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On 421-a, choose special interests or affordable housing

By growthzone | September 8, 2015

This editorial as published in Crainā€™s NY Business Journal can be foundĀ here. Nonunion contractors can deliver cost-effective rental projects under the city’s tax-exemption program while paying middle-class wages. Mayor Bill de Blasio is right to make affordable housing an integral component of his policy agenda. His ambitious goal of creating 80,000 affordable housing units and…

NLRB Update

By growthzone | September 2, 2015

THE ISSUE: On Thursday the National Labor Relations Board handed down one of the biggest labor decisions of the Obama administration, ruling a contractor is equally responsible for labor issues committed by its subcontractors. THE IMPACT of the DECISION: The NLRB determined that a contractor is a ā€œjoint employerā€ obligated to negotiate with the representative…

ABC Takes Action in North Hempstead

By growthzone | September 2, 2015

ABC in ACTION As the only association in New York State advocating for the merit shop philosophy, ABC Empire State is YOUR VOICE. We have been making sure that YOUR VOICE is being heard. Across the state, everyone from government officials to the general public is taking notice.Ā  Background We received an alert from a…

Transparency needed at SolarCity construction site

By growthzone | August 13, 2015

By Brian Sampson, President Associated Builders & Contractors Empire State To read the editorial as it appeared in the Buffalo News, clickĀ here I was extremely encouraged by news of the construction of a SolarCity plant in Buffalo, where this large, publicly traded company will build solar panels. This excitement came not only as the executive…

Project Labor Agreements diminish competition, raise costs

By growthzone | August 12, 2015

By Brian Sampson, President, Associated Builders & Contractors, Empire State The Op-Ed as published in the Real Estate Weekly can be found here. Last week it was reported in Real Estate Weekly that a deal on a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) would save the city an estimated $347 million dollars on a capital investment of…

Trades provide a good pathway into the future

By growthzone | July 30, 2015

This also appeared as an editorial in the Utica Observer Dispatch. It can be foundĀ here. With the framework of the creation of the Career and Technical Education diploma now in place, New York state needs to fast track the process so that students will be able to make use of it. Former New York City…

SUNY Binghamton Should Avoid Anti-Competitive, Costly Project Labor Agreement

By growthzone | July 29, 2015

SUNY Binghamton Should Avoid Anti-Competitive, Costly Project Labor Agreement We caught wind of a potential Project Labor Agreement from one of our members. Understanding that many outside of the construction industry are not familiar with the numerous issues and tremendous increased costs that accompany PLAā€™s, we decided to be proactive and educate the public on…

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