MBI Town Halls in 2026: Reflections from Boston

We have done events in hotel ballrooms and university lecture halls, but being in an MBI member factory is probably the best space we could ask for. Reframe graciously gave us full use of their break room for nearly four hours. 

It probably helped that we brought enough coffee and donuts from Dunkin’ to require a visit to two separate Dunkin stores. Thankfully, it was Massachusetts, so they were across the street from each other.  

While this was one of the smaller spaces we’ve been in, it was also the most intimate. Sitting shoulder to shoulder with other attendees, and so close to the day’s presenters, made it possible to have productive and engaging discussions.  

Prevailing wage was a persistent theme throughout the morning; In the MBI Government Affairs update, I brought attendees up to speed on our lawsuit against Oregon related to their new offsite prevailing wage law. The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) noted that they were seriously examining in their research the impacts prevailing wage can have on overall project costs as well as potential benefits for workers. Bob Ross of the Greenberg Traurig law firm provided legal insights from a prevailing wage case involving a modular company that he has been working on for over a year. While we didn’t break new ground, I think everyone came away with a better understanding of how prevailing wage impacts the modular industry.  

We also covered several federal bills that, while they are all likely to die in the current (119th) Congress, we expect they will be reintroduced in the 120th after the new year. These bills touched on several industry priorities, including promoting the adoption of the ICC-MBI 1200 series standards, examining the impacts of “Build America, Buy America” policies, and spurring modular construction in federal affordable housing development.  

In addition to diverse topics for discussion, we had a strong showing from different segments of the modular industry, including both manufacturers and suppliers.  

We were proud to have hosted MBI members from the Massachusetts area, as well as surrounding states, and even international guests from Canada. Aside from MAPC, in the crowd we were excited to have representatives from another government entity, the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency.  

If not for Reframe needing to turn its breakroom over to its hardworking employees for their lunch, I’m positive we had a few more hours of discussion and networking in us.