By: Douglas M. Dvorchak, 2019 Chair of the Board, ABC Keystone

Associated Builders and Contractors is taking their message of Free Enterprise and Merit Shop Construction to Washington D.C. Save the date of Wednesday, June 26, to join us as Chapters from across the country descend on Capitol Hill to visit with our elected representatives.

Most of them are happy to see us and discuss issues important to ABC. A few begrudgingly take the time to meet with us but are willing to hear about our issues as we educate them as to why we have such strong convictions on these matters. We also have one Senator who has never taken the time to meet with us. Maybe this will be the year! With the political climate where it today, it is important to have a strong showing of ABC members.

I encourage you and your co-workers to attend. It is a chance to give representatives a firsthand understanding of how legislation affects your business. ABC Keystone will be offering a bus leaving from the Chapter office with a pick-up also in York. Register at abckeystone.org. Another option is to attend the entire Legislative Conference. Registration for the conference can be found at abc.org.

If your schedule won’t allow you to join us that day, there are two other ways to support ABC’s legislative efforts. The first one is simple and takes only a few minutes – download the ABC Action App. The ABC Action App is an advanced advocacy tool that enables users to become a vital part of the ABC grassroots advocacy efforts and further the Merit Shop philosophy. With just a couple of clicks on your phone, this app allows you to correspond with your legislators on issues important to ABC.

The second way is to donate to ABC’s Political Action Committee (PAC). ABC’s PAC supports candidates whose voting records and/ or platforms strengthen ABC’s mission to promote, protect and defend free enterprise in the construction industry. Now is the time to grow our PAC dollars, as 2020 will be a crucial (quite an understatement) political cycle. There is both a State and Federal ABC PAC. Please visit ABC Keystone’s website or contact the Chapter office for additional information regarding ABC PAC, as well as our independent expenditure funds: the Free Enterprise Alliance and The Advancing the American Dream Fund.

As a recap of another important annual legislative event, Free Enterprise Day in Harrisburg featured a successful day of meetings with our State legislators. The main topics discussed that day were Apprenticeship Reform and Workforce Development. As we ramp up our pre-apprenticeship programs, it will be imperative to change unfair state mandated apprenticeship ratios to hire skilled construction workers. Other topics discussed were Government Mandated Project Labor Agreements and industry licensure.

Thank you for your efforts supporting the merit shop mission and free enterprise at both Free Enterprise Day and at the upcoming LegCon Bus Trip to D.C. We look forward to seeing you on the bus!

ABC National Legislative Conference Bus Trip to Washington, D.C. / June 26 – Register today!

May 29, 2019