Capital Improvements (Page 4); Paper Weight (Page 8)

The Builder

A Builders Association Publication

Volume 13, Issue 3

August 2009

What will Illinois Jobs Now! $125 million for Expressway Reconstruction and Auxiliary Lanes on the Kennedy Expressway

mean for Chicagoland? $206 million

$2.7 billion+

for higher education campus construction and renovation

to Chicago-area public transit

$360 million for bridge replacement and construction engineering on Wacker Drive*

$250 millionr uctures(statewide) statewide for projects

$3 billion

statewide for the P-12 school construction program

such as levees, flood walls and drainage structures

just to name a few...

story on page 4

Also In This Issue...

Foundation Golf Outing Raises $20,000 Pages 2-3

Carpenters President Urges Green Book Changes Pages 12, 18

Construction’s Financial Crystal Ball Page 15

Golf Outing

Chipping In For Students Builders Foundation Golf Outing Raises $20,000 For Construction Scholarships Despite a slow economy, Builders Association members dug deep to support construction’s future.

Held July 29 at Makray Memorial Golf Club in Barrington, the Builders Foundation Golf Outing raised close to $20,000 for a scholarship fund that benefits future leaders in the Chicagoland construction industry. Close to 100 participants enjoyed lunch, a round of golf on a beautiful day and the 19th Hole Cocktail Reception.

The Golf Outing is the sole fundraiser each year for the Builders Foundation Scholarship Fund, which has awarded over $80,000 in scholarships to 23 students since 2003. A record number of applications this year netted a record number of scholarship recipients.

The five honorees included: • Iowa State University Junior Konrad Dabrowski • Marquette University Senior Matthew Egan • Milwaukee School of Engineering Senior Jolisa Gold • Marquette Senior John Moran • Milwaukee School of Engineering Junior Jason O’Boyle The Valenti Builders, Inc. team of Jim Valenti, Joe Lloyd, Fran Giuffre and Mike Cottick won the prize for low score, and second place went to Pepper Construction Company’s Scot Pepper, Tim Weidman, Ron Nelson and Brian Greiner.

Former scholarship winners include a number of students who have gone on to play a role in the industry locally, including employees of Association members Pepper Construction Company (Ceile Cull, Project Engineer), Opus North Corporation (Egan, Intern), Ryan Companies US, Inc. (Jessica Hladik, Assistant Project Manager) and W.E. O’Neil Construction Company (Dana Wessman, Project Engineer).

The Builders Foundation thanks the sponsors who made this year’s event possible: • Verizon Wireless (Event Sponsor) • Local 150 (Golf Shirt Sponsor) • Valenti Builders (19th Hole Cocktail Reception Sponsor) • McShane Construction Company (Course Refreshment) • Pepper Construction Company (Course Refreshment) • Ceco Concrete Construction (Lunch Sponsor) • GradeBeam (Golf Ball Sponsor) • Chicago Area LECET (Sunscreen Sponsor) • Regional Council of Carpenters (Hole-In-One Sponsor) • Rabjohns Financial Group (Hole-In-One Sponsor) • Capitol Consulting Group (Hole Sponsor) • Chicago Laborers District Council (Hole Sponsor) • Clifton Gunderson LLP (Hole Sponsor) • The George Sollitt Construction Company (Hole Sponsor) • Installation Specialists (Hole Sponsor) • James Schaeffer & Schimming, Inc. (Hole Sponsor)

see FOUNDATION, page 15 2

Tom Rood of James, Schaeffer & Schimming, Inc. chips out of a bunker during the Builders Foundation Golf Outing, which was held at Makray Memorial Golf Club in Barrington.

Construction Management General Contracting Since 1938

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF THE RECENT BUILDERS FOUNDATION GOLF OUTING! For information contactMelinda Foukal at 847.446.2200 orvisit our website at www.valentibldrs.com

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Golf Outing

(Above, left) Builders Foundation Board member Phil Diekemper of Ceco Concrete Construction takes time out for a picture with his group: Dan Esposito of Ambar, Tom Bitto of Ceco and Bill Freigberg of Ambar. (Above, center) The 19th Hole Cocktail Reception at Makray Memorial Golf Club.

(Above) Jim Herbst of Ryan Companies lines up a putt. (Below, left) Mark Meskimem of Verizon Wireless and Berglund Construction Company’s Laura Carroll and Carol Hall give synchronized golfing a try. (Below, right) Joseph Spitzzeri of Johnson & Bell prepares to shoot from the fairway.

The

Builder The Builder is published periodically by the Builders Association, a trade association of commercial, industrial and institutional contractors and affiliated industry firms dedicated to quality construction in the Chicagoland area.

Builders Association 9550 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 380 Rosemont, IL 60018 (847) 318-8585 www.bldrs.org

Builders Association Staff Have a construction-related problem or question? You may find it helpful to speak directly to the individual who has primary responsibility for a particular area.

Al Leitschuh, President Industry Relations, Strategic Planning Mike Schultze, Vice President Government Relations, Labor Relations, Builders Foundation

2009 Board of Directors Chairman John Russell W.E. O’Neil Construction Company

Vice Chairman R. Lynn Treat Ryan Companies US, Inc.

