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Construction as an Essential Industry

The federal government recently released a  detailing 鈥渃ritical infrastructure industries鈥 whose workers are 鈥渆ssential鈥 and should continue normal work schedules. Although the document lists industries for which construction is absolutely critical, our industry was not explicitly included. Even though the list 鈥渋s not, nor should it be considered to be, a federal directive or standard in and of itself,鈥 some states have/are considering it for determining which industries can go to work amid state and local COVID-19 responses to shelter in place, among other policies.
 

蜜桔直播 of America has continually sought to make clear that our industry is essential to responding to and recovering from this virus in the following ways:

  • Received broad media coverage of its release detailing how counter intuitive it is to shut down construction projects and the industry itself during a pandemic.
  • Partnered with the buildings trades unions in a joint release鈥攕howing that management and labor agree鈥攖hat construction must be included as an essential service able to operate during COVID-19-related shutdowns.
  • Partnered with construction business organizations in a letter to the White House in underscoring the essential need for the construction industry to work during this crisis.
  • Communicated to the Republican and Democratic Governors鈥 Associations these same messages.

Please join us in telling President Trump and Congress to treat the construction industry and the work it performs as vital and essential to the critical industries that must remain in operation to respond to this pandemic and crises to come. To ensure this is the case, the federal government must issue guidance classifying construction as a critical infrastructure industry whose workers are essential. Click  and simply submit the pre-written message as is to President Trump and your members of Congress or customize it with personal information on how this issue impacts you and your employer. You can view the real-time activity on this action alert . 

For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson, Vice President, Government Relations at jimmy.christianson@agc.org.

Industry Priorities