Government Affairs

Words: Todd Fredrick

One Thing Is Clear: We Must Be on Our Toes!

Stephen A. Borg

  I moved to Washington, D.C. in the middle of January 2001. I was a 23-year-old kid who had just accepted a low-level position in a member of Congress’ office from my home state of Illinois. I can still vividly remember like it was yesterday: The first sight of the monuments and Capitol Building lit up in the glory of the night. I drove into town for this adventure with other new young staffers. I was in awe, I was overwhelmed, I was confident, I learned something new every day, I served the citizens of my state, and I was having a blast!    I experienced some historical events during the ten and a half years I spent working on the Hill: from watching the attacks of 9/11 unfold on the television in front of me – and being yelled at to “Get the F&*$ out of the building NOW!” – to watching control of the Senate flip after Senator Jim Jeffords decide to unexpectedly switch parties to a Presidential election being determined by the Supreme Court after the country learned what a “hanging chad” was. I worked on pieces of legislation that I thought had no way of passing get signed into law and I saw pieces of legislation that I thought were slam dunks sitting idly on the sidelines and dying.    I have now spent ten years on the other side of the table as a lobbyist and seen many new, unexpected circumstances arise in Washington, D.C. These twenty years have taught me to expect the unexpected, prepare for any circumstance, and be on my toes to be able to pivot to whatever this town throws my way quickly. As the Mason Contractors Association of America’s lobbyist for the past ten years, we have built many solid and bipartisan relationships on Capitol Hill. I am now preparing myself and the MCAA for a whirlwind of fast-moving issues that we must quickly respond to, and they are sometimes contradictory. Take, for instance, the following scenarios we have seen so far in just the two short months since the Biden Administration has taken over:  
  • We have been told and seen steps that OSHA will take a much more aggressive enforcement stance. President Biden, however, nominated a former union boss as his Secretary of Labor: the consensus-building mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh. Will he work with businesses like he did as Mayor?
  • We have been told and seen steps taken by the Biden Administration to expect an emergency DOL rule on business mandates in response to the COVID pandemic by March 15, and yet that day has come and gone and we have not seen a rule. Will it die or will they pivot and reveal a much broader, permanent rule?
  • We have seen the Biden Administration make calls for trillions of dollars in infrastructure investments, a potential boon to the construction industry, and many union jobs. Still, we have also seen major calls for wide-ranging climate-related action, many of which would destroy those same industries and union jobs.
  • We have seen the Biden Administration call for and sign into law a COVID response plan that had provisions Biden led the charge against some years earlier.
Add all that to the fact that we have the oldest sworn-in President in our history who has wanted to be President for decades, a Democratic Speaker of the House who has pledged this is her last two years in charge, and a new Senate Majority Leader who is trying to balance keeping his slim, very politically diverse majority with keeping his seat in the Senate as well as the policies we see in the coming months, which will be diverse, far-reaching, and, in my opinion, “legacy building.” While I will constantly be on my toes, ready to pivot as a result of the unknown battles ahead of us, I do know that labor policy will be sure to play a significant role in Washington, D.C., over the next few years before the 2022 midterm elections. We will continue to advocate and fight for you, our Members, with whatever lies ahead of us.
 0
2024 Architectural Awards: Excellence In Masonry Winners

The Masonry Advisory Council held the 2024 Excellence in Masonry Awards on Saturday, October 26th at 167 Green St., Chicago, Illinois. Honoring 80 projects from over the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana Area. The Awards program celebrates outstanding ar

By: Ashley Kelly
Read More
NSI and ISFA Announce Silica Exposure Literature Review

NSI and ISFA are proud to present a literature review that summarizes the growing library of studies related to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure. Completed by Yale Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the study covers 34 publications and d

By: Amy Oakley
Read More
La Maison Franchère: How Masonry Turns Functional Buildings Into Timeless Beauty

La Maison Franchère, or the Franchers’ House, stands as a notable relic of stone architecture in Saint-Mathies, a small Quebec town on the edge of the Richelieu River. Unlike the neighboring homes, this towering, two-and-a-half-story mansion immediately c

By: Vera Autushka
Read More
MASONRY STRONG Podcast Episode 5 Recap: Zach Everett

Welcome back to another insightful episode of the Masonry Strong podcast! Today, we have a very special guest, Zach Everett, sharing his journey and experiences in the world of safety within the masonry industry. From humble beginnings to becoming a vital

By: Justin Stengel
About: Featured
Read More