Benjamin Johnston James McHugh Construction Company

Denise Herdrich, Director of Labor Relations Labor Issues, Membership Recruitment

Leon LaJeunesse Custom Contracting, Ltd.

Kristin Garcia, Director of Client Relations Education, Safety, Membership Retention

Michael Mozal Joseph J. Duffy Company, Inc.

Andy Cole, Communications Manager

Mark Rowland ISEC, Inc.

Treasurer Howard Strong The George Sollitt Construction Company

Immediate Past Chairman

Greg Scurto Scurto Cement Construction, Ltd.

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Davina Ware, Administrative Coordinator Office Management Tim McPhillips, Accounting

J. David Pepper Pepper Companies

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Stacey Kelly, Project Manager Industry Liaison Activities, Special Projects

LeeAnn Maton, Communications Intern

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Legislative

State Gov. Approves $31 B Capital Improvement Bill “Illinois Jobs Now!” Aims To Spur Economic Recovery Through Capital Construction,“Green” Jobs

BY ANDY COLE Contractors got what they’d hoped for from the Illinois State Legislature: Approval in May for the first capital improvement bill the state has seen in over ten years. Those looking for help from the state, however, had their hopes suspended seemingly indefinitely, as Governor Pat Quinn played a game of chicken with the legislature, demanding a finalized and balanced budget before he signed any sort of capital bill.

In mid-July, the Governor finally blinked.

The Illinois Jobs Now! Program, which plans over $31 billion in construction for schools, roads and public transit, was signed into law with projects included in House Bill 312 and Senate Bill 1221.

Funding and bonding for those projects were included in another five bills. The lynchpin of the funding package revolves around the proceeds from video poker machines.

“There were no changes to it so it’s basically the capital improvement bill that was out there two months ago,” said Jeff Glass of Capitol Consulting Group, the Builders Association’s lobbyist in Springfield. “The second installment of the bill included member initiatives and there was some more vertical building included in that.”

While the capital bill went first, legislators did manage to hammer out a budget deal. It shares some characteristics

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with the unbalanced budgets of the past, but it doesn’t carry some of the things that business leaders may have worried about when the legislative session began.

“It didn’t include any new taxes for business, which is one of the things that was discussed a while back,” Glass said.

“On the negative side, it kicked a lot of the problems and deficits further on down the line.” $125 million will go toward reconstruction of the Kennedy Expressway. A number of projects listed in the bill are engineered to upgrade public transit in the Chicago area, with $400 earmarked for high-speed rail projects and $150 million for AMTRAK. The capital bill also includes $4 billion for school construction. Roughly 20 percent of that money will end up in the hands of Chicago Public Schools, with other funds designated for the school maintenance program, the establishment of charter schools, vocational education and laptops for students. Projects for Northeastern Illinois University, the University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago State University and Harper Community College are listed in the bill.

For full list of projects funded by this legislation, visit jobsnow.illinois.gov.

Get a look at bill verbiage in the legislative section of bldrs.org, and read more there about the Association’s PAC Fund, which allows the Association to look out for the legislative interests of your company.

Other Chicago & Cook County Highlights: • $360 million for bridge replacement and construction engineering on Wacker Drive.

• $99 million for reconstruction and additional lanes for LaGrange Road from 131st to 179th.

• $100 million for a new school energy efficiency retrofit program (statewide).

• $130 million for affordable housing, including projects for veterans and people with disabilities (statewide).

• $300 million for park and recreational facilities (statewide).

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Project Spotlight

BA Member Berglund Construction Makes Stunning New Willis Tower Skydeck Ledges Feel

“Like Walking On Air” Photo courtesy of DuPont

BY LEEANN MATON For years, the smudges on the glass windows said it all. Oily smears ringed the Skydeck of the then-Sears Tower, left at forehead-height by visitors who would press against the glass and crane to catch a glimpse of the city far below through observation windows meant to look outward, not down.

Those very same forehead marks inspired the newly-opened “Ledge” attraction at the now-Willis Tower Skydeck. Allowing visitors to finally look straight down to Wacker Drive 1,353 feet below their feet, the Ledge’s glass cubes extend four feet beyond the walls of the tallest building in the western hemisphere and offer a breathtaking view of the Windy City. Builders Association member Berglund Construction served as general contractor for the project.

“It’s like walking on air,” said Steve Bruszer, Vice President of Operations for Berglund’s Illinois Building Division, adding that his company is “extremely happy” with the end result.

Although it may look like walking on air, building crews and engineers ensured that the four cubes jutting out from the tower’s western face are solid as a rock. The transparent floor is a five layer sandwich — two layers of an ultra-tough clear plastic adhesive bond together three layers of tempered,

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half-inch-thick glass.

The adhesive interlayer used, SentryGlas

by DuPont, is five times stronger and 100 times stiffer than traditional Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) interlayers. Much like the adhesive that keeps car windshields from shattering when struck, the adhesive at the core of the Ledge’s floors have the ability to keep the structure intact even if the glass breaks.

