The Blog

  Brian Renaud has long been known and trusted by his fellow ABC MA members as the representative for the Contractors Plan, the retirement plan offered through our chapter.  He’s still the rep, but with his new firm, Contractor Benefit Solutions, he can do a whole lot more. Brian has long served the unique needs of contractors who do prevailing wage work, but with his new company he can provide members with more options and provide additional services.  “I want to keep working with the same people,” Renaud said.  “The difference is that now I can offer more options and customize plans based on a particular client’s needs.” In addition to the Contractors Plan, you can now contact Brian for health and benefit plans, and for the Sub Plan, a supplemental unemployment benefit account for firms that do public work that gives companies and workers short-term access to pre-tax dollars. Contractor Benefit Solutions can also connect client ...

By: Laura M. Raisty, Esq. On March 3, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (“the Act”), which amends the Federal Arbitration Act to invalidate pre-dispute arbitration agreements and class or collective action waivers covering sexual assault and sexual harassment claims at the election of either: (1) the person alleging the misconduct or (2) the named representative of a class or in a collective action alleging such misconduct.  The Act applies to all claims that arise or accrue after March 3, 2022, without regard to the date of the arbitration agreement.  It does not, however, affect any claim that arose or accrued before March 3, 2022. Background Many employers have entered into arbitration agreements with their employees to avoid unfavorable publicity and to have a faster and less expensive resolution to employment-related disputes than is generally provided via the judicial system. &nb ...

  (via ABC National)   SAN ANTONIO, March 16—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced Adam Haywood, electrical foreman and safety officer at Premier Power LLC, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, was named the 2022 Craft Professional of the Year. Haywood was honored at ABC Convention 2022 in San Antonio on March 15. ABC presents the annual Craft Professional of the Year award to a construction craft professional who excels in his or her field, demonstrating a commitment to safety, education and the merit shop philosophy. “In his nomination form, Adam Haywood was called ‘quite possible the most skilled electrician in the state,’” said 2022 National Chair of the ABC Board of Directors Stephanie Schmidt, president, Poole Anderson Construction, State College, Pennsylvania. “But beyond that, it’s clear that he’s a leader in safety, quality, technology and attitude both on and off the jobsite. Adam has more than two decades in the constructio ...

  Nine ABC Massachusetts member companies were named to Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2022 Top Performers list, which ranks its commercial and industrial contractor members that build long-lasting, high-quality construction projects, based on work hours.  The ABC Massachusetts honorees are: Bowdoin Construction Company CIANBRO DECCO, Inc. EMCOR Services New England Mechanical Erland Construction, Inc. JM Coull, Inc Kaplan Construction Notch Mechanical Constructors R&R Window Contractors, Inc. “We’re thrilled but not surprised to see so many of our members win national honors,” said ABC Massachusetts President Greg Beeman.  “This is just the latest evidence that our members provide owners and taxpayers with unparalleled quality and value.”  To be eligible, Massachusetts’ Top Performers demonstrated world-class safety performance by achieving Gold status or higher in ABC’s ...

 

ABC MA owes a delayed thank you to board member Diana Hasan, who is also Director of Human Resources at C.E. Floyd, for volunteering her time to interview the graduates of the first cohort of the chapter's PACMAN pre-apprenticeship program and spoke at the graduation.

 

"A huge shout out to Diana Hasan for participating in the recent pre-apprenticeship graduation", said ABC MA Director of Workforce Development Steve Sullivan. "Diana's involvement in our program is critical for these participants. She has a deep understanding of the skills our member companies are looking for in new hires, and learning how to interview well can be a game changer for these graduates."

 

If you're interested in talking to some of our pre-apprenticeship graduates or getting involved in the program, contact Steve at [email protected] or (781) 281-6860.

 

 

 

We would like to thank members for participating in our annual Blanket Drive to benefit Mission of Deeds and providing much-needed help to the less fortunate. With your generous help this holiday season, we were able to collect the most blankets in our three years of partnering with Mission of Deeds! We would like to thank athe companies that donated, including Energy Electric Co. Inc., Skilled Trade Partners, JM Coull, Inc., D & D Electrical Contractors, Plumb House, Inc,, Nardone Electric Corp., and all those that donated anonymously.

 

 

  When Molly Pidgeon graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology with a BA in interior design, she went to work in construction. She thought the experience would improve her designs, but the plan was ultimately to make her way back to the design world. She has – sort of. The construction work kept coming and today Molly heads Pidgeon & Co., a small but mighty construction management firm with an in-house design team. Her business model is based on flexibility. Some of the jobs the company takes combine construction management and design, on others Pidgeon & Co.’s role is pure construction management. They offer specialized expertise in commercial interiors, core improvements, ADA compliance upgrades, and elevator installation, institutional and have also done lab, clean room and health care-related work – an area the company is looking to grow.  Another focus is on building the relationships that are the key to l ...

  After celebrating remotely last year due to the pandemic, over 175 ABC MA winners gathered at the Burlington Marriott last week to honor the 2021 Excellence in Construction Award winners.   The pandemic also made it impossible to hold our annual Safety Night last May, so we also honored this year's Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze STEP Safety Award winners.   The applicant pool for the 29th annual awards was particularly competitive, with each winner selected for the high standards of craftsmanship, safety and quality delivered by talented merit shop workers using the efficient merit shop approach.    Thanks goes out to this year’s panel of independent judges for the time and talent they contributed to selecting our winners. They are: ·      Ken Bromfield, P.E., Independent Engineering Consultant ·      Carolyn Day, AIA, Perkins Eastman ·& ...

  By Jay Connolly - President, Connolly Brothers Inc.   The United States is currently experiencing the repercussions of generations of thinking that college is the only suitable post-secondary path for its students. I deeply appreciate the value of a college education and am grateful for many of the important lessons in life and leadership I learned at Boston College. There is no doubt that higher education plays a vital role in strengthening and advancing civil society and preparing our youth for the workforce, and to be responsible citizens. I also believe it is important that we break free from the messaging to our high school students that a four-year liberal arts college is “the only good option.” Because construction has been my family’s business for 140 years and counting, I have had ample opportunity to both witness and experience the joys of a career in construction. As October is “Careers in Construction Month,” I would like to take a moment ...

  Help us achieve our goal of hitting 500 members by the end of 2021; get involved for the chance to win great prizes and grow the association!   For years, ABC members have heard the slogan, “More members, more clout.” The statement is undeniably true, and ABC has a chance to reach 500 members in the coming year.   That’s one reason why the 2021 membership drive is so important. The other is that in a political environment that includes a staunchly pro-union administration in Washington and an increasingly labor-friendly legislature on Beacon Hill, ABC needs the clout to stand up for our member companies.   What Is the membership drive? The Membership Drive is ABC's biggest annual recruiting event. The theme for the drive this year will be the Indy 500, as we race for ABC to get 500 members in 2021. The membership drive is a team-based event where we will have 30+ participants from the Board of Directors, Membership Co ...