ABC-SEMI Issue 4 2019

2 Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. PRESIDENT ’ S LETTER President’s Letter Dear Friends, Recent antics by the Operating Engineers Local 324 is a stark reminder of why the fight for the Merit Shop is as relevant as it’s ever been. The OE 324 highway contract recently signed by most of the large signatory General Contractors requires any non-union subtractors they hire to pay a $28 an hour kickback to the union, even though none of the merit shop employees are eligible for the benefits. Because all contractors are required to pay the same $58 an hour prevailing wage on highway jobs, the contract provision has the impact of making merit shop employer man- hour costs 50 percent higher than their union counterparts, rendering them uncompetitive. Such a contract provision on taxpayer-funded work is a win-win for the union. They either eliminate merit shop competition or make their non- union counterparts responsible for bailing out their underwater mismanaged pensions. ABC has been battling for merit shop contractors in other ways too. Last year, the City of Royal Oak published bid requests for the building of a new police station and parking structure. The bid documents specified union-only bidders. ABC sent a cease and desist letter to the City of Royal Oak, threatening legal action because the bid specifications were in violation of the Fair and Open Competition in Governmental Construction Act. Public Act 98 of 2011 was legislation backed by ABC that was ultimately signed into law that restricted a local government’s ability to discriminate on companies based on their union affiliation or lack thereof. Ultimately, the city of Royal Oak relented to the pressure and reissued the RFP, as requested by our association. Unfortunately, labor unions often work to coerce local officials to give a union preference for construction work. We see these nefarious attempts all the time and we work to shine the light on cozy, expensive deals. We ask that you let us know if you run across these situations so that we can defend your right to bid on government projects. ABC Merit Shop Contractors will compete with anyone. We just need to make sure the deck isn’t unfairly stacked against us. Sincerely, Keith Ledbetter, President ABC Southeast Michigan Chapter KEITH LEDBETTER ABC SEMI President Upcoming Events October 16 October 23 December 5