“We tend to think of glass as something that breaks and falls apart, but now we have structural glass that even after breaking can hold weight,” said Chip Fogg, DuPont’s Marketing Communications Manager.

Originally developed for hurricane resistant glazing in Florida, SentryGlas has caught on in other areas of the building industry and has made all-glass balustrades, canopies and even staircases possible — not to mention what Fogg calls “thrill destinations.”

In addition to the Willis Tower’s thrilling new ledges, the adhesive was used in the Grand Canyon’s Skywalk in Arizona, allowing visitors to walk a transparent glass walkway suspended 4,000 feet above the famous gorge.

“Part of it is the ‘wow’ factor. People just don’t expect to be standing on something clear,” Fogg said about glass’ popularity as a weight-bearing material.

During construction, Bruszer said Berglund did load testing with 5,000 pounds of

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weight and workers literally jumping up and down on the floor to test its strength.

“It ended up being a design-assist project,” Bruszer said of the undertaking. “Every time you had a problem it was like a domino effect,” he said, adding that structural engineers were on hand during construction.

Challenges during construction included hauling materials up to the 103rd floor where the Skydeck is located, and finishing the boxes under a tight, six-month deadline in time for their grand opening on July 4th.

Weather-proofing the glass boxes also required builders and engineers to get creative.

Blow-up seals were created to surround the edges of the glass boxes, keeping them rainproof. A waterproofing and dam system also had to be installed, and heating coils to keep ice from building up on the glass during the winter.

Each cube was also built to be fully retractable, and can disappear inside the building to allow for window washing and maintenance.

“Nobody’s ever built anything like that before,” said Bruszer, who said he is pleased that the unique project is drawing more crowds to the Skydeck.

Berglund subcontracted MTH Industries in Hillside, the same firm who worked on Millenium Park’s famous “Cloud Gate” sculpture, to do the Ledge’s glass and steel work.

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Safety News

Five Worth Fighting For Presentation Hits Important Points Tying Executives, Field Workers To Safety

BY LEEANN MATON “Safety is near and dear to my heart,” said Dan Delcore, Vice President of Pepper Construction as he began his presentation at the latest Builders Association Contractor Safety Forum — and it’s not hard to see why.

Since starting out as a contractor after college and working his way up to a project manager and beyond, Delcore has spent 39 years in the construction industry. In his 20 years at Pepper, Delcore has called upon his firsthand knowledge of both the field and the office in his efforts to make safety a priority.

His presentation, consisting of five main points, shared some strategies that his company uses to instill a firm dedication to safety among its employees, both in the office and the field.

1) Total commitment of company’s president Delcore said that he has worked for fewer than four different presidents at Pepper, each of whom had different approaches to safety and health. Some, he said, focused on a single aspect of it, such as safety equipment or safety training. However, the approach of the company’s current President & COO, Ken Egidi, has been one of “total commitment” to all aspects of making safety and health a priority from the office to the field. That kind of total commitment from the top down is essential to a successful safety plan, Delcore said.

For example, Delcore and Flentge both shared an occurrence several years ago when company leadership “laid down the law,” threatening dismissal to various superintendents who appeared not to make safety their priority. Thankfully, the wakeup call worked.

“Those superintendents today have a whole different attitude about safety,” said

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Safety Committee Chair Paul Flentge of Pepper Construction Company speaks to the crowd at the August Safety Forum, where Pepper Vice President Dan Delcore (background) gave a presentation on bridging the gap between field safety personnel and executives in the office.

Delcore, who recommended that company leaders employ a “tough love” strategy — “Get it, or you’re out.”

Whatever strategy a particular company may choose, Delcore emphasized that cooperation and engagement from the company president, including participating in safety committee meetings, is essential for establishing safety as a foremost concern.

2) One year of field work for new Project Managers Most college graduates with degrees in Construction/Engineering, though intelligent, “have no idea what the field is about” when they enter construction careers after graduation, Delcore said.

Sharing his own career path took him from a contractor in the field to the office, Delcore said that Pepper implemented a rule requiring one year in the field for all new Project Managers to give them vital, on-the-ground knowledge. Knowing what to do first thing in the morning on a worksite with a line out the trailer door of subcontractors asking questions goes beyond

what textbooks teach. Delcore’s company has found that requiring field experience greatly benefits new Project Managers.

“When that project manager comes back into the office they have a new respect for what’s out there,” he said.

Flentge agreed, sharing an anecdote that he once walked through a site with an engineering graduate who couldn’t identify a metal stud.

“They’re just learning so much about seeing how it actually goes,” he said.

3) Get project managers involved in your safety committee Delcore shared that at Pepper, the safety committee changes on a rotating basis, with half of the committee switching out every month and giving newer project managers the chance to contribute.

“I call it planting seeds,” Delcore said.

“Those Project Mangers go back into their workplace with that new understanding, and that grows.”

see FIVE, page 7

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Safety News

Matters Of Trust, Money At Safety Forum To Paul Flentge, the Builders Association’s Safety and Health Committee Chair, there’s nothing proprietary when it comes to safety.

Speaking before members from many different companies who came together for the most recent Contractor Safety Forum, it was fitting that Flentge shared that exact sentiment with the meeting’s full crowd.

