Mr. Spaulding Goes to Washington

I imagine there are people who only think of the federal government once a year when they pay their taxes—and I suppose there are some scofflaws who never think of it at all. But for those of us involved in any kind of business, news from Washington is an ongoing concern.

Just looking at the CONTRACTOR website (and by the way, our site, www.contractormag.com, has had a re-design and is looking very sharp—if you’re reading this in print go check it out) four of our top five stories have something to do with the feds: two on the ever-changing tariff situation, one on possible changes to water efficiency standards, and one on the recent PHCC Legislative Conference, which is also the cover story for this month’s issue.

I’ve been covering the legislative conference as news for years but had never attended. This year Mark Valentini, PHCC’s Vice President for Legislative Affairs, asked if I wanted to join the fun and I jumped at the chance.

“Lobbying” has become something of a dirty word, with connotations of influence-peddling, backroom deals and all manner of hijacking the public interest to serve private greed. But Valentini, in his address to the gathered members, was quick to point out that what we were doing is enshrined in the first amendment: the right to petition the government. After all, a government that doesn’t have to listen to its citizens isn’t much of a democracy.

For my trip up to the congressional office buildings I joined the South Dakota delegation, and I’d like to take a moment to thank both members sincerely for showing me the ropes: Kristie Brunick, Executive Vice President of the SD PHCC and Brett Kaltvedt, Vice President of Midwestern Mechanical, Rapid City.

In between meetings they told me a bit about the state of the industry in South Dakota. Like everyone else they are feeling the workforce shortage and are pushing for more Career Technical Education (CTE) classes in the state, and more ways for young people to afford them. Unlike some PHCC members they aren’t worried about the possible effects of natural gas bans—the South Dakota legislature made such bans illegal back in 2023.

They also told me a about their experience with Project Labor Agreements, which we’ve been reporting on here in CONTRACTOR. Since there aren’t many union shops in South Dakota, PLAs in infrastructure projects drew several union outfits in from out-of-state who then proceeded to poach some journeymen causing a lot of disruption and bad feeling. As you might imagine, they welcomed the Republican takeover of government and the end of PLA requirements—and were happy to say so to their Representative and Senators.

And about those meetings, let me just say I walked away from my trip to Capitol Hill feeling a little better about the state of American government. So many of the stories about our elected officials I see in the news seem to be about incompetence, corruption, paralysis or indifference. There was none of that on display during any of our meetings, only professionalism, a deep understanding of policy, and a genuine concern for, and desire to serve their constituents.

While I still have your attention, I would like to plug a project of Brett Kaltvedt’s, the Construction Trades Workforce Connection of the Black Hills. The CTWC works to inform students, families and educators of the career opportunities available in the skilled trades. The Workforce offers project-based learning, classroom presentations, job site and office tours, apprenticeships and more.

Those interested (or interested in copying the CTWC model) can find and follow them on FaceBook or reach out directly to Brett at [email protected] or David Wolf at [email protected].