May 2013
1 post
ABC Cries Wolf on Labor Shortage
With more than 1 million unemployed workers in the construction industry, ABC falsely claims there is a skilled labor shortage.
However, in a recent Reuters article, Geoff Buff of ABC stated that the group supports an amendment from Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee to increase the number of visas for low-skilled workers from 200,000 to 400,000. If there is a skilled labor shortage why does ABC...
March 2013
1 post
Michigan ABC Pushing to Repeal Prevailing Wage
Prevailing wage rules are a tried and true way to protect paychecks, defend taxpayers and create jobs by ensuring that workers on public projects are at least paid the prevailing market rate for their work. When prevailing wage laws are struck down, jobs are destroyed and costs go up for taxpayers. Corporate interests and anti-worker groups like the Associated Builders and Contractors are trying...
December 2012
1 post
ABC Pushes Charter City Structure in Stealthy...
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and other anti-worker groups have been working hard behind the scenes to urge cities across California to adopt charter city status.
Why would a national trade association that only represents 1 percent of the total number of licensed or registered construction contractors in the U.S. be concerned about the administrative structure of California cities?
...
July 2012
1 post
Nomination of Anti-Union Lobbyist with Ties to ABC...
The Washington Post reports that a lobbyist who opposes DC’s “first source” legislation and has strong ties to the Associated Builders and Contractors has been nominated to the DC Water Board.
June 2012
1 post
Prop A Hurts San Diego Tax Payers
On June 5, San Diego passed Prop A, a measure supported by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Prop A ensures that PLAs are not used in city construction projects, and its passage was due in no small part to a massive misinformation campaign by ABC. In an editorial to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Scott Strawbridge of the California Construction Industry Labor Management Trust “sets...
May 2012
3 posts
New Report Exposes ABC's False Claims
LIUNA joined the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) and the AFL-CIO in releasing the findings of a first-ever state-by-state comparative analysis of the Associated Builders and Contractors. The findings expose ABC’s data manipulation and an aggressive disinformation campaign designed to confuse elected officials, the public and the press into supporting policies that produce fewer...
1 tag
Anti-PLA Measure in San Diego Threatens Budget
Among the issues voters in San Diego will find on the ballot in June is a proposed ban on PLAs. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has vigorously supported efforts to ban PLAs in San Diego and elsewhere. However, as economist Murtaza Baxamusa explains in a recent post to We Party Patriots, support for Proposition A is coming under intense scrutiny - not only from the labor movement...
2 tags
Associated Builders & Contractors Hold the Dulles...
The “Silver Line” is a 23-mile extension of the Washington, DC Metro system that, once finished, will connect downtown DC to Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Much-needed and long-anticipated by area residents, commuters and businesses alike this new Metrorail line will provide countless economic benefits to the region and will unite area communities like never before.
Operating under a...
February 2012
1 post
1 tag
Associated Builders & Contractors Push So-Called...
The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Associated Builders and Contractors of Ohio are circulating a petition to enact a so-called right to work measure in Ohio. So-called right to work is an attack on the fundamental freedom of workers to unite to join a union. Read LIUNA’s recent statement on the passage of so-called right to work in Indiana.
January 2012
4 posts
2 tags
Associated Builders & Contractors Victory: Loss...
The Chesapeake Shores Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors is claiming victory with the ban on family-supporting project labor agreements in Anne Arundel County, according to CityBiz.
The Chesapeake Shores Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) are claiming victory after the Anne Arundel County Council in Maryland voted to prohibit government-mandated project labor...
1 tag
ABC Helps Overturn Local Campaign Finance Limit...
The San Diego Chapter of the ABC joined a lawsuit that successfully struck down the $1,000 contribution cap on party contributions in San Diego elections but was unsuccessful in lifting the ban on direct corporate contributions to candidates. The city’s campaign finance code was enacted in 1973 following a scandal that resulted in the Mayor and eight city council members being indicted on...
1 tag
ABC Champions Blocking Anti-Wage Theft Ordinances
The Florida Independent reports that a bill in the Florida legislature that would preempt existing anti-wage theft ordinances moved another step forward this week. The Florida Associated Builders and Contractors have supported this bill despite estimates that workers in the state of Florida may have been robbed of as much as $28 million in wages.
A GOP-sponsored bill that would prohibit local...
1 tag
ABC Anti-Worker Efforts Pushed Back in Idaho
The Spokesman Review reports that two anti-worker laws advocated for by the Inland Pacific Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors and the National Right to Work Legal Foundation have been struck down in Idaho.
A federal judge has invalidated two anti-union laws pushed through by Idaho GOP lawmakers last session, saying they violate federal law.
The two measures, SB 1007 and 1006, were...
December 2011
3 posts
1 tag
Taxpayers Lose as ABC Bullies Allentown
Groups like ABC are often able to advance their anti-worker, anti-taxpayer agenda due to the cooperation of politicians who share their beliefs, who want to take power away from workers and taxpayers and divert it to the wealthy and corporations.
But as some recent news out of Allentown, Pa., shows, ABC’s most powerful weapon isn’t its political connections. It’s money.
As...
3 tags
What is Inside the ABC?
Most Americans believe that hard work should be respected and tax dollars should be used fairly and wisely. But these ideals are under attack.
You may have heard of some of the culprits - organizations such as Americans for Prosperity or the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and individuals such as Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers. Within the web of these coordinating organizations...
1 tag
Associated Builders and Contractors: Corporate...
Associated Builders and Contractors, also known as ABC, is a corporate front group seeking to increase its own members’ wealth at the expense of taxpayers, communities, honest businesses and hard working men and women. A fringe organization, ABC falsely claims to be the voice of the construction industry even though in most states, less than one-half of 1 percent of contractors join the...
