Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan is a statewide trade association dedicated to providing Michigan with high-quality, affordable, safe and on-time construction. ABC of Michigan is an equal opportunity organization that opposes all discrimination in the construction industry including discrimination based on union affiliation. A leading construction industry voice with state government, ABC provides many member services including legislative advocacy, networking opportunities, member benefits, legal updates, business development and educational opportunities.
ABC opposes all discrimination. We believe that all working men and women, union and non-union alike, have a right to equal opportunity to be able to work on publically funded construction projects. Unfortunately Michigan is a state that tolerates the use of construction agreements called union-only PLAs. These agreements create a unionized monopoly on projects unfairly excluding Michigan workers who have chosen not to belong to a union from working on construction projects. Not only is this discriminatory, but it also reduces competition resulting in higher construction cost. Nearly 80% of the Michigan construction workforce chooses not to belong to a labor union. Allowing special interest handouts that prohibit them from working on projects funded with their tax dollars is unacceptable. ABC of Michigan strongly supports legislation that will prohibit union-only PLAs on taxpayer funded construction projects in Michigan. This will ensure that the state does not discriminate on the basis of union affiliation while protecting tax dollars by awarding bids competitively to all contractors.
Builders and contractors in Michigan are experiencing a significant increase in their overall tax liability compared to the old Single Business Tax. For some firms this increase is as high as 500%. In a 2008 survey, over 80 percent of ABC members saw an increase in their business tax liability. For most of them the increase was 50 percent or more. This results in an increase in the cost of construction and it hits struggling construction businesses who are already affected by the weak Michigan economy. Without a repeal of the MBT surcharge many contractors will have to lay off employees or move much of their business operation to another state. ABC urges swift repeal of this surcharge.
ABC of Michigan believes that Michigan is placing an undue burden on business and industry with over-regulation, increasing the cost of doing business in this state. From unneeded ergonomics rules to porta-potty mandates, this anti-business atmosphere ultimately drives companies out of Michigan or forces others to permanently close their doors. In many cases, it simply eliminates Michigan as a contender for businesses locating in the State. Opposing such mandates is a priority for ABC.
As a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, ABC offers classes to teach understanding and implementation of green building principles and the LEED Rating System. In Michigan, ABC chapters have also partnered with community colleges and ABC member firms to be leaders in green building. Last year ABC of Michigan helped develop green building legislation that passed the House with bipartisan support. The creation of tax incentives for green buildings and environmentally sustainable building techniques remain a top priority for ABC. Moreover, ABC believes the new economy ought to encourage a well equipped green workforce. To this end, ABC also supports incentives to contractors who invest in their employees by properly training them in green and sustainable building techniques.
ABC of Michigan believes that carpenter licensure would not make carpentry more professional, it would only create new and unneeded red tape. ABC is strongly opposed to carpenter licensure legislation because it results in burdensome mandates that will raise the cost of construction without benefiting a single taxpayer, business, project owner or the state. Recent efforts would have even altered the definition of a carpenter to include other trades that do not perform traditional carpentry just so they would have to also be licensed. Such efforts have previously attempted to create a state carpentry board that would potentially be union-only ignoring that 80% of the construction workforce chooses to not belong to a union. Lastly, licensing mandates would amount to another ill-conceived form of taxation for carpenters in Michigan placing them at a disadvantage with carpenters elsewhere.
ABC is devoted to a well educated workforce. Although Michigan graduation requirements ensure a 21st century high school curriculum for traditional college bound students, a comprehensive curriculum offering remaining students an alternate tract for careers such as those in the building trades is not readily available. The construction industry is the largest private employer in the country. The range of occupations is larger than most people know. Some construction job titles include: owner, project engineer, interior designer, architect, estimator, lead carpenter, mason, builder, electrician, safety director, millwright, crane operator or vice president of operations just to list a few. There is high demand for skilled construction workers and high pay for those who are. The State of Michigan expects construction job opportunities to expand in the next decade, particularly due to a workforce nearing retirement age. It is crucial to the economy and our infrastructure that our workforce be able to meet these demands. In 2008, Rep. Joel Sheltrown introduced legislation (HB 4943) which is frequently cited as a needed reform to the Michigan merit curriculum. It provides students the opportunity to take career-technical classes and count them toward graduation. ABC supports this being reintroduced and is dedicated to seeing it become law. It is time to change the curriculum in our high schools. Good jobs and a strong economy depend upon it. So do our students.
Individual choice is a cornerstone in guaranteeing the right of individuals to freely associate a. "Right to work" laws, if passed at the state level, prohibit requiring union membership as a condition of employment in a particular job. It empowers the individual to make a decision on whether or not to join a labor union instead of being forced to pay union dues just to work in Michigan. Currently, 21 states have embraced right to work laws. ABC strongly supports Michigan becoming a Right to Work State to ensure our competitiveness and to offer workers the ability to freely associate.
ABC believes in strong, competitive wages. This means having wages that are neither artificially low nor high. The average free market, competitive construction wage in Michigan is an appealing wage that is higher than most others in the state. However, when government requires that state prevailing wage be paid on publicly funded construction projects, that wage is artificially inflated by as much as 40 to 60 percent. This makes construction uncompetitive and puts an undue strain on contractors as well as on state and municipal budgets. ABC has actively pursued repeals on prevailing wage in all sectors where state funds are used such as school construction, road construction and local government. This would protect from public construction being bid at artificially high government-mandated wages. Researchers routinely find that the prevailing wage requirement inflated government-funded construction costs by approximately 10 percent without any additional gain or return on investment. Eighteen states have chosen not to have a prevailing wage law because its inflated construction costs mean limited state budgets cannot meet the priorities of taxpayers by siphoning valuable funds that could otherwise be better spent on schools, hospitals, roads and other vital projects. These include growing states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and others. ABC believes a swift repeal to be essential to economically stimulating Michigan’s economy.
In some states there is no full repeal of prevailing wage but there is a repeal on prevailing wage requirements for school construction. After legislation was passed in Ohio in 1997 that exempted school construction from prevailing wage requirements, a study by the Ohio School Facilities Commission found an average 3-5% savings to taxpayers on school construction projects completed without prevailing wage requirements. On a $20 million project, that would represent a savings of $600,000 to $1,000,000! In Michigan, savings would be at least $150 Million a year on school construction. ABC supports ending prevailing wage on school construction to ensure vital funding for needs inside the classroom and to make it easier to renovate and build quality schools in our state.
ABC opposes sprinkler installation licensure mandates because they are unneeded and redundant due to current contractor licensing that is already required under the Forbes Mechanical Contracting Act. Moreover, according to the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth the state building code already “ensures the public safety” and “fire safety.” Such licensure is clearly unnecessary red tape and increases the cost of doing business in Michigan when our economy is alreadystruggling.
Currently, the preferred method for determining whether or not employees want a union to represent them is a secret ballot election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB provides detailed procedures that ensure a fair election, free of fraud, where employees may cast their vote confidentially without peer pressure or coercion from unions or employers. Yet, union leadership now claims to find secret ballot elections an impediment to unionization, preferring "card check" elections, where employees are forced to cast their vote in front of union organizers and fellow employees who support unionization instead of through the secret ballot method. ABC strongly opposes any effort to overturn the established NLRB procedures that guarantee our working men and women a fair union election through the many protections guaranteed by secret ballot voting.