Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) launched “Building America: The Merit Shop Scorecard,” which reviews and grades state-specific information. The scorecard website identifies states that have created beneficial or subpar environments for merit shop contractors.
The Merit Shop Scorecard grades states on project labor agreement (PLA), prevailing wage and right-to-work policies as well as their construction job growth rate, commitment to developing a well-trained workforce, level of flexibility in career and technical education curricula and use of public-private partnerships (P3s).
“The Merit Shop Scorecard will be a useful tool for lawmakers and industry stakeholders to explain how state policies affect the ability of contractors to conduct business and expand their operations,” said ABC Director of Labor and Federal Procurement Ben Brubeck. “The scorecard highlights high-performing states that have enacted policies opposing anti-competitive schemes and restrictive, cost-inflating mandates while embracing fairness in the workplace. It also identifies low-performing states that have failed to foster environments where businesses can thrive, invest and create construction jobs in local communities.”
The merit shop philosophy is the belief that people and companies succeed based on free enterprise principles within the free market system, which is characterized by open and fair competition and diverse participants.
Top ranked states such as Arizona, Louisiana and Virginia all received high-performing grades for enacting PLA, prevailing wage and right-to-work policies that favor free enterprise. Conversely, low performing states such as New Mexico, Alaska and New York received poor overall rankings by earning a D or F grade for their policies on PLAs, prevailing wage and right-to-work legislation and other measurable categories.
The Merit Shop Scorecard was developed with input from ABC chapters and industry stakeholders across the country. States were evaluated based on their policies and records on seven key issues: Project Labor Agreements (PLAs), Prevailing Wage, Right to Work, Public-Private Partnerships (P3s), Workforce Development ;Career and Technical Education, and Job Growth Rate.
Criteria and definitions are available here. The scorecard will be updated monthly with exclusive state construction unemployment rate estimates from economist Bernard Markstein, Ph.D.
Related Stories
| Oct 14, 2014
Slash energy consumption in data centers with liquid-based ‘immersive-cooling’ technology
A new technology promises to push the limits of data center energy efficiency by using liquid instead of air to cool the servers.
Sponsored | | Oct 14, 2014
3 color trends drive new commercial exterior color collections
Collectively as a society, we help create color trends, which shape our businesses, recreational facilities, healthcare centers, and civic buildings. These iconic colors are now appearing in Valspar's new color collections. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 14, 2014
Get inspired with the top 10 TED talks about cities
The TED talks, none of which are longer than 20 minutes, feature speakers such as architect Moshe Safdie, Rio de Janeiro Major Eduardo Paes, and animal behaviorist Amanda Burden.
| Oct 14, 2014
Richard Meier unveils design for his first tower in Taiwan
Taiwan will soon have its first Richard Meier building, a 535-foot apartment tower in Taichung City, the country’s third-largest city.
| Oct 13, 2014
The mindful workplace: How employees can manage stress at the office
I have spent the last several months writing about healthy workplaces. My research lately has focused on stress—how we get stressed and ways to manage it through meditation and other mindful practices, writes HOK's Leigh Stringer.
| Oct 13, 2014
Debunking the 5 myths of health data and sustainable design
The path to more extensive use of health data in green building is blocked by certain myths that have to be debunked before such data can be successfully incorporated into the project delivery process.
| Oct 13, 2014
Department of Agriculture launches Tall Wood Building Competition
The competition invites U.S. developers, institutions, organizations, and design teams willing to undertake an alternative solution approach to designing and building taller wood structures to submit entries for a prize of $2 million.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 10, 2014
A new memorial by Zaha Hadid in Cambodia departs from the expected
The project sees a departure from Hadid’s well-known use of concrete, fiberglass, and resin. Instead, the primary material will be timber, curved and symmetrical like the Angkor Wat and other Cambodian landmarks.
| Oct 9, 2014
Regulations, demand will accelerate revenue from zero energy buildings, according to study
A new study by Navigant Research projects that public- and private-sector efforts to lower the carbon footprint of new and renovated commercial and residential structures will boost the annual revenue generated by commercial and residential zero energy buildings over the next 20 years by 122.5%, to $1.4 trillion.
