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Business View Magazine
Developing the
Merit Shop
ABC helps members deliver work safely, ethically and profitably
Over the past 65 years, Associated Builders and Con-
tractors (ABC) has grown from seven contractors to the
nation’s leading advocate for the merit shop construc-
tion industry with nearly 21,000 member firms and 70
chapters. Using the merit shop philosophy as a base,
ABC has made great strides in supporting its members
as they develop people, win work and deliver that work
safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the
communities within which they work.
What it means to be merit shop
For ABC members, the merit shop philosophy is at the
core of everything they do. The philosophy is based
on supporting an environment of free enterprise and
open competition that awards contracts based on
merit. Working merit shop means delivering safe, high
quality, high value projects and rewarding individual
performance. It also means increasing productivity by
training craftworkers and using technology and inno-
