Advocacy

Be the Difference We Make in DC

MCAA is working in Washington to advance our industry’s future.  Take a moment to participate and support your Political Action Committee. Have your voice heard!

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Leading on the Issues

Year after year, you can count on MCAA to take the lead on the issues that make a difference to you and your company. Here are just some of the issues we are working on in Congress to protect your livelihood and set the stage for a bright future. Working in concert with other like-minded associations and with our labor partners at the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, MCAA staff is again on the Hill making your voice heard.

 

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Multiemployer Pension Plans—Composite Plan Design

Our position:

MCAA continues to press for new multiemployer pension plan design options for pension trustees to consider - most notably the Composite Plan option, which combines the best features of Defined Benefit plans for plan participants, and the sustainability features of Defined Contribution plans for contributing employers. MCAA also supports technical corrections to the 2014 Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act to allow regulators to more readily approve benefits suspension applications for the 100 or so critical and declining plans, to preserve benefits for plan participants and forestall plan insolvency and mounting insurance claims on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). MCAA also works to make sure any eventual PBGC insurance rate increases on multiemployer plans are kept to the minimal extent necessary, and are phased in gradually so as to limit incentive to exit PBGC-insured plans solely because of premium hikes. MCAA also would support low-interest Federal plan programs only to the extent necessary to forestall PBGC insolvency and exorbitant PBGC premium increase on the majority of well-funded construction industry plans.

Infrastructure Investment

Our position:

MCAA supports legislative proposals to increase Federal infrastructure investments, with a fair balance of vertical and building and utility service infrastructure, as well as highways, roads and bridges. Direct Federal appropriations are essential, but given budget constraints, Federal and state cost sharing and public/private partnerships may be essential to meet the government’s need to provide adequate public purpose projects and services. Still, with those alternate financing options MCAA will work to make sure that Federal prevailing wage and workforce development policies are maintained.  Davis Bacon should be preserved, Federal contractor selection procedures and other contracting protections (contract provisions providing for equitable adjustments, differing site conditions, warranty provisions, performance and payment bonds) are preserved in those programs to the maximum extent possible.  Similarly, MCAA works to preserve public agency options to consider use of project labor agreements on both direct Federal and federally assisted projects as well.

 

Preservation of Davis Bacon Workforce Standards

Our position:

MCAA works to make sure the basic structure of Federal prevailing wage standards is not undermined in separate Federal agency funding bills for traditional direct Federal projects. MCAA also opposes Labor Department administrative or funding changes that would undermine the Davis Bacon wage determination process, or oversight and administrative compliance enforcement by the Labor Department. MCAA aids contractors with specific Davis Bacon project administration issues.

Preserving the Option for Public Agencies to Consider Use of Project Labor Agreements

Our position:

MCAA continues to work to preserve the proprietary discretion allowed to public procurement agencies to consider the beneficial of use of project labor agreements on direct Federal and federally assisted construction projects. MCAA opposes any legislative, regulatory or Executive Order dictate that would remove existing discretion in the Federal Acquisition Regulations permitting Contracting Officers, as a matter of sound acquisition planning and proprietary judgment, to assure adequate project workforce skills and availability to ensure successful project performance. 

Curbing Worker Misclassification Abuse

Our position:

 MCAA continues to work for Federal legislative and regulatory reforms that would curb widespread worker misclassification abuses and clamp down on unfair and illegal competitive advantages for unscrupulous firms in the industry. MCAA defends against proposals that would promote lax worker classification procedures, and supports legislative proposals that would allow tax authorities to set misclassification standards on and industry-by-industry basis, believing that one-size-fits-all industry standards don’t promote unfair competition in the construction industry.

Preserving the Benefits of Federal and State Registered Apprenticeship Systems for Signatory Employers

Our position:

MCAA works to monitor various regulatory initiatives that undermine the benefits of registered apprenticeship programs for MCAA member firms relative to other employers participating in non-regulated industry-certified programs. Moreover, MCAA is working to roll back much of the overregulation put forward by the last Administration’s non-discrimination and written affirmative regulations requirements for registered apprenticeship programs with 5 or more participants.

Reining In the Proliferation of Paid Family and Sick Leave Requirements

Our position:

 MCAA opposes Federal executive agency procurement mandates requiring paid sick and family leave payments on direct Federal construction projects. MCAA is working to roll back Executive Order 13706's paid personal time off requirement on direct Federal projects. Moreover, MCAA helps local affiliates address the proliferation of such paid personal time off requirements in state and local jurisdictions across the country. MCAA supports state preemption of various local ordinances in any state, and similarly supports Federal preemption of the various state mandates. MCAA also works to gain exemptions in the various laws or regulations for construction employers with collective bargaining agreements covering project workforces. Similarly, MCAA seeks regulatory exemptions that acknowledge the unique project scheduling and subcontractor work sequencing demands of construction project employment.

