Job Targeting Programs May be Costing State and Local Governments Tax Revenues

By Steve P. Cona | 05/19/09

A new study, conducted by George Mason University’s John M. Olin Institute for Employment Practice and Policy, shows from 2000 to 2007, unions in the construction industry spent more than $1 billion to engage in and support a practice called “job targeting.” Job targeting programs, also known as market recovery funds, collect fees from union members and then funnel that money to other union contractors, and in some case... read more »

Workers’ Compensation Crisis On The Horizon

By Steve P. Cona | 04/21/09

Why Florida Works-  Landmark reforms to the Florida workers’ compensation system in 2003 resolved a crisis producing unaffordable rates for employers, widespread fraud and poor compliance with comp insurance requirements. Florida’s comp rates were some of the highest in the country and a barrier to creation of jobs and successful competition with bordering states for important new business and industry. The Florida Legislature... read more »

Freedom At Risk

By Steve P. Cona | 03/11/09

The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act was introduced yesterday by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) in the U.S. Senate as S. 560 and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 1409.   The Employee Free Choice Act would remove the long-standing requirement that guarantees workers their fundamental American right to a secret-ballot election when they are deciding whether or not to join a union. Under the "card... read more »

ABC's Construction Economic Update

By Steve P. Cona | 02/20/09

Construction Materials Prices Edge Down in JanuaryThe costs of construction materials continues to move downward as prices fell 0.3 percent last month, according to the February 19th producer price index (PPI) report by the U.S. Labor Department. This is the fourth consecutive month that construction materials prices have fallen. However, on a year-over-year basis, prices are still up 1.8 percent from January 2008.Prices for fabricated... read more »

Taking Away Free Choice

By Steve P. Cona | 02/16/09

For the past 70 years, the National Labor Relations Board has overseen the union-organizing process in the workplace. Workers are entitled to a federally supervised private-ballot election when deciding whether or not to unionize. Neither paid union representatives nor management see how anyone has voted.But that may be about to change.Legislation pending in the U.S. Congress would deprive a worker's right to a private-ballot election. The... read more »

Stimulus for Obama Political Supporters

By Steve P. Cona | 02/12/09

The construction industry has been hit hard by the recession. More than 1 million jobs were lost in our industry in the last year, with 110,000 industry jobs lost in January alone. The huge infusion of money promised by the economic stimulus package was good news for the industry, but an executive order signed by President Obama on Feb. 6 will funnel those funds to his political supporters namely Big Labor. The president's executive order... read more »

Florida Gulf Coast Builders Denounce Obama Executive Order

By Steve P. Cona | 02/11/09

TAMPA - The Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today denounced President Obama's Feb. 6, 2009, executive order that encourages federal agencies to require wasteful and discriminatory union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) on all federally funded construction projects exceeding $25 million, and repeals a previous executive order prohibiting these agreements on federally funded construction projects.... read more »