“Commercial and industrial construction is a major part of the American economy. We have developed this new, innovative measurement not only to track the level of commercial and industrial construction activity, but also to look into the future for signs of recovery,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Significantly, we are able to track backlog by region as well as by industry sector and company revenue to paint a complete picture of this critical economic segment on an ongoing basis.”

 The overall CBI in the nation’s nonresidential construction industry, which includes industrial, infrastructure, and commercial/institutional segments, rebounded in May to 6.3 months, up from 6.2 months in April, but is still down by roughly 0.8 months since November 2008, when ABC began collecting data. During the past seven months, nonresidential backlog is down by an average of 24 days.  Backlog in May rose in each of the four regions that ABC monitors, with the exception of the South. Despite this dropt, at 7.5 months, the South now reports the longest average backlog with the Northeast coming in with the shortest average backlog.  Click here to view a map of the regions.  “Based on Associated Builders and Contractors’ CBI, the most severe retrenchment in business activity in recent months has been along the East Coast and in the South. This comes as little surprise because these areas are home to a significant share of the rapidly declining white-collar sectors, including financial and professional services,” said Basu. “In contrast, the Middle States, which depend more on commodities and energy supply, have been considerably more stable.”

 Firms in the $10-million to $30-million earning segment saw an increase in backlog on a monthly basis, but a decrease compared to November 2008, while the $30-million to $50-million segment saw no change in May compared to April, but fell compared to November 2008.  Firms with annual revenues of more than $100 million continue to report the longest backlog at 9.9 months, down from 10.3 months in November 2008.  “This may be due in part to the participation of these firms in construction segments that continue to expand, including power generation and large-scale infrastructure projects,” Basu noted. Many smaller firms, which are more commercially oriented, are less likely to be direct beneficiaries of the stimulus package, and are experiencing declines in backlog.”

 This new, national economic data set is the only reliable leading economic indicator offering this level of specificity focused on the U.S. commercial and institutional, industrial, and infrastructure construction industries. ABC will compile this data on an ongoing basis, releasing the latest CBI every other month to track industry trends.

 TITLE VII UPDATE: So, what do you do if a jobsite superintendent reports that one of your male construction workers has informed the superintendent that “she” is a transsexual with a female gender identity, plans to undergo gender transition surgery, and has now reported to work “dressed as a woman” and is acting “in a feminine manner?”  Confronted with this situation on Halloween in 2006, a Georgia employer sent the employee home telling “her” that she was not dressed appropriately.  Upon further review, the employer fired the employee because the employee’s plans to go forward with the transition surgery and to dress and live as a woman in the workplace “would be viewed as immoral and make other employees uncomfortable.”  On June 25, 2009, a federal district court in Atlanta ruled against the employer in a pretrial motion and concluded that the employee could go forward with “her” case of discrimination.  The court noted that while transsexuals are not a protected class under Title VII, Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a medical condition and noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has concluded that an employer’s “sex stereotypes” will constitute impermissible sex discrimination.  The court noted: “anticipated reactions of others are not a sufficient basis for discrimination.”  Many construction workers conform to the concept of:  “Men are men and women are women.”  This decision is a reminder to all construction employers that a different result may develop if the male employee is diagnosed with GID and decides to go forward with the gender transition process, as it did in this case. 

                                                                                                           By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney

 WE NEED YOUR HELP TO COMBAT ADDITIONAL GOVERNMENT MANDATED PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT (PLA) REQUIREMENTS ON FEDERAL AND FEDERALLY FUNDED CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: On Feb. 6, President Obama issued Executive Order 13502, which repeals President Bush’s Executive Order 13202 and encourages federal agencies to require PLAs on federal construction projects in excess of $25 million (click here for ABC’s analysis of Executive Order 13502). The proposed rule’s implementation would be a direct assault on free enterprise.  To learn how, click here.

Make a difference: These regulations are subject to the regulatory process, starting with a 30-day public comment period beginning Tuesday, July 14. We need you to provide direct comments to the FAR Council. A robust regulatory response from ABC members could prevent additional expansion of federal government mandated PLAs.

             TAKE ACTION:

Quick:  Send your full name, company name, mailing address and preferred email address to regulatory@abc.org and we will electronically submit our sample comments on your behalf.

Comprehensive: Use the sample comments as a starting point and add personal information about how requiring PLAs on federal and federally funded projects would affect your business. Personalized comments make the biggest impact. You can send these to regulatory@abc.org and we will electronically submit them on your behalf.

             COMPLETE SURVEY:

Take our four question survey on PLAs and federal construction; it will take one to three minutes of your time. This important information will aide ABC in its future regulatory and legal challenges against PLAs. Click below.

REMODELING AND PAINTING CONTRACTORS ACROSS NEBRASKA TO RECEIVE REMINDERS ABOUT LEAD HAZARD PROTECTION RULE: Remodeling contractors and painting contractors across Nebraska will soon receive courtesy reminders from EPA Region 7 about a federal rule aimed at protecting children from exposure to harmful lead dust generated during renovations, repairs and painting projects in child care facilities, schools and housing.

 The rule, issued in April 2008 by EPA, requires contractors and construction professionals that work in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities to follow certain work practice standards to reduce potential exposures to dangerous levels of lead for children under age six.

 Information to help contractors learn more about complying with the rule is available online at http://www.epa.gov/lead, by clicking on the "Renovator & Trainer Tool Box."

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ABC’s AFTER-WORK WEDNESDAYS WAS A GREAT SUCCESS!

 A Big Thank You to the Omaha Networking Task Force, Vincent Kirby-KV Construction, Inc., Andy Bailey-Lueder Construction Co., Jake Buss-Gene Lilly Surety Bonds, Inc., Sean Chenoweth-CLP Resources, Inc., George Fields-RSC Equipment Rental and Travis Spencer-Seiler Instrument for all their work in making

ABC’s first After-Work Wednesday Networking Evening a success.

If you were not able to attend, don’t worry…we’ll do it again!

Keep a look out for the Lincoln After-Hours coming in August!

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30 HOUR OSHA TRAINING

Do any of your key personnel need 30 Hour OSHA Training?

Because of increased OSHA activity, several companies have shown

 an interest in a 30 Hour OSHA class.

                                              WHEN:            July 31, August 7 & 21, 2009

                                              WHERE:         Mahoney State Park (Cottonwood Room)

                                              TIME:             7:00 A.M. – 5:30 P.M.

                                                COST:             $395.00 member price -- $595.00 non-member price

Lunch and daily park permit fees provided by ABC

If you are interested, please contact Chris or Deb at 402-477-4451.

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