ABC Empire State Chapter

Associated Builders and Contractors, Empire State Chapter is the leading voice of the merit/open shop in the New York construction industry.

[Upstate United @UpstateNYUnited]

New Yorkers deserve transparency in their utility bills. Tell NYS Senate leaders to pass the Ratepayer Transparency Act (S.8128).

📧It takes 30 seconds to make your voice heard: https://t.co/5RqbcRhWN8

[City & State NY @CityAndStateNY]

#sponsored

🎊 Congratulations to the 2026 Nonprofit Trailblazers and Courtney VanBuren! Your leadership is helping build the next generation of New York’s construction workforce. #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Congratulations to our Manager of Apprenticeship Courtney VanBuren for being named a City & State 2026 Nonprofit Trailblazer!

Thank you for your leadership and dedication to expanding apprenticeship opportunities and helping develop the next generation of skilled construction professionals!

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

@ABCNational today released the results of a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll in six battleground states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—which found that nonunion skilled trades workers—who make up nearly 90% of the construction workforce—are an influential voting bloc in elections and were the driving force behind Republicans’ success in 2024, including the election of President Donald Trump

“This survey confirms nonunion tradespeople, who make up nearly 90% of the construction workforce, are a decisive voice,” said Brian Sampson, president of ABC’s Empire State Chapter. “New York’s congressional delegation should stop backing federal PLA mandates and support fair and open competition.”

Read full press release here: https://t.co/5eqwHHWRip

@BPSampson157

[The Business Council @BusinessNYS]

Proud to join eight other pro-business and trade associations urging the New York State Legislature to move forward with Governor Hochul’s proposed auto insurance reforms.

Failure to address fraud and rising insurance costs continues to undermine #affordability in New York.

[ABC Gov't Affairs @ABCGovAffairs]

https://t.co/HBMtl4RUqp

“Project Labor Agreements Only Benefit the Unions Calling for Them”

@ABCEmpireState #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Congratulations to the team at RSI Roofing for being named a 2026 Associated Builders and Contractors Top Performer! #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Congratulations to the team @PowerDesignInc for being named a 2026 Associated Builders and Contractors Top Performer! #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Congratulations to the team at Power & Construction Group, Inc. for being named a 2026 Associated Builders and Contractors Top Performer! #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Congratulations to the team at Leeding Builders Group for being named a 2026 Associated Builders and Contractors Top Performer! #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Congratulations to the team @GypSysBuffalo for being named a 2026 Associated Builders and Contractors Top Performer! #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Congratulations to the team at DiMarco Constructors for being named a 2026 Associated Builders and Contractors Top Performer! #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Congratulations to the team @Cianbro for being named a 2026 Associated Builders and Contractors Top Performer! #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

To our valued members and friends,

As we welcome 2026, we look forward to another year of building stronger communities, stronger partnerships, and a stronger future together.

Wishing you a year filled with progress, opportunity and success. Here’s to building even bigger in 2026!

Happy New Year!

[Daily Commercial News @DCN_Canada]

New York City PLAs a ‘disservice to the hardworking non-union workers,’ says @ABCEmpireState's Brian Sampson
https://t.co/j9S5K14kuj

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

Great piece on what NYC’s new PLAs mean for the merit shop workforce. Thanks to Don Procter and The Daily Commercial News for highlighting this issue.

🔗: https://t.co/KaQO2BXKRZ

@BPSampson157
@DCN_Canada
@ABCGovAffairs

[ABC Gov't Affairs @ABCGovAffairs]

https://t.co/WrDYryKsEz

They primarily benefit union contractors, shutting out thousands of tradespeople employed by merit shop contractors, claimed Brian Sampson, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Empire State Chapter, which represents the merit shop sector.
Roughly 70 to 80 per cent of all construction in New York City is non-union, with that percentage varying by trade, he said. 

“The notion that only union labor can deliver fair standards simply isn’t true and does a disservice to the hardworking non-union workers who help build this city every day.”

…

Sampson said annual construction in New York City is typically $40 to $50 billion. 

“Taking more than $7 billion out of that sum and awarding it to people that you are favorable to has a significant negative impact” on the non-union sector, he added.
Prior to the PLAs, New York law guaranteed prevailing wages and benefits for anyone working on public projects, regardless of union affiliation, Sampson explained.
“So why rush to tie up billions of dollars in exclusive agreements with a single, politically-connected group?”

The ABC president said there was an era when all public sector work was union-exclusive but over the past few decades merit shop contractors have increasingly bid on and won public work.

“It is because so much work has transitioned over to the non-union side that the (union) building trades are asking government to put project labor agreements on them so they can get that market share back.”
He said on some major projects, union contractors might partner with large non-union firms but “the vast majority” of ABC’s members are too small to participate in a joint venture or an agreement with a large contractor.

While the “big signature projects” such as airport terminals, tunnels and convention centre work are a union lock as a result of PLAs negotiated with the BCTC, Sampson said, adding claims PLAs are more efficient are false.

Non‑union trades with cross‑disciplinary skills can get work done efficiently and without facing the work jurisdiction rules that can stall a union site project, he said.
Sampson said attempts by the ABC to negotiate different terms under the recently announced agreements have fallen on deaf ears.

The ABC has “beat PLAs fairly often” in the past when it has shown frontline public officials that the agreements result in fewer bidders, “who raise the costs of the project because they know the competition isn’t there.

“We talk to them about alternatives, whether they want to go with apprenticeship as a means to qualify contractors (as an example). It’s still not perfect but it offers a fairer opportunity to bid and win work.”

@ABCEmpireState #ABCMeritShopProud

[City & State NY @CityAndStateNY]

#sponsored

🎊Congrats to the 2025 Responsible 100 Award recipients & our Chapter President Brian Sampson! Thank you for your leadership in improving communities across NY. #Responsible100 #ABCMeritShopProud

[ABC Empire State Chapter @ABCEmpireState]

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. In construction and beyond, mental health matters. Let’s normalize conversations, check in with each other, and share resources that save lives. #ABCMeritShopProud