The forum, held August 13 at the Chicagoland Construction Safety Council in Hillside, focused on closing the information gap between office staff and the field when it comes to safety and health. Dan Delcore, Vice President of Pepper Construction Company, gave the main presentation.

There exists an “invisible wall, but a wall indeed between project management and the field,” Flentge said before introducing Delcore. Companies still see a “separation that one side doesn’t trust the other and vice-versa,” he said, drawing enthusiastic agreement from some attendees.

Delcore’s main presentation focused on closing the information gap between project managers or senior level staff and safety professionals (see related story on page 6).

After the presentation, a question and answer session revealed that many contractors were concerned about how to keep high safety standards in the face of a very tight bidding environment and building marketplace.

“The challenge we’re all facing … is the marketplace,” Delcore said. “You take every low bid you’ve got and discount it 10% and maybe you get it.” Often, additional savings need to be taken out of contractors, he added.

“The challenge we have today is to not take our eye off that safety ball because of dollars,” he said. “We’re at tighter times than I’ve ever seen.”

Several attendees expressed that despite the tough times, owners are still supportive when it comes to shelling out extra money on jobsites to ensure safety, which Flentge was happy to hear.

Flentge shared his struggles in facing the attitude of some tradesman who aren’t fully committed to safety and write off incidents to the fact that “this is tough work, people get hurt.”

“But people don’t have to get hurt,” Flentge said, adding that trying to reinforce this idea industry wide is one of the main challenges of the industry rededicating itself to safety. He also said the mentality owners and contractors espouse when spending extra money to keep safe working conditions at a site should be one of “we’ll make it up on the next one. We’re not going to kill someone.”

Other attendees worried that even when making safety a priority, tight bidding is forcing contractors to hire cheaper subcontractors with less-than-ideal safety records.

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Fatalities Per Industry – CY09 18 28

17

NOTE: Data subject to change upon completion of investigations

Fatalities by Event – CY09 Caught

13

Electrocution

4

Construction

Fall

18

Manufacturing

Fire & Explosions

0

Other

Exposure

4

Struck

22

Other

2

Trench Cave-Ins (Included In Caught)

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150 125 100 75 50 25 0

133 73

130 76

122 63

68

C Y 06 Y TD C CY0 Y 07 6 Y TD C C Y0 Y0 7 8Y TD C CY Y0 09 8 Y TD

63 fatalities under OSHA’s jurisdiction in Region V this calendar year

BY LEEANN MATON

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Region V Fatalities CY06-CY09

As of July 31, 2009 there have been

Immlang-Y Fatalities – CY09 IMMLANG-Y Fatalities

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Pending Indian Polish Hispanic Korean Vietnamese

1 1 1 2 1 1

Produced by the Audit & Analysis Team Date Produced: August 3, 2009

Delcore shared that at Pepper, subcontractors with MODs of one or more have to come in for a meeting to assess their level of commitment to safety.

A discussion with Jake Scott, from OSHA’s Chicago North Area Office, rounded out the question and answer session. When one attendee noted that a majority of his roadwork projects had been inspected by OSHA recently, Scott said that OSHA has put renewed focus on inspecting roadwork sites, especially jobs using federal stimulus funds. However, he said, inspection activity hasn’t increased overall for the construction industry.

FIVE, from page 6 4) Keep it fresh Both Delcore and Flentge agreed that when people get complacent, ideas get stale and progress stagnates. Instead, revitalizing safety committees with new energy, new faces, and fresh approaches to get a company fired up about safety are necessary for progress.

Some attendees asked how a company monitors its actual commitment to safety beyond the office, to see if the work of the safety committee is making a tangible impact in the field.

Flentge said that question is admittedly one of the toughest challenges in creating safer workplaces. Turning ideas into real results is tough, he said, but suggested bringing ideas to a coordinating committee to implement them “where the rubber hits the road.”

5) Tie safety to project managers’ bonuses The last of the point in his presentation, Delcore explained Pepper’s tactic of tying project managers’ safety records to how they are compensated in bonuses. After adopting this strategy, Delcore said that Pepper has seen more project manager participation in monthly and weekly audits and toolbox talks.

“I want people to do it because it’s the right thing to do not because they’re going to get penalized,” he said. “I just wish they would do it because they want to do it, because they believe in it.”

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Labor News

Paper Weight Be It Email Or Hard Copy, Proper Paperwork Can Save Contractors Trouble

BY ANDY COLE In the city where tax evasion finally brought down Al Capone, it’s not always the “flashy” things that get the job done.

This is certainly true in the case of Union grievances and audits.

While nothing guarantees a successful defense, keeping up with paperwork — while maybe not the most exciting concept in the world — is the best way to protect your business.

What it takes to maintain those records with vigilance has changed by leaps and bounds since the advent of regular email use, something Doug Anderson of Interior Construction Group (ICG) knows well. At a recent hearing in front of a Joint Grievance Board, Anderson was told by one contractor representative that his company had the best documentation he’d seen at a hearing.

That was, in large part, due to the fact that ICG employees had saved emails going back almost six months on the subject of the grievance.

