ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF AMERICA
President Trump is ridiculed by the Associated General Contractors of America, a group which in 2016 contributed over $761,000 to federal political candidates, 93% of which went to republicans. At a July 2017 convention of its membership, a presentation by its chief lobbyist, in an internal presentation [1], mocked the president while it praised him for cutting back on rules meant to protect workers. Here are two slides which summarizes how Trump and his administration are perceived.
AGC Slide 1
AGC Slide
In a summary of how well his administration has handled attempts to change the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), the collective efforts are described as a dumpster fire.
What it praised are rollbacks on worker protection as this slide demonstrates:
AGC Slide 3
As reported by ProPublica on March 1, 2018: [2]
“The “blacklisting” rule refers to President Obama’s “Fair Pay, Safe Workplaces” executive order that required companies bidding on federal contracts to disclose labor law violations. That rule has been repealed by the Trump administration.
The so-called Volks rule increased the ability of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to enforce requirements that employers keep records of injuries and illnesses. That rule has also been eliminated.
The silica regulation lowers the permissible exposure limit of silica dust that construction workers can be exposed to on the job. According to OSHA, inhaling silica can cause cancer and other fatal diseases. That regulation’s implementation was delayed but has since gone into effect.
The “GHG” rule is a Department of Transportation greenhouse gas regulation aimed at getting data on emissions from vehicles traveling on federally funded highways. The Trump administration initially delayed the rule’s implementation and has since started the process of repealing it entirely.”
AGC got it correct in the first slide when it described the Trump Administration. But watch as it sits back and prospers on the backs of everyday citizens who are without safety and environmental protections which have been repealed. Just another example of the hypocrisy that exists in electing a candidate who is interested in increasing profits along with his supporters.
John B. Boyd
[1] From its website: “The Associated General Contractors (AGC) represents close to 30,000 construction firms, including many of the country’s leading general contractors. As one of the most extensive trade associations in the construction industry, the AGC frequently lobbies the federal government. Its areas of interest include federal construction contracts, safety standards, resource practice, and information technology.”
[2] https://www.propublica.org/article/associated-general-contractors-of-america-trump-dumpster-fire