WASHINGTON, DC – Mark Ayers, former Director of the Construction & Maintenance Division of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), assumed the office of President of the Building & Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO (BCTD) on Monday, October 1, 2007. Ayers, who was elected unanimously on September 6th by the BCTD Governing Board, succeeds retiring BCTD President Edward C. Sullivan.

The Labor Co-Chairman of the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee (NMAPC), Mr. Mark Ayers, was recently elected to serve as President…

Meeting to address the major issues confronting union contractors was held in Atlantic City, NJ on September 19th.

The Senate has approved legislation that would increase federal highway and transit funding in fiscal year 2008, but turned back a proposal to waive Davis-Bacon wage requirements on projects to upgrade deficient bridges.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report for 2006 is out, and the construction fatality rate per 100,000 workers decreased in ’06, but jobsite deaths rose nearly 3% to 1,226.

Part 3: How to Attract and Retain Workers in the Future

The construction industry needs a paradigm shift in the way it deals with the workforce. The industry must develop a pro-worker environment because nothing less will attract and retain the necessary workers.