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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
"GET INTO POLITICS OR GET OUT OF BUSINESS"

Please find below ABC toolkits for: EFCA, tax issues, and OSHA legislation. Provided in the pages linked below you will find explanations of the issues, sample op-eds, letters to Members of Congress and Letters to the Editor. In addition, at the bottom is a link to ABC’s recently introduced American Job Builders Tax Reform Act of 2010 (H.R. 6097).

EFCA: www.abc.org/cardcheck

Includes updated EFCA toolkit

ABC Tax Toolkit: http://www.abc.org/Government_Affairs/Issues/
Tax_and_Fiscal_Policy/Tax_Toolkit.aspx

Includes talking points, sample LTR to Congress, sample op-ed, sample Letter to the Editor

PAWA/OSHA Reform: http://www.abc.org/Government_Affairs/Issues/Safety_and
_OSHA_Reform_/Health_and_Safety/OSHA_Reform.aspx

Includes sample letter to Congress, CWS talking points, and updated information

Additionally, we now have our new page regarding our tax bill:

http://www.abc.org/Government_Affairs/Issues/Tax_and
_Fiscal_Policy/ABC_s_Tax_Bill_.aspx

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We are very pleased to announce today’s launch of ABCvotes.com (formerly MeritShopVotes.com), your online resource for the 2010 elections! It is imperative that our members and their employees get out to vote in this year’s mid-term elections. There are 18 gubernatorial races, at least 9 Senate races and more than 50 House races that are currently considered “toss-ups.” Free enterprise and open competition hang in the balance.

The site contains among other things; candidate information (with links to their websites), political do’s and don’ts, ABC issue briefs, Congressional scorecards, important election dates, deadlines and links (in your state). We have also added an additional feature this year that will highlight the Top 50 House races around the country. Only about half of them are up right now, but once the primaries occur and we know who will face off in November more will be added.

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The NJ ABC has received the first three (3) yearly reports
on PLA’s produced by the Department of Labor. We had
been unable to obtain these reports in the past.
Follow the links below to see them, they make for
interesting reading. Take special note of the cost per
sf comparison for PLA and Non PLA projects in the
2007 Report, Table 5, on page 10. It appears that we
supported the correct candidate for governor!

Our next step is to meet with the head of the SDA and continue to talk to
the Governor’s staff in our effort to forestall further PLA’s in the State.

2005 PLA Report
2006 PLA Report
2007 PLA Report

NJ ABC Press Release on PLAs
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ABC Launches Website on Controversial Publicly Funded Project Labor Agreements

Washington, D.C.– Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today launched a new website, TheTruthAboutPLAs.com, designed to track and disseminate news and information about the detrimental effects of union-only, publicly funded construction project labor agreements (PLAs). Publicly funded PLAs are contracts that effectively restrict open shop contractors and their employees – comprising more than 84 percent of the construction workforce – from bidding and working on construction projects. In addition, publicly funded PLAs unnecessarily increase the costs of construction projects paid for by taxpayers, as well as discriminate against women and minorities.

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com will provide the latest news from the mainstream media and construction industry publications on publicly funded PLAs; highlight academic studies and public opinion data; link to state government resources on industry statistics, as well as political and economic information; and support a blog by U.S. construction industry experts.

“Publicly funded project labor agreements have a far-reaching negative impact on the open shop contracting community, taxpayers and the economy. However, that information has not been discussed in an interactive public forum – until now,” said ABC President and CEO Kirk Pickerel. “This new website provides an opportunity to keep construction professionals; federal, state and local legislators; the media; and the general public informed on the direct effect publicly funded PLAs have on their lives and their checkbooks.”

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com was developed in response to President Obama’s misguided Executive Order 13502 that promotes the use of publicly funded project labor agreements on federal government contracts exceeding $25 million. TheTruthAboutPLAs.com will dispel many of the myths surrounding the use of publicly funded PLAs, including arguments that these contracts eliminate work stoppages or strikes; guarantee a local workforce; guarantee projects are completed on time and on budget; and control the cost and the quality of the project and workforce.