The duration of unemployment in the construction industry

This paper examines the duration and frequency of unemployment contingent on personal characteristics using multinomial logit techniques. Both are important, since unemployment is the product of the duration and frequency of unemployment. The key result of this paper is that union and nonunion unemployment experiences are very different. Nonunion construction workers’ duration and frequency experiences depend on personal characteristics. In the union sector, in spite of rules which appear to favor experienced workers, duration experiences do not differ greatly by demographic group; only the probability of unemployment varies with personal characteristics. The report was prepared for the Employment and Training Administration. U.S. Department of Labor, under Research and Development Grant No. 91-42-77-33. Since grantees conducting research and development projects under Government sponsorship are encouraged to express their own judgment freely, this report does not necessarily represent the official opinion or policy of the Department of Labor. The grantee is solely responsible for the contents of this report. I have benefited from comments by Robert E. Hall, Franklin M. Fisher, Lester C. Thurow, James Medoff, Dennis Carlton, and especially Jerry Hausman. James Medoff supplied the CPS tape used in the study. Martin VanDenburgh gave expert programming advice.     

Technology and labor relations in the construction industry

Conclusions It is clear that a great array of new job titles and a profusion of semiskilled categories of construction work have developed which were not represented by unions when unions established the labor structure that dominated the industry for many years. They have come about because technology has compressed skill requirements away from the extremes and towards the center: fewer craftsmen with highly refined, broadly based skills are needed, but more who have limited or specialized skills are needed, and more who can apply some lesser degree of skill than either, but enough to be able to follow their leads, are also needed. At the same time, there is less need for lift-and-carry work unassisted by mechanical advantage, so there is decreased demand for laborers in the old sense—workers who were allowed to use the tools of no trade.     

Bid-rigging networks and state-corporate crime in the construction industry

This study highlights the symbiotic relationship that may arise between political and business actors in conspiracies organized around public construction bids. Based on a core-periphery social network analysis, the study tracks the emergence of such a conspiracy in the city of Laval (Canada) by illustrating the evolution of bid-rigging networks revolving around suspected and persistent acts of corruption, bid-rigging, and bribery. To assess this process, the study monitors irregular bidding indicators across a data set compiled from more than 7000 public construction tenders that were processed by the city from 1966 to 2013. Findings reveal that firms suspected of bid-rigging activities were perennial core participants largely as a result of a state-corporate crime system that served as the guiding force for agreements between the main construction entrepreneurs.     

The “Helper” controversy in the construction industry

Helpers, whose role is to assist craftsmen, have been a subject of controversy in the construction industry for nearly a century. The AFL-CIO construction unions have attempted in various ways to control the work of helpers so that helpers cannot “pick up” the trade and then compete with craftsmen for jobs. With the help of the U.S. Department of Labor’s administration of the Davis-Bacon Act, these unions succeeded in almost eliminating the use of helpers on government-financed construction and most union jobs. This has meant that much unskilled and semiskilled work has been done by journeymen at skilled labor wages. The result has hurt union members and unionized contractors by aiding open-shop contractors, who use helpers extensively, to underbid their competitors and win increasing market share. This article examines the ramifications of the helper issue and related training problems from the turn of the century to the present, discusses various union policies, court decisions, and legislation affecting the issues, and concludes that the economies of utilizing helpers are sufficient to cast doubt on the efficacy or future success of current union attempts to limit narrowly the training and use of helpers. Professor Emeritus of Management; formerly, Director, Industrial Research Unit, and Chairman, Labor Relations Counsel.     

Labor market adjustments in the unionized contract construction industry

The unionized construction labor market reaches equilibrium by means of three adjustment mechanisms: wage changes, changes in the quality of workers hired, and the migration of workers in and out of the market. The relative importance of the three mechanisms in local labor markets depends on laws and institutional rules. This paper examines some of the important institutional rules and presents a model of market clearning where wage adjustments are infrequent.     