Promoting Various Tax Reform Improvements

Our position:

MCAA continues to work to repeal the often -delayed Cadillac tax on multiemployer health plans. MCAA continues to look for opportunities to level the playing field in any remaining employer mandate contained in the Affordable Care Act by lowering the employment threshold for the employment mandate in the construction industry to a level that is commensurate with our industry's small business size standards. Similarly, MCAA worked hard to expand tax credits and deductions for energy efficiency retrofits for commercial and  industrial facilities, industrial waste heat recovery investments, and to maintain and expand tax credits and expensing for hvac equipment and fire sprinkler installation in commercial and residential facilities. 

Opposing other Workforce Wage and Hour and Labor Compliance Proposals that would Affect High Workforce Standards

Our position:

MCAA opposes various forms of workforce overtime pay/flex-time proposals that would amend established Federal overtime pay requirements and thereby allow opportunities for abuse and avoidance of strict overtime pay requirements for workers. 

What's New

As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting your livelihood and setting the stage for a bright future, MCAA has secured the services of Longbow Public Policy Group to advise our MCAA Government Affairs Committee (GAC). GAC Chair, Jim Gaffney will be passing along information relative to our industry on a regular basis.

MCAA invites you to participate in the 2024 National Issues Conference for a deep-dive into the key regulatory and legislative issues affecting the union construction industry. Along with our partners in the Construction Employers of America (CEA), we will host regulators and representatives from Congress for their expertise and insights on a variety of topics. Don’t miss this opportunity to get the latest information that impacts your business from the nation’s capital! Register today!

MCAA invites you to participate in the 2024 National Issues Conference for a deep-dive into the key regulatory and legislative issues affecting the union construction industry. Along with our partners in the Construction Employers of America (CEA), we will host regulators and representatives from Congress for their expertise and insights on a variety of topics. Don’t miss this opportunity to get the latest information that impacts your business from the nation’s capital! Early-bird registration discounts end March 1. Register today!

As highlighted at the MCAA Industry Funds Conference in December, MCAA has secured the services of Longbow Public Policy Group to advise our MCAA Government Affairs Committee (GAC). GAC Chair, Jim Gaffney will be passing along information relative to our industry on a regular basis.

CEA National Issues Conference Will Focus on Key Regulatory & Legislative Issues

The Construction Employers of America (CEA) invites you to participate in the 2024 National Issues Conference, which will take place May 6–8, 2024, at the Royal Sonesta Washington, DC Capitol Hill. This event will focus on key regulatory and legislative issues affecting the union construction industry today. As with previous in-person conferences, the CEA will host both regulators and representatives from Congress for their expertise and insights on a variety of topics. Don’t miss this opportunity to get the latest information that impacts your business from the nation’s capital! Early-bird registration is now available!

MCAA joined a large coalition of trade associations and industry groups in urging U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to narrow the scope of the International Trade Commission’s (ITC) ongoing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations regarding aluminum extrusions. The effort was spearheaded by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) at the request of its Aluminum Extrusion Task Force. The investigation’s goal would be to level the playing field for American manufacturers but would create problems for our industry especially in the HVAC sector.

MCAA Government Affairs Committee Chairman Jim Gaffney and former Congressman Earl Pomeroy, MCAA’s government relations consultant, testified on MCAA’s behalf at the November 21, 2023, Internal Revenue Service hearing. The hearing addressed proposed rules requiring prevailing wages and apprentice utilization for enhanced tax credits under the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) energy projects available for the next 10 years.

MCAA recently submitted comments on the proposed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations implementing the Biden Administration’s energy project enhanced tax incentives for projects paying prevailing wages and using a minimum of 10 to 15 percent registered apprentice hours (PWA).

The Biden Administration’s long-overdue overhaul of Davis Bacon Act prevailing wage regulatory policies and implementing regulations is slated to take effect on October 23, 2023, barring any last-ditch court challenges by open-shop groups.

Union representation rates in the construction industry fell slightly in 2022, decreasing to 12.4%, with 1,076,000 of the 8,671,000 workers “represented” by unions, down from 13.6% in 2021 (1,112, 000 of the 8,157,000 employed).  Among those 1,076,000 represented by unions, 1,019,000 were classified as union members, leaving some 57,000 (roughly 5%) of the remainder classified as represented by unions (covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) but not reported as union members.

On Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will begin accepting applications from states for $250 million in funding for energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits of commercial buildings. States may apply to DOE for seed money to start their own energy efficiency revolving loan fund that can be used to fund energy efficient upgrades or retrofits in the state. If a state already has an energy efficient revolving loan fund, this money can be used to bolster existing programs. Once state programs are set up, these monies will ultimately provide low or no cost funding to potential customers of MCAA members seeking to make energy efficient upgrades to their facilities.

Withum Explains Why PPP Loan Forgiveness May Not Be Tax-Free

National accounting firm Withum shares information to help you understand the tax implications of the recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruling addressing the proper treatment of improperly forgiven paycheck protection program (PPP) loans. The IRS ruled that the PPP loan forgiveness amount is not tax-free, even if the Small Business Administration (SBA) and lender granted the borrower full loan forgiveness, if the taxpayer did not satisfy the factual requirements for loan forgiveness.

New Virginia Law Bans Contingent Payment Provisions in Construction Contracts

Cohen Seglias reports that a new bill has been signed into law in Virginia that prohibits the use of contingent payment provisions on construction projects. The new law amends VA ST §§ 2.2-4354 and 11-4.6 and provides that “[p]ayment by the party contracting with the contractor shall not be a condition precedent to payment to any lower-tier subcontractor, regardless of that contractor receiving payment for amounts owed to that contractor.” In other words, Virginia will no longer permit “pay-if-paid” provisions in construction contracts.

Withum Article Explains the Inflation Reduction Act’s Impact on Tax Audits

National accounting firm Withum shares information to help you understand the potential impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law on August 16, 2022. They note that the act, which includes $80 billion of increased funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), will meaningfully increase IRS audit rates, but the impact won’t happen overnight.

MCAA recently submitted comprehensive comments in support of the Biden Administration’s proposed comprehensive modernization of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts regulatory provisions. The comments confirm the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) goal of modernizing the Davis Bacon regulations, citing the accretion of regressive policy implementation over the years that sought to avoid giving proper weight to collective bargaining rates in the Davis Bacon wage survey and wage determination process.

MCAA is conducting a membership survey to gather data to support our claims that improvements in the administration of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Davis-Bacon rules will improve competitive conditions in the markets for those projects and overall project performance. Please take 10 minutes to support your association’s efforts in this important area of federal construction policy. Survey responses are due by May 9, 2022.

MCAA applauds Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, Wage and Hour Division Acting Administrator Jessica Looman, and all U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) policy leaders for their work developing well-considered regulatory procedures modernizing U.S. prevailing wage protections for construction workers, responsible employers, government agency construction agencies and programs, and the taxpayers generally. The proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register on March 18, 2022.

Early February saw the release of the first report related to Executive Order (EO) 14025, White House Task Force Report on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. MCAA and the UA provided joint input for the report. MCAA and the Construction Employers of America (CEA) also filed an amicus brief with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on the topic of worker misclassification. February also marked the publication of an EO requiring project labor agreements (PLAs) on direct federal construction projects. MCAA’s partnerships ensure our members’ voices are heard.

Union representation rates in the construction industry inched up slightly in 2021, increasing to 13.6%, with 1,112, 000 of the 8,157,000 workers “represented” by unions, up from 13.4% in 2020 (993,000 of 1,050,000 employed).  Among those 1,112,000 represented  by unions, 1,024,000 were classified as union members, leaving some 88,000 (roughly 8%) of the remainder classified as represented by unions (covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA)) but not reported as union members.

The Safer Federal Workforce (SFW) Task Force issued updated Frequently Asked Questions based on Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on non-enforcement of vaccination on Federal contracts and subcontracts. The guidance, which applies to those that had been governed by the vaccination mandates in EO 14042, comes after recent court decisions stayed the effectiveness of those rules pending further legal challenges.

Legislative and regulatory developments are picking up pace in Washington, DC, in advance of the Congressional recess. Key issues of interest to MCAA members include vaccination requirements, clean energy, electric vehicle tax credits, and revised Davis-Bacon regulations.

MCAA offers a capsule digest of some key public policy, legislative, and regulatory developments in Washington, D.C., that will influence the MCAA policy agenda in the near and intermediate terms.

The Safer Federal Workforce (SFW) Task Force issued more detailed compliance guidance for direct Federal prime contractors and subcontractors performing on direct Federal contracts subject to the COVID-19 employee vaccination mandates under the Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14042. MCAA summarizes the November 1, 2021, guidance.

The Trustees of the UA International Training Fund (ITF) are committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees, instructors, and students participating in training events sponsored by the ITF. To ensure safe and healthy training, the ITF has developed and adopted the following Preparedness Plan.

MCAA has updates to two items relevant to the Biden Administration’s recent COVID vaccination mandates, including a Federal contract clause and guidance on health plan coverage issues relating to vaccinations.