Near the top of the list is Andy's Janitorial Service of Moorestown, New Jersey. Under the "C's" is the Corpus Christi Hockey Club of Corpus Christi, Texas. A little farther down the list can be found Danny's Cajun Catering of White Castle, Louisiana.

They may all be stellar businesses in their own areas, but their names indicate that they have nothing to do with the building industry - unless Andy swings both a mop and a hammer.

So why are they on the list of the 23,000 firms that the Associated Builders and Contractors has on its national membership roster? A new study has found that the ABC uses restaurants, certified public accountants, lawyers and others who have nothing to do with construction, to pad its membership roster in an effort to make the anti-union group more imposing than it is - to the extent that nearly half of its membership is non-builders.

This summer, a revealing analysis of the ABC's membership was released by the National Heavy and Highway Alliance, a partnership of seven international building trades unions.

"Our study found that the Associated Builders and Contractors is a lot of smoke and mirrors," said the alliance's Executive Director, Ray Poupore, who hails from Michigan. "They do an effective job with marketing and their political spin machine, but up until now, no one has challenged what they say or who they are when it comes to their members performing construction work. We've found that the ABC is basically a bunch of small contractors who don't do as much work in this country as they claim they do."

The nuts and bolts of the study was too long to put in one edition of The Building Tradesman, so we decided to make it into a series.

Who they are.

The Associated Builders and Contractors is a group dedicated to stamping out prevailing wage laws, killing project-labor agreements, getting OSHA off of contractors' backs, getting away with as little worker training as possible while maximizing profits for employers and short-changing workers.

In short, they're in business to tear down everything that's near and dear to building trades workers who want to earn a decent living and go home safely at the end of the day.

The ABC has a marvelous public relations machine. If a conservative Republican lawmaker needs a study to back up an assertion that prevailing wage should be outlawed, the ABC provides. The national and local chapters are one-stop shopping for providing anti-union information to city, state and federal lawmakers, quotes to media outlets and referrals to lawyers - all with the aim of promoting their "merit shop philosophy."

In some parts of the country, the ABC also provides training programs for workers, but they are woefully underfunded and usually provide far fewer hours of training than their union counterparts. As a result, a number of ABC programs have not been able to get sanctioned by the federal Labor Department, Bureau of Apprenticeship Training. Who they say they are.

"Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national management association for the construction industry which actively promotes the merit shop form of construction. From a modest start by seven Baltimore contractors in 1950, ABC has enjoyed a growing membership, now totaling more than 23,000 firms, each dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and management's right to manage. These beliefs translate into a healthy, competitive and professional climate, the results of which are proudly reflected in ABC member's construction accomplishments.

"ABC is the fastest-growing construction trade association in the country because ABC supports the sound merit shop philosophy at the heart of the free enterprise system. The merit shop is a force for economy and efficiency in construction, regardless of organizational affiliation. The merit shop is union and open shop firms working side-by-side, free of interference, providing on-time, on-budget construction with safety, quality and cost effectiveness as our goal. ABC's pursuit of free enterprise in construction has set the standard for all other associations to follow.

"Throughout the country, ABC is an effective force in business development, education, labor relations and industry legislation. ABC is comprised of general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and associates who believe in the merit shop form of construction. Today, open shop contractors perform 70 percent of all construction nationwide, and ABC's membership has grown to more than 23,000. This includes one-third of the top 400 construction companies in the United States."

- From the Associated Builders and Contractors web site.

Now comes The Heavy and Highway Alliance study. (They provided the italics).

"Down through the years we have listened as the ABC paraded time and time again up to Capitol Hill no less, to proudly proclaim that it represented "20,000 contractors", which eventually became "25,000 contractors", which was then recently changed to "22,000 open-shop employers." (Please note the switch from "contractors" to "employers." In a moment you'll see why the ABC made this slight change).

Additionally, all the time it was claiming who it represented, it was also maintaining that its members were "now building 75 percent of all construction in this country." We even saw an ABC ad that proclaimed, "Across the USA, we do fully 85% of all projects large and small…."

Just as you might be wondering, we once again wondered who makes-up the ABC's membership? Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, we kept repeating the question, "Who are those guys?"

To answer that question, we went straight to the source, i.e., the ABC's own membership directory. Not only does this directory list each member as a general contractor, sub-contractor, supplier, or associate member, it also lists what amount of dollar volume of work each contractor performs per year.

With this wealth of data we realized that not only could we see how many general or sub-contractors actually belong to the ABC, but also how much work they perform and, most importantly, if this data substantiates the ABC claims of representation and how much work its members actually perform.

By simply obtaining this directory we knew we could then ascertain the facts. Unfortunately, we encountered a small blip on the radar screen in obtaining this directory; i.e., in trying to obtain the true facts.

How to get an ABC directory.

If the truth be told, and we're certainly telling it here, the headline for this section would best be entitled "How not to get an ABC directory." You see, once we decided that we would like to review the ABC membership in order to find out just who belongs to the ABC, we knew it couldn't be accurately done without obtaining an up-to-date ABC membership directory. So we immediately forwarded a check in the correct amount for a new directory to the ABC and then sat back and waited for the directory to arrive.

However, if it wasn't for a phone call from the ABC we would've been sitting and waiting an awful long time!

The following is what transpired during the actual phone call which the ABC placed to our office. We have changed nothing, nor made anything up. Heck, we didn't have to, read on!

US: Heavy and Highway Division.

ABC: I'm with the Associated Builders and Contractors and I just want you to know that we're returning your check which you sent us for a directory.

US: Why? The check's good.

ABC: Well . . . You're with the union, right?

US: Actually, we're with the unions, as in plural. And that check is from our labor- management committee, which includes contractors, and since you guys represent contractors…

ABC: Well . . . We don't print it anymore.

US: You don't? I just saw a copy the other day.

ABC: Well… ahhhh… ummmm… We don't sell it to non-members.

US: Which is it? You just said you don't print it, now you say you won't sell it?

ABC: (unintelligible) . . . we can't sell it to you.

Us: Well, if you can't, you can't. So long.

There you have it. The ABC refusing to sell us a copy of its own membership directory. Naturally, that refusal begs that the question be asked: Why? Read on, and you'll see why it didn't want us to have a copy (a copy which was eventually obtained through back channels, as the ABC obviously wouldn't let us utilize its front channel).

Membership analysis results - short version

In case you're extremely busy and short on time, we've developed a condensed version of our ABC study. Call it our "fast food" approach. Here it is, in a nutshell:

The ABC is not what it says it is. It does not represent 22,000 employers. Its membership does not build 75% of everything. And almost one-half of its total membership are non-builders!! You read that correctly…almost half. Only 12% of its members are general contractors, while 43% are subcontractors.

Here are some other facts and figures:

• 60% of the ABC's General Contractor members do business of under $6 million per year.
• 87% of its Subcontractor members do yearly business of under $6 million.
• Approximately one-third of its members are domiciled in only seven southern states.

To be continued…