The Fight for the Right to Work
On Wednesday, May 5th, 2011, the Carolina Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, or ABC, gathered at the State House in Columbia for their annual Hard Hat Legislative Day, which gives their members an opportunity to interact with elected officials and discuss matters of great importance to the construction industry.
ABC is a nationwide organization consisting of 75 chapters, representing 23,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms, and totaling over two million employees. According to their website, ABC's main goal is "to serve as the merit shop construction industry's voice with the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the federal government and with state and local governments..." Their "merit shop" construction philosophy is based on the belief that competition should be based solely on the merit and skill of the most qualified and responsible low-bidders. ABC takes a firm stand against legislation that would stifle free-enterprise and promote labor affiliation bias of any kind. Their efforts to this end have resulted in them being recognized as one of the leading organizations representing the construction industry.
Doug Carlson, President of ABC of the Carolinas, says, "Our legislative day in Columbia was a great success. The main purpose of our event was to introduce our members and our industry to the legislators and their key staff members. To educate them on the challenges facing our industry. ABC is heavily vested in training our young people for rewarding career opportunities in our industry." Carlson acknowledges that getting ABC members in front of key decision-makers is the best way for them to bring about change, as well as give ABC members an opportunity to be a positive voice for the construction industry.
Carlson says the January 2011 decision in the South Carolina Supreme Court case Crossman Communities of North Carolina, Inc. v. Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co. struck a major blow to Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policies. The decision would allow insurance companies to avoid defending their insured clients in court, or paying claims, based on the finding that faulty work does not represent a "natural occurrence" on a construction job site. This decision effectively made CGL policies inoperable. Carlson and other ABC members took the opportunity to speak with members of Gov. Haley's staff as well as the staff of the Attorney General regarding a pending resolution to effectively block this decision from affecting the South Carolina construction industry. The resolution passed its second reading while ABC members were being recognized in the SC House of Representatives. On May 17th, 2011, the resolution was signed into law by Gov. Nikki Haley.
Bill Caldwell, Chairman of the Board of ABC Carolinas and President of Waldrop Mechanical, says, "This legislation gives construction professionals the assurance that they are contractually covered by insurance for specific events that may come to pass as a result of their construction activities. Without such defined coverage, the risk and damages of such an event could potentially cause financial ruin for the responsible contractor and prompt concerns that insurance companies would be collecting premiums from contractors without having to deal with such potential risks. This legislation will protect contractors from such financial peril and provide confidence that they are receiving intended value from their insurers should such a loss event happen."
Both Caldwell and Carlson agree on the importance of a bill protecting open competition. While in Columbia, they took the opportunity to speak with key House leaders about this bill and how it would benefit the SC construction industry. The White House Administration is heavily pushing Project Labor Agreements, or PLAs, in South Carolina. A PLA requires that a contractor and his employees subject themselves to the authority of a labor union before they can work on any government-funded construction project. ABC views this as a full-out assault on South Carolina as a right-to-work state. Caldwell says of ABC's action on behalf of this open competition bill, "We introduced the concept for either legislative action or an executive order to prompt open competition on all state- and federal-funded projects performed in SC. Such action would ensure that all firms would be able to compete for the work fairly, without any prejudice to labor affiliation. We discussed this concept with both the Governor's staff and the Attorney General. Both parties were interested in moving the concept forward in the future."
Further action taken during the Hard Hat Legislative Conference included supporting the idea of increasing the $1,000 corporate tax credit for every student that is enrolled in a company's apprenticeship program. ABC also showed strong support for the Department of Education's Career Cluster program, which allows students to "cluster" their studies in areas that they are passionate about.
If you are interested in reading more about ABC and their work on behalf of the SC construction industry, or becoming a member, visit their website at www.abccarolinas.org.