase 1.4% in February, Says ABC
WASHINGTON, March 14-Construction input prices increased 1.4% in February compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 1.3% for the month. Overall construction input prices are 1.5% higher than a year ago,…
Queens Assemblymember David Weprin sponsors bill that would make staged construction accidents a Class E felony
By Athena Dawson QNS: Queens News, Sports, Entertainment & Community On Tuesday, Mar. 5, Queens Assemblymember David Weprin (D-24), held a press conference in Albany to announce his sponsorship of a new bill that would make staged construction accidents a Class E felony. The bill aims to combat what he describes as a disturbing rise…
Sampson Speaks at Presser Supporting Penalties for Staging Construction Site Accident
At a press conference at the New York State Capitol last Tuesday, ABC Empire State Chapter President Brian Sampson spoke in support of legislation aimed at fighting workers’ compensation fraud in New York. The legislation (S.8413/ A898) sponsored by Senator Breslin and Assemblyman Weprin in their respective houses would establish staging a construction site accident…
Unions Finally Come Clean
By ABC Empire State Chapter President Brian Sampson In a recent article published by Biznow about declining union membership numbers in construction, the author stated construction unions have a fork in the road ahead of them, and they’re correct. However, they misidentified what the options are. It’s the politicians, not the building trades, that have a decision…