“We feel kind of funny taking credit for it, because back in the day before email we probably would have been in some trouble,” Anderson said. “Were it not for the emails, we wouldn’t have had much documentation.

“In the days where all we did were written warnings, we may not have been so good about keeping copies around. The moment we realized we needed to start building a case in the recent instance, we gathered all the emails on the subject. Those emails are easy to keep around and can tell an amazing story as long as you’re organized.”

Soon after an Association member encounters a grievance, a jurisdictional dispute or an audit, Denise Herdrich’s phone is bound to ring. The Builders Association’s Director of Labor indicates that no matter what the issue, the conversation with the grieved contractor turns to paperwork sooner rather than later.

“Obviously you don’t want to go to arbitration, but if an employee complaint does evolve, having all paperwork in order is vital,” Herdrich stated. “It’s not guaranteed and having it might not convince the Joint Grievance Board or the Union, but I can tell you that not having it in order is a death sentence as far as the people on

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that board are concerned. You’ve got to be able to show them proof that you did everything you were supposed to do as a contractor.”

Record keeping isn’t just good in case of a defense, however.

As SmithAmundsen LLC Partner Bob Lessman points out, it could help your company see what it’s doing wrong and cut some grievance-worthy infractions off at the source.

“If Laborers are operating Bobcats, they have a very limited role in being able to do that,” Lessman said. “You could have a problem with the Operating Engineers if you have a Supervisor continually putting Laborers in that role, and good paperwork can help you avoid things like that.

“It can help you if there’s a series of incidents where the same ironworker isn’t wearing fall protection or if certain project managers aren’t covering the cost of flagging. If you’re keeping proper paperwork diligently, it allows you to stop problems before they become bigger problems.”

Herdrich pointed out in a previous Builder article that companies should create a filing system and keep any records regarding discharging, suspending or laying off an employee. Copies of any warnings or violations should be sent to the Union, and internally any emails regarding the reasons for or build-up to the warnings or violations should be kept and catalogued until the matter is put to rest.

Even with the right paperwork, the Joint Grievance Board isn’t the easiest experience in the world for a contractor. With the Union representatives siding against the contractor nearly 100 percent of the time and the contractor representatives pulling together in the opposite direction, appearing at hearings or in front of the Board can seem like a colossal waste of time.

Be that as it may, there can be serious consequences to not coming prepared. “ I think part of the problem is management representatives have a tendency to vote with the Union much more than the other way around,” Lessman said. “Those management representatives may be looking for instances where they can vote with the Union to promote that sense of fairness. You have to give those management representatives a reason to vote for you, and if you don’t come

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Labor News prepared with the right paperwork you’re inviting them not to.”

Statistics from the Mid-America Regional Bargaining Association (MARBA) indicate that Joint Grievance Committees for Laborers, Operating Engineers, Auto Mechanics and Teamsters have heard well in excess of 300 cases since 2003. The 89 cases heard in 2008 were more than double the previous year’s number.

This year appears to be nearly as busy for those committees, as well, with 32 cases having been heard through July.

As the recession deepens and Unions look for every edge they can find for workers, the likelihood increases that your company will find itself in front of a Joint Grievance Committee.

“The possibility of these things makes it so important that you carefully document everything dealing with an employee,” Anderson stated. “The tendency is to just talk to an employee without filing anything and sometimes you don’t even want to do that, but keeping track of that paper trail has saved us on many occasions.

“There’s that saying that the palest ink is better than the sharpest memory. Every situation is dramatically different, so you really never know what you’re going to need. Proper organization of what you take down can be just as important as having the documentation to begin with.”

Policies on how long to keep correspondence vary from company to company. Lessman states that it’s crucial to have a set company

policy, but also says that it basically depends on the common sense of a contractor. The right attitude and a willingness to know what is and isn’t in each contract can go a long way toward keeping things in order.

“I would say the biggest mistake contractors make is thinking they can get away with it,” Lessman said.

“It’s reckless to not respect the obligations that you have under the agreement. There’s this ‘me-against-them’ mentality that fuels a lot of contractors, and it causes them to hide things they shouldn’t hide or just ignore things that they’re subject to under the agreement.

“What I would suggest for a lot of contractors is a companywide file folder where you could dump anything relating to any issue regarding a Union employee, be it hard-copy or email. All of those things should at least cross the desk of the President or the COO so they can be in the loop, identify the potential problems and eliminate them.”

It’s amazing how much weight a little bit of paper can carry.

In Memoriam

Maureen Terry, former office manager at Takao Nagai Associates, lost her battle with cancer on July 12. Maureen was active in the Association and often attended meetings and Contractor Safety Forums. The Builders Association sends its deepest condolences to Maureen’s family and friends.

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9

Technology

Wisconsin Leads Way In Mandating BIM Use On Large State Projects

BY LEEANN MATON In a move that some experts hope will set an example for the building industry, Wisconsin has become the first state to adopt regulations requiring the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology on large state projects.

According to the new standards, the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) will mandate the use of BIM on all projects with a budget of $5 million or more and on new projects totaling $2.5 million or more. Supporters of the new guidelines, implemented July 1, hope the changes will help integrate the often disjointed elements of the construction process and move the industry toward a widespread adoption of new technologies.

