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On April 7, �鶹��ý of America CEO Stephen Sandherr, Contractors Association of West Virginia Executive Director Mike Clowser and members of �鶹��ý Chapter-CAWV met in Charleston, West Virginia with Senator Joe Manchin on the PRO Act—the greatest threat to open shop and union construction firms—and President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan, on which you can find a comprehensive �鶹��ý analysis here. Sen. Manchin is one of five Democrats who has not pledged support for the PRO Act. He is also a pivotal player in the Biden’s administration’s plans for enacting any infrastructure legislation through the partisan reconciliation process that would only require 51—instead of 60—votes to pass in the Senate. �鶹��ý and its members in West Virginia and around the country will continue to oppose efforts to enact the PRO Act and to support significant investments in our nation’s transportation, building and utility infrastructure.

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land and Odessa, Texas Have Worst 12-Month Employment Losses; Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, Calif. and Sierra Vista-Douglas, Ariz. Top Ranks of Job Gainers

We are proud to report that we have had a strong year in 2020 as the contents of our Annual Report - The Power of Engagement - make clear. The digital report catalogues the many accomplishments of �鶹��ý of America. In our catalogue of some of the association’s most significant accomplishments, you will see how we work to support the entire construction industry as The Construction Association.

Please join with �鶹��ý of America in planning to participate in this year’s Construction Safety Week, May 3-7. The theme is Holistic Safety: Be Present. Be Focused. Be Safe. Our commitment to staying safe and focused on the job is a point of pride and strength that runs across our entire industry. In order to ensure holistic safety, we must strive to create both a physically and mentally safe environment and make every aspect of our wellbeing part of our safety culture and programs. We must prioritize both physical and psychological safety in the workplace, and how together, they play an important role in our relationships with our team members and with our ability to bring our safest, most productive, best selves to work every day.

The infrastructure investment included in the Biden Infrastructure Plan would be funded through a variety of broad tax increases, primarily aimed at multinational corporations, but that would also impact domestic C-corporations, including some construction firms. Increased taxes on pass-through businesses, individual tax rates, estate taxes, capital gains taxes, and payroll taxes, are expected in the next “human infrastructure” package to be released in the near future. The primary funding mechanism would be to increase the corporate tax rate from the current 21% rate to 28%.

President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan includes new workforce investments, labor preferences and the PRO Act. The overall labor intent of the plan is to prioritize the construction investments are made with union labor. And, the Administration hopes to do just that with including the PRO Act in its plan. The PRO Act continues to be a top priority of the AFL-CIO to overturn decades of federal labor policy to arm unions with practically every legal and tactical advantage to gain the most favorable terms possible. While the PRO Act passed the U.S. House earlier this year, it has stalled in the Senate as Democratic leaders debate whether to change the filibuster rules to make its passage possible.

On March 15, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a notice for public input on its current recommendations for disclosing climate risks and how it could change or supplement that process in the future. The Commission currently relies on its 2010 guidance to help entities understand how to identify and report on climate risks that could impact investors. Now, the SEC faces considerable pressure to revisit and expand the guidance to include more on material risks and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. The SEC is asking for feedback on 15 topics associated with the regulation of climate disclosures---including how the rules should address private companies’ climate disclosures.

Employers Have from April 26 Until July 19 to Submit Component 1 Data After delaying the opening of the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 Data Collections on May 8, 2020 in light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that the collections will now open on Monday, April 26, 2021.