在和谐社区建设中促进社区服务业的发展

2006年党的十六届六中全会审议通过的《中共中央关于构建社会主义和谐社会若干重大问题的决定》,对于如何建设有中国特色的社会主义作出了明确的规定.构建和谐社会的要求,体现在社会经济发展的各个领域和各个阶段.按照现代社会学理论的认识,在城市社会中,社区是社会的空间单元,社区的和谐是整个社会和谐的基础.一个城市的经济、政治、文化、环境的发展,必须与作为局部和基础的社区紧密联系,才能使城市社会在整体上保持和谐有序的发展.     

The significance of feminist infrastructure: #MeToo in the construction industry and the green industry in Sweden

To better understand the interplay between digital activism and feminist infrastructure, this study investigates #MeToo activism in the Swedish construction industry and green industry. Both are industries in transition characterized by a dissonance between formal incentives, that encourage women and others to work in environments previously dominated by white men, and the informal power structures hosting a toxic masculinity. Based on media texts and interviews with key persons from the industries, the article situates #MeToo in a local context and shows how it was embedded in a supportive social, cultural, and technical infrastructure. In both industries, at the time of #MeToo this feminist infrastructure was already in place consisting of: an awareness of the problem of sexual harassment and abuse, knowledge of feminist explanatory models, established feminist online networks, and a supportive feminist culture, which together with widespread digital and feminist literacy became instrumental in the organization of the movement. Social media connected activists and created a critical mass by supporting the uniting of conflicting identity positions around shared differences. The established feminist infrastructure meant that the #MeToo activism, by articulating a widespread affective dissonance, pushed open doors that were already half open and forced them wide. This can explain some of the movement's success in Sweden.     

An assessment of drug testing within the construction industry

Drug testing in the workplace has gone from virtual nonexistence to widespread employer acceptance during the past two decades. This growth is particularly significant for the construction industry. High rates of alcohol and other drug use, coupled with the high-risk, safety-sensitive nature of the industry, have prompted the development of a variety of drug surveillance and prevention strategies. Despite this growing vigilance, no scholarly works have examined the impact of drug-related policies in the construction industry. To address this limitation, we investigate the efficacy of workplace drug-testing programs in reducing injury incident rates and workers' compensation experience-rating modification factors (MODs) within the construction industry. Analyses indicate that companies with drug-testing programs experienced a 51 percent reduction in incident rates within two years of implementation. Moreover, companies that drug test their employees experienced a significant reduction in their MODs. Policy implications are discussed in light of the current findings.     

Prevailing wage laws and black employment in the construction industry

As a by-product of analysis of state-level prevailing wage laws applying to public construction projects, a strongly inverse correlation was found between black employment and strength of prevailing wage law. Although black construction employment is generally below what it averages in other sectors, it is closer to parity in states where there is no prevailing wage law, and progressively less so in groups of states that have progressively stronger laws.     

浅析城市建设与房地产业的相互关系

自城市产生以来,就成为人口聚集和经济聚集的载体,成为生产力提升的载体.其载体本质是由其地表空间和复杂庞大的系统资源实物形态所构成和决定的.城市空间利用和资源开发是人口聚集依存的房地产运行的具体形式和体现.很显然,城市是房地产发展运行的载体,房地产运行又是城市建设发展的重要组成部分.城市大多是依靠房地产开发先行,使聚集到城市的人口有栖身和活动的场所;与此同时,城市人口的再聚集、经济再发展、规模再扩大,以及自身结构的演化和不断更新,又为房地产的再运行提供了更大的空间和资源利用的可能.     

Work-related mild-moderate traumatic brain injury and the construction industry

Background: Consequences of traumatic brain injury underscore the need to study high-risk groups. Few studies have investigated work-related traumatic brain injuries (WrTBIs) in the construction industry. Objective: To examine WrTBIs in Ontario for the construction industry compared to other industries. Methods: A retrospective study of individuals who sustained a WrTBI and had a clinical assessment as an outpatient at a hospital-based referral centre. Data were collected for a number of factors including demographic, injury and occupation and were analyzed according to the Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) model. Participants: 435 individuals who sustained a WrTBI. Results: There were 19.1% in the construction industry, 80.9% in other industries. Compared to other industries, individuals in the construction industry were more likely to be male, to not have attained post-secondary education, and experience multiple traumas. WrTBIs in the construction industry were commonly due to elevated work. The construction occupations involved included skilled workers and general labourers, and compared to other industries, WrTBIs occurred most often for those employed for a short duration in the construction industry.Conclusions: Construction industry workers experience serious WrTBIs that are amenable to prevention. Use of the PEO model increased our understanding of WrTBIs in the construction industry.     

Achieving carbon neutrality in commercial building developments - Perceptions of the construction industry

The building sector is one of the biggest energy consumers and carbon emitters. The importance of carbon emissions reduction is widely recognised as critical in dealing with rising global climate change concerns. This research focused on carbon emissions reduction in commercial developments. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected industry practitioners to identify factors contributing or impeding the achievement of carbon neutral commercial building development. The results showed that the lack of a clear definition of carbon neutral building presents a significant barrier in pursuit of this goal. Key success factors highlighted in this study include: market demand, material selection, facility manager’s knowledge, government support and leadership. In addition, an exemplar project plays a pivotal role in facilitating cultural change in the construction industry. This study provides a useful reference for carbon neutral building developments.     

Predicting long-term absenteeism from work in construction industry: a longitudinal study

In this study we examine whether the Work Ability Index (WAI) has additional value in predicting long-term absenteeism in construction industry. Results of the study show that the WAI has additional value in predicting absenteeism, but that the amount of explained variance is low. This is partly due to the definition of absenteeism in The Netherlands, where this study took place.     

Young workers in the construction industry and initial OSH-training when entering work life

Studies have found that young workers are at risk for injuries. The risk for accidents is high within construction, indicating that young workers may be especially vulnerable in this industry. In Norway, it is possible to enter the construction industry as a full time worker at the age of 18. The aim of this paper was to explore how young construction workers are received at their workplace with regards to OHS-training. The study was designed as a qualitative case study. Each case consisted of a young worker or apprentice (< 25 years), a colleague, the immediate superior, the OHS manager, and a safety representative in the company. The interviews were recorded and analyzed through content analysis. The results showed that there were differences between large and small companies, where large companies had more formalized routines and systems for receiving and training young workers. These routines were however more dependent on requirements set by legislators and contractors more than by company size, since the legislation has different requirements with impact on OHS.     

Race and prevailing wage laws in the construction industry: Comment on Thieblot

Using the 1990 Census of Population, Thieblot (1999) argued that black employment and the strength of the prevailing wage laws are correlated and that repeal of these laws would lead to higher black employment in construction. Analysis of the 1970 Census of Population reveals that the relative abundance of black construction workers in the group of states that eventually would repeal their laws preceded those repeals and that this is mainly due to the characteristics of Southern labor markets. This and other research cast doubt on both the strength and the existence of such a correlation.     

Race and prevailing wage laws in the construction industry: Reply to Azari-Rad and Philips

In the Winter 1999 issue of the Journal of Labor Research (“Prevailing Wage Laws and Black Employment in the Construction Industry”), I reported a significant inverse relationship between the strength of states’ prevailing wage laws and the prospects for black employment in the construction industry. My conclusions are challenged by Azari-Rad and Philips in “ Race and Prevailing Wage Laws in the Construction Industry,” in this issue. This reply responds with new evidence reinforcing the previously asserted relationship: black employment ratios in construction are better in states that don’t have prevailing wage laws than in states that do, and they lessen as the strength of those laws increase. Furthermore, prevailing wage law repeal has apparently benefited black employment opportunities in the construction industries of the states where it has occurred.