“It’s really a manifestation of a major owner, i.e. the state of Wisconsin, who sees where this industry is going technologically,” said Mike Fabishak, CEO of the AGC of Greater Milwaukee.

“They undoubtedly see the merits of BIM technology, both from a value perspective and a time perspective.”

But the big question — for Chicagoland contractors, at least — is if Illinois and other states will take a cue from Wisconsin and implement BIM guidelines of their own. Builders Association Vice President Mike Schultze did not know of any similar measures being discussed in Illinois, but said that in his opinion, “I think it’ll happen [in Illinois]. It’s just a matter of when.”

Fabishak shared those sentiments, believing that other states may soon follow Wisconsin’s example.

“My guess will be is [that] as this rolls out and other public entities begin to understand what our experiences are, other smart

players will jump on the BIM bandwagon,” Fabishak said.

Wisconsin’s new standards will eventually impact nearly every phase of the building process and mandate that BIM be used from the design phases through bidding, construction and closeout. However, the DOA’s strategic plan for implementation is currently focused on the design and bidding phases, and it will likely be a year or longer before contractors see any big changes, said DOA project manager Bill Napier.

Five projects in Wisconsin will reach the $5 million threshold and fall under the guidelines. Of the 700 total public projects to take place within the next two years in Wisconsin, 40 are large enough to fall under the new BIM standards, including projects for state agencies such as the Department of Corrections and the Department of Natural Resources, and the 13-campus University of Wisconsin system.

“We saw the industry changing to where some point in the future, BIM will be the standard we will all be using,” said David Helbach, administrator of the Wisconsin Division of State Facilities. “We wanted to be ahead of the curve instead of behind the curve.”

Wisconsin’s impetus for creating the BIM requirements originally came from an executive order signed by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle in 2006, which mandated higher standards for energy conservation and sustainability on capital projects.

Wisconsin also based its decision upon a successful pilot program it undertook starting in 2008, in which 13 projects totaling more

See BIM, page 18

Using BIM technology, designers of the University of Wisconsin Parkside’s newest residence hall were able to revise the original plans (left) as the project evolved. At right is the revised model of the suite-style accommodations, set to open this fall.

Madison, Wis.-based Eppstein Uhen Architects designed this project, one of several large projects to utilize BIM since the Wisconsin Department of Administration first launched a pilot program analyzing the technology in 2008. Aiming to increasing energy conservation, efficiency and sustainability, the Wisconsin Department of Administration now mandates BIM be used for all projects above $5 million.

Photos courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Administration

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Member Milestones

Three BA Members Honored For Best Practices In Human Resource Management

BY LEEANN MATON

2009 Honorees Include:

Three Builders Association affiliates were recently recognized by the National Association for Business Resources on its list of Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies To Work For. Assurance Agency Ltd., Rabjohns Financial Group and RSM McGladrey were honored for demonstrating “imagination and conviction to create organizational value and business results through their policies and Best Practices in human resource management,” according to the award’s official Web site.

But a shiny new plaque isn’t the only benefit the winners receive.

“Most of the companies who are part of this process are really looking to learn how their employees feel about them,” said Steven Handmaker, Vice President of Marketing and Communication for Assurance.

The award is based on the results of an in-depth employee survey which measures several different aspects of a company’s human resources approach, from compensation and retention, to employee

Ujjval Vyas, Principal of Alberti Group LLC, was quoted in the July 13 issue of Engineering News-Record Magazine regarding new requirements set forth in the latest version of LEED. The new sustainability requirements took effect July 1.

The Lombard Company has been awarded the contract for an advanced cosmetic laser and surgery center and dermatology facility in Crest Hill. The 14,350 square-foot facility will replace the current home of the practice in Joliet.

Valenti Builders, Inc. is seeking LEED Silver certification for the Grossinger City Autoplex in Chicago, a project that was featured in the June issue of Construction Today Magazine.

McShane Construction Company recently completed Casa Morelos, a 45-unit, 54,000 square-foot affordable housing community in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. The project was registered with the Chicago Green Homes program and incorporated a number of environmental practices throughout the construction and design process.

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engagement, diversity, and work-life balance. Companies scoring the highest marks are named as top honorees.

“I think what all these recognitions and accolades boil down to is here we sort of take on a business philosophy that says, ‘The best way to create real value for our clients is to create real value for our employees,’” said Handmaker. “We believe in providing careers, we believe in recognition, in education. We believe in a place that’s joyful to work in on a daily basis.”

Carole Brite, Managing Director at RSM McGladrey, echoed his sentiments.

“One of the key elements in the success of our office is the hard work and dedication of our employees,” she said. This drives the leadership team to provide our employees with a work environment where they feel valued and respected.”

“Ultimately it’s a simple equation,” said Handmaker. “It’s our business belief that happy employees equals happy clients.”

For the full list, or to learn more about Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies To Work For, visit www.101bestandbrightest.com.

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce presented PRC Partners with an Edie Award for economic development. The recognized project was the Uptown Park Ridge Development, three mixed-use buildings on which Valenti Builders, Inc. served as the General Contractor.

