Portland Cement Association is proud to announce new leadership for its Board of Directors after holding elections Dec. 6 at its Fall Board meeting.

The Associated General Contractors of America released a series of video public service ads Dec. 6 that feature real industry professionals who have felt the impact of suffering with mental health issues while trying to maintain the normalcy of day-to-day life and work. These videos are part of the association’s ongoing efforts to combat high suicide rates and improve mental health among the industry’s workers.

The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute is accepting entries through Feb. 24, 2023, for its annual awards program, which acknowledges outstanding achievement in creative design, technical innovation and best practices in the use of cold-formed steel and recognizes individuals who have volunteered significant time and talent to the cold-formed steel industry. The 2023 CFSEI awards will be presented in three categories: Design Excellence, Creative Detail and the John P. Matsen Award for Distinguished Service.

DuPont announced on Dec. 6 an expanded partnership with Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves communities before, during and after disasters and crises. This deeper partnership includes donations of Tyvek protective apparel, personal protective equipment applications training and educational support, safety-oriented content for their website, access to safety personnel, potential volunteers and awareness-building inside and outside of DuPont.

Westlake Royal Building Products announced three partnerships that will distribute Versetta Stone (Lumbermen’s Inc., Mid-Am Building Supply and Wausau Supply Company). These partnerships will expand the Versetta Stone footprint in the Midwest as well as the East Coast.

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. announced it has acquired GC Products. Based in Lincoln, California, GC Products increases AWI’s ability to serve customers in the Western U.S. with molded ceiling, specialty wall and other interior and exterior products.

Construction companies added 20,000 employees in November and continued to raise wages for hourly workers more steeply than other sectors as the industry’s unemployment rate tumbled, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. Association officials said the data shows that firms would have added significantly more workers if they could find more people to hire.

The U.S Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced it will be asking the building construction industries to participate in Davis-Bacon Act wage surveys in FY 2023 to help the agency establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.

Simpson Strong-Tie has announced that Karen Colonias will step down from her position as Chief Executive Officer, effective Dec. 31.

Total construction starts rose 8 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.12 trillion.