President's message: Election could help America return to prosperity

For more than three years now, our nation has endured one of the longest and most painful recessions since the Great Depression, and no sector has been hit harder than construction. Urgency about turning the economy around is what makes this November's election one of the most important of our lifetime. On the national level, one of President Obama's first acts upon taking office was to issue an executive order encouraging federal agencies to use union-only project labor agreements on federal construction projects valued at $25 million or more. He also brought us ObamaCare, which will dramatically increase the cost of providing your employees with health care. Obama's challenger, former Mass. governor Mitt Romney, would rescind the executive order on PLAs and fight to repeal ObamaCare. This year Mass. has perhaps the nation's most closely watched Senate race between incumbent Scott Brown and Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren. Warren supports PLAs and the "Employee Free Choice Act" - perhaps the most misleading title ever given to a piece of legislation - which would take away employees' right to a secret ballot in union recognition elections. Senator Brown also opposes PLAs and would vote against so-called card check legislation. We hope that you will not only go out and vote, but also help educate your employees and encourage them to vote as well. But before you do, please be aware of the laws that govern what you can and can't say to your employees. The basic rule is that issue advocacy is fine, but political advocacy is not. You can distribute voter guides to you employees, but they cannot be prepared in coordination with any campaign or endorse a candidate or party. It is fine to distribute the official ABC voting records of elected officials. Similarly, you may post or include information on specific issues and how they affect your employees in their paychecks, but you should consult an attorney before mentioning any political party, candidate or elected official in your issue advocacy. November 6th is less than a month away. By working together, ABC members can take an important step toward ending the pain of the last several years and returning America to prosperity. Greg Beeman is the president of the Mass. ABC chapter, Burlington, Mass.