McShane Construction Company recently broke ground on a 15,116 square-foot, mixed-use facility on behalf of developer Alliance Real Estate, LLC. The property is located at 19801 Governors Highway in Flossmoor, and many prominent Village officials joined several dozen additional guests at a groundbreaking ceremony held June 19.

Andy Kopon of Kopon Airdo, LLC will speak at the National Conference of the Resource Center For Religious Institutes October 23 in Atlanta. He will be discussing the Fair Labor Standards Act, preventive employment measures and employee handbooks.

Molly Arranz, Leslie Johnson, Daisy Khambatta, Lisa Pagel and Gary Zhao were named Partners at SmithAmundsen, LLC.

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Labor News

Carpenters Chief Takes Aim At Green Book McCarron States That Building Trades Book Is Outdated; Wants To Allow Contractors To Assign Jurisdiction Note: Reproduced with permission from Construction Labor Report, 55 CLR 701 (July 30, 2009). ©2009 by the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033, http://www.bna.com).

The Building Trades’ “Green Book” is outdated and should be replaced with a system that allows owners and contractors to assign work and resolve jurisdictional disputes, Carpenters and Joiners of America President Douglas McCarron said July 20.

During an interview with BNA, McCarron also proposed that disputing unions pay up to $50,000 per day in fines to project owners when cross-union jurisdiction issues lead to work stoppages.

Additionally, he responded to critics’ charges that the Carpenters raid other construction unions for members and discussed what could lead to an attempt at reconciliation between the Carpenters and the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

McCarron: Contractors Should Assign Work Allowing contractors to assign work jurisdiction would make the trades unions stronger, McCarron said, “because we would all train harder to make sure that we had the most productive, highly skilled people to do the work.” Taking the decision-making out of union hands would reduce the number of jurisdictional disputes, he said.

“I think we should just step back and let the contractor assign it, and if there is a dispute, let the owner settle it,” he said. The basis for his position, according to McCarron, is the fact that, as the party funding a particular project, the owner is ultimately everyone’s employer. So, the owner should make the final decision on the most economical way to complete the project, he said.

Projects covered by labor agreements should include contract language stipulating a $25,000 to $50,000 per day penalty — paid to owners — when union jurisdictional disputes lead to a work stoppage, according to McCarron. That type of penalty structure, he said, would help counter negative perceptions that have generated from the trades’ past history with union jurisdictional disputes.

The penalty essentially says, “Mr. Owner, Mr. Customer, we will not shut down your job,” McCarron said.

Work stoppages that result from union jurisdiction disputes are comparatively miniscule, McCarron said, but they give open shop contractors a public relations advantage over union employers.

They give an open shop employer the advantage of promising an owner the job will not be hindered byjurisdictional issues, he said.

All a union contractor can ensure, by contrast, he said, is that they have good working relations with their union counterparts, which minimizes the risks of jurisdictional disputes.

see LABOR, page 18

National Carpenters Union President Doug McCarron with representatives of the Builders Association and the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters after McCarron spoke at the Association’s Fall Meeting in 2004. Pictured, from left: Builders Association President Al Leitschuh; Martin C. Umlauf of the Regional Council; J. David Pepper of Pepper Companies; Jim Sikich of W.E. O’Neil Construction Company; McCarron; Frank Libby of the Regional Council; Steve Lenz of the George Sollitt Construction Company; and Jeff Issacson of the Regional Council.

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Financial Feature

Tight Insurance Market Could Cipple Unprepared Companies

BY LEEANN MATON With declining business revenues and government bailouts of major firms such as AIG and The Hartford the pressure is on for insurers — pressure that could impact contractors in turn.

“The market will harden,” said Rudy Drost, an account executive for Allied North America who has worked in the insurance industry for more than 30 years.

“Typically the insurance market is cyclical and it mirrors the general economy,” said Drost, adding that some analysts have been warning of a tightening insurance market for the past 18 months. Exactly when this tightening could occur, however, remains unknown.

A recent article in the Spring 2009 edition of Construction Today magazine agrees that a “hardening” is on the horizon. The article cites underwriting and investment losses by insurers as the cause of the coming changes.

Broad coverage terms and conditions that are otherwise routinely available are likely to be scaled back or become “prohibitively expensive,” the article predicts, adding that restrictions on liability insurance, increasing deductibles, and other coverage limitations are also likely to take place.

“It’s hard to paint the environment with one big brush — there are some companies who will see little to no change, and there will be companies having problems safetywise who will have a hard time,” he said, noting that companies with higher EMRs may be especially hard-hit.

However, Chicago-area insurers say their clients are not currently seeing any dramatic changes or restrictions in coverage at this point.

“There’s still plenty of capacity,” said Hylant Group President Tom O’Connell, who says he hasn’t seen a dramatic “hardening” occur yet and that the market is currently still competitive. However, he said that a difficult economy is making some

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clients rethink their insurance approach.

“I think we’ve had some clients that have gone to guaranteed costs because business has shrunk,” he said.

And business will continue to shrink, according to a June 22 article in Crain’s Chicago Business.

