Fernando Aveiga, a 28-year-old Ecuadorian, is improving productivity, safety and understanding at construction sites in Iowa. With degrees in economics and international development, Aveiga serves as a multicultural workforce specialist for the Master Builders of Iowa, the state chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America. PHOTO BY BRENT ISENBERGER BUILDING TRUST Aveiga and the Iowa chapter of AGC created a bilingual manual for jobsites. Graphic by Justin Reynolds An ENR special feature. Related Links: Main Story: Where a New Inclusiveness is Changing the Face of the Construction Industry Chinese-Americans Find Themselves Bridging the Gap Between the U.S. and China

It's 4:30 a.m., and Ana Taveras is starting her day by flying up the New Jersey Turnpike, likely above the speed limit, to reach the local office of a laborers' union some 75 miles north. There, she officially begins a day of shuttling to meetings and construction sites as a regional labor organizing coordinator. PHOTO BY SCOTT SCHEDIVY RESULTS Ana Taveras, once told she didnt belong here, is now a rising laborers union regional organizer. Graphic by Justin Reynolds A special feature in ENR. Related Links: Lacking Diversity in Race and Ethnicity, the Construction Industry Takes Strides Chinese-Americans in Construction

The Middle Eastern men gather every year at the annual internal seminar held by their employer, Kleinfelder. They share notes about families, raising children and perhaps trade news from their homeland. For this cluster of Iranian-Americans, this kind of networking is a microcosm of a socio-cultural immigrant phenomenon: They are a generation of engineering talent that came to the U.S. to study and train but never returned to their home country. Photo courtesy of kleinfelder ENGINEERING GEN Makarechi (second from left), Behboodi (second from right), Moossazedeh (right). Graphic by Justin Reynolds A special ENR feature. Related Links: Main Story: Where

Attendees at the International Bridge Conference, held in June at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, saw something they had never seen before: the 3,500-sq-ft main pavilion was devoted to the all-stars of the South Korean engineering and construction world. The exhibition included Samsung, Daewoo, Hyundai, rail and highway agencies, and governmental research laboratories. Collage by Justin Reynolds for ENR A special ENR feature. Related Links: Main Story: Where a New Inclusiveness Is Changing the Face of the Construction Industry Minorities Lament their Low Numbers in Engineering and Construction How a Support Group for Gays in Aviation Took Flight Chinese-Americans

Construction's unemployment rate continued its downward trend in June, falling to 15.6% from May's 16.3%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Last month's rate also was significantly better than the June 2010 level of 20.1%. The latest monthly BLS unemployment report, released on July 8, also had some discouraging numbers for construction, however. Construction lost 9,000 jobs in June on a seasonally adjusted basis and its jobless rate was still the highest among major U.S.  industries. Nearly all construction segments posted job losses in June. The exception was nonresidential specialty trade contractors, which recorded a gain of 3,100. The largest

The National Labor Relations Board has proposed changes that would speed up elections that determine whether workers in construction and other industries will be represented by unions. As with other recent NLRB moves, reaction to the proposal, which the board announced on June 21, was sharply divided, with pro-union congressional Democrats supporting the move and business groups and Republicans criticizing it. The proposal would for the first time allow electronic filing of election petitions and other documents and shorten the time employers have to produce lists of those eligible to vote in representation elections. It also would require companies and

Professional and prospective architects and engineers will live life in the fast lane as they compete in the second annual Iron Designer Challenge in New York on Thursday, June 9. Patterned after the cooking show Iron Chef, eight teams consisting of three high school students and four professionals will go head to head as they build life-size and freestanding “Portals”—structures that mediate two spaces—in less than three hours. Photo courtesy School of Design and Construction During last year's competition, teams built emergency shelters that could be assembled within hours of a natural disaster. Related Links: Student Teams Strive To Build

Construction's unemployment rate continued to decline in May, dipping to 16.3%, from April's 17.8%, and also was a significant drop from May 2010's level of 20.1%. But construction's rate still is the highest among U.S. industries.The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest monthly employment report, released on June 3, shows that construction did gain jobs last month, but only 2,000, according to preliminary figures. "At the current rate of growth, the construction industry will continue to experience double-digit unemployment rates for a long time," said Ken Simonson, the Associated General Contractors' chief economist. Related Links: Newest Labor Dept. Employment Report Simonson

Craig DeFinis enjoys watching a craftsperson lose 15 minutes of work time about as much as he likes discovering that he just left his wallet in the back seat of a taxi. As the owner of Pittsburgh plumbing and HVAC contractor DeFinis Mechanical Contractors, he grants his union plumbers a quarter-hour morning break, even though his contract doesn’t require it, and hopes the workers don’t stretch it the way the half-hour lunch break sometimes goes to 45 minutes. Because each worker costs about $60 an hour in wages and benefits, extra minutes add up over the long run. “Multiply that

After lengthy delays from bid protests and legal action, the Army Corps of Engineers' Savannah District held a ceremonial groundbreaking last month for the $333-million Martin Army Community Hospital at Fort Benning, Ga. Turner Construction Co., Atlanta, will lead the design-build contract for construction of the 745,000-sq-ft facility. The Corps first awarded Turner the contract in 2009.Shortly thereafter, Ellerbe Becket, Turner's design partner, was acquired by AECOM. Competing bidders cited that fact as a conflict of interest because another AECOM entity, HSMM, had been previously contracted to work on the project. The U.S. Government Accountability Office ultimately recommended that Turner's