ENR ranks nation's top contractors
One barometer of our state's building climate is the revenue ranking of Michigan's largest construction contractors.

The rankings (by earnings) for all U.S.-based general contractors are listed every May by the Engineering News Record. This year, most Michigan-based general contractors dropped a little in the rankings, but nothing that would indicate a trend - yet.

"For large contractors, 2007 was close to the best of times," the ENR said. "While the housing market was collapsing, most other markets continued to show strength. But contractors now are seeing signs of a downturn and are bracing for tougher times ahead."

The ENR called 2007 "an exceptional year" for its Top 400 contractors. The Top 400 generated $304 billion in revenue, up 15.8 percent from 2006.

But, "the view in the rearview mirror looks a lot better than what we are seeing through the windshield," said Douglas Barnhart, CEO of Douglas E. Barnhart Inc., and this year's president of the Associated General Contractors, Arlington, Va., to the ENR.

Year after year, Southfield-based Barton Malow is consistently Michigan's biggest revenue earning contractor on ENR's list. This year Barton Malow dropped to #43 on the list from #39. Detroit's Walbridge (formerly Walbridge-Aldinger) was #51 in 2007, a drop of five positions from 2007.

The rest of the top Michigan-based contractors for revenue on ENR's Top-400 list include: Angelo Iafrate Co., Warren, (#139, -21 from 2007); The Christman Co., Lansing (#164, -15); Rockford Construction Co., Grand Rapids (#195, +32); Granger Construction Co., Lansing (#254, -41); Roncelli, Sterling Heights (#298, -2); Owens-Ames-Kimball Co., Grand Rapids (#305, +47); Aristeo Construction Co., Livonia #323, unranked in 2007); Commercial Contracting Corp., Auburn Hills (#337, unchanged); Clark Construction, Lansing (#351, -23), and Pioneer General Contractors (#358, unchanged).

Nationwide, the three largest general contractors were unchanged from 2007 to 2008: Bechtel, Flour Corp. and The Turner Corp.

Other construction contractors (and their 2008 rankings) that do a significant amount of business in Michigan include: Skanska (#6); Alberici Corp. (#51); The Boldt Co. (#85); Graycor (#91); Miron Construction (#152); Rudolph/Libbe (#213), and Lunda Construction (#231).

Ex-NLRB chairman's stripes never change
The President-Bush appointed majority of the National Labor Relations Board is widely seen by organized labor as the most anti-union panels in its 80-year history.

Their anti-union bias culminated last year in the "September massacre," a series of rulings that seriously weakened union protections and workers' rights.

The three-member majority of the NLRB was led by Robert Battista of Michigan. On May 6, the Bush Administration withdrew his re-nomination, because Battista decided to move on to greener pastures. His new employer: the law firm of Littler Mendelson, a notorious union-buster. Battista was also a management attorney during the Detroit newspaper strike.