Chicago-area construction starts are expected to reach only $11 billion for the year, a 39% decline from 2008 levels. The commercial sector in particular is forecast to drop a whopping 73% from last year.

“Knowing that 2009 is not going to look that great, or 2010 probably, some clients are looking forward a year [or a] year and a half to look to where they’re going to be,” O’Connell said. “They’re very realistic about what their business is going to be.”

Drost expects that when the market tightens, contractors will need to subject their insurance strategies to even greater scrutiny than normal.

“Know who you’re buying the product from,” Drost also advised. “Have someone who understands your business representing you as a broker and be very vigilant about your company’s economic health.”

With the condition of the economy, financials are also going to play an OUR COMMITMENT

increasingly bigger role in the underwriter’s decision.

Even in spite of the dark forecast, both Drost and O’Connell said that opportunities will continue to exist for savvy contractors poised to make the most of the tough times.

“There’s a lot of insurance companies hunting around for fewer contractors,” O’Connell said, which could mean big savings for contractors who scour the marketplace for competitive quotes. He advised companies to send multiple brokers or agents out to split the market and compete to find the best deal. His best advice, he said, is to “be aggressive in that [and] be aggressive in dealing with claims.”

As Drost put it, “the market can harden but if a contractor is positioned well — meaning that they’ve maintained a good safety record and they’re able to maintain financial viability — that will mitigate any uptick in basic rates.”

The bottom line? “It’s not rocket science,” Drost said. “It’s a lot of basic blocking and tackling and minding the tenets of good business practices. If you’re a good company you’ll be able to get insurance competitively priced whether it’s a hard market or a soft market.”

YOUR SUCCESS

Committed to the success of every client we serve.

Pepper Construction is committed to the success of every client we serve. Our unwavering commitment to provide each client with Insight, Partnership, Creativity, Passion and Urgency shaped our company at its inception and continues to drive our clients’ success today.

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AGC News

What The AGC Has Done For You Lately

BY STEPHEN E. SANDHERR CEO, AGC of America Time and again, the AGC of America is the only construction association with the depth of expertise and scope to make sure Washington doesn’t bulldoze the construction industry.

The Associated General Contractors of America has led the way in advocating for smart policies, developing effective technologies and providing the kind of information needed to help thousands of contractors weather the economic downturn. Those efforts from this year include: Making the Stimulus Work for Contractors. While other associations stopped paying attention to the stimulus after it passed, AGC of America has continued working to make sure the stimulus is a success. We’ve pushed back on onerous and timeconsuming reporting requirements, won important Buy American waivers, and earned concessions on compensation reporting rules.

And we’ve repeatedly put member companies in the national media spotlight to help make the case for the benefits of investing in infrastructure.

Providing Timely Construction Data. No other construction association provides the range and depth of economic data as AGC. We provide monthly national, state and local construction employment and spending data. And our economist Ken Simonson produced state-by-state measures of the economic benefits of investing in construction.

Battling Government Mandated Labor Agreements. AGC is leading the effort to set up meetings with federal agencies to explain why government mandated labor agreements would be bad for contractors and taxpayers alike.

Backing Effective Diesel Emissions Reductions. AGC worked to secure over $300 million in new funding for diesel emissions reductions grants to cover the cost of buying new or upgrading exsiting equipment and training workers to operate it more efficiently. We’re also working with Congress to put in place tax credits and additional grant funding to encourage companies to purchase newer, more efficient construction equipment.

Meanwhile, we’re urging California and federal officials to reconsider arbitrary diesel reduction mandates that would force construction companies to scrap millions worth of equipment for little environmental benefit. Our efforts helped lead to a two year delay for the state rule.

Eliminating Red Tape. AGC of America has lead the way in working to reduce needless red tape and reporting requirements for contractors by leading the charge for federal contracting reforms, eliminating social security requirements on Davis Bacon reports, creating a roundtable to address problems with the federal disadvantaged business highway contracting program, and streamlining E-Verify reporting rules.

Expanding Overseas Construction Opportunities. AGC of America is the only association working with the U.S. State

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Department to revamp overseas construction rules to give U.S. firms a real opportunity to perform overseas federal work.

Leading Environmental Reforms. AGC of America has lead the construction industry’s coordinated response on a host of environmental initiatives. We’ve developed a first-of-its-kind environmental management system for construction companies.

We’ve made it easier for construction companies to recycle and reuse construction debris. We’ve urged the EPA to rethink its costly proposal to require storm water testing at every construction site every time it rains.

Getting Construction Issues in Front of the Supreme Court.

AGC has a long history of getting key legal questions concerning the construction industry in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. In June of this year, for example, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case championed by AGC over the ability of an international union to interfere in a labor dispute between a local and a member company.

Making the Industry More Efficient. Alone among construction associations, AGC has developed software applications and curriculum materials to improve construction efficiency. We are developing curriculum material to allow construction professionals to take advantage of the latest BIM technology. We’ve partnered with E-Mars, Inc. to make discounted software available to automate Davis-Bacon payroll information.

OGLETREE DEAKINS Attorneys at Law Construction Industry Group

LIFTING SERVICE TