Featured Organization: MNABC ABC, or the Associated Builders and Contractors, is a national construction industry trade organization representing more than 21,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms. Although there are 70 chapters across the United States, MNCLS would like to shine a spotlight on the local branch of ABC, Contractors of North Dakota and Minnesota, or MNABC. MNABC’s Mission ABC acts as the construction industry’s voice regarding the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government at all levels and the media. Their mission is to advance the merit shop construction philosophy by encouraging open competition by awarding contracts based solely on merit. The MNABC Process The association’s primary focus is to expand the accessibility of publicly funded projects to merit shop contractors. They play an active role as advocates against project labor agreements, or PLAs. PLAs are structured to strongly favor unions and make a merit-based contractor’s chance of victory unreasonably low. MNABC does this through various activities, including government representation, legal advocacy, education, workforce development, industry recognition via awards programs, and more. Our Involvement in MNABC To best understand our clients, it’s essential to be active in the same organizations. It gives us the knowledge and situational awareness to be prepared for anything that might come a client’s way. Most importantly, we believe in the cause. Too often merit shop contractors are unable to win projects, even when they are qualified, simply because they’re not union members. We are active advocates for the construction industry community and look for opportunities to participate and help individuals and organizations in this space. MNCLS has close ties with MNABC. We have believed and supported their mission for more than seven years and counting, dating back to shortly after MNCLS was founded. We serve on the MNABC legislative committee providing insight and support with legal and business matters. You can find our team at almost every MNABC event and activity, and we will continue to attend future events. We have participated in safety training programs and have helped with business continued education (CE) training and contract education. We are proud to be involved with MNABC and will continue to play an active role in the future How You Can Get Involved with MNABC Want to join MNCLS and MNABC in supporting merit shops in Minnesota? The first step is visiting their website and becoming a member. You can also join us at an MNABC event and activity, attend our training sessions, or contact MNABC and maybe lead your own. MNABC also has a Find Contractors tool on its website for members so that you can support local businesses in the construction industry community. We look forward to seeing you at the next MNABC event!