Reshaping the Construction Industry

The following article was written by Whitney Martin and was originally published on Marekbros.com.Did you know that the USS Lexington, built in 1942, participated in nearly every major operation during WWII AND was BUILT BY WOMEN? Yes, you read that correctly, this 42,000 ton, 910 foot war machine was constructed by women.Women have played major roles in construction for decades. During WWII and the Korean conflict, women had to take the jobs that the men couldn’t take since they were on the front lines. Not only did women build the war machines, they ferried the men to Europe and the Pacific theaters. Many women lost their lives during the wars while doing so. Their model was “Rosie the Riveter” who symbolized the women who played major roles as riveters, sheet metal workers, and steelworkers. They built tanks for the front, built locomotives for the home front and flew major missions around the world.   

Spending falls in April but rises year-to-date; Beige Book finds increasing demand, costsEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Construction spending in April totaled $1.133 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 1.8% from March but up 4.5% year-over-year, the Census Bureau reported on Wednesday. The March level was revised up by an unusually large $18 billion (1.6%). The March-to-April decline may reflect "payback" after a mild winter that enabled contractors to do work that normally wouldn't occur before spring. Combined January-April year-to-date (YTD) spending was 8.7% higher than in the same months of 2015. Public construction dropped 2.8% for the month but climbed 6.1% YTD. The largest public component, highway and street construction, fell 0.4% for the month but increased 13% YTD. The other major public segment, educational construction, fell 2.5% for the month but rose 10% YTD. Private residential spending declined 1.5% in April but increased 9.3% YTD.   

The following article was authored by Don Procter and originally published in AWCI's Construction Dimensions magazine.While debate rages about what to do with illegal workers in the United States, Canada has its own set of problems on that front. The country’s largest city, Toronto, has a robust construction economy that has proven to be a magnet for foreigners without legal papers. Estimates put the number of illegals at close to 35 percent in some building trades, according to one source. In the residential sector where most of construction activity is (high-rise residential condominiums are an example), sources say undocumented workers on city construction projects range from 10,000 to more than 20,000.Some of those illegals are working in the wall and ceiling trades. No trade, in fact, is likely immune. But it is difficult to put a finger on precisely how big the issue is because contractors—large, medium and small—are not willing to admit they take on undocumented employees.Richard Boraks, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer who specializes in construction, says if the ranks of undocumented workers are growing in the construction industry, part of the reason is “a total collapse” of immigration programs. Take the Canadian federal government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, for example, which offers foreign workers job placements for four years.   

Enjoying the holiday and finding time to relax is important. But anyone who dismisses the sacrifices of this nation's heroes does so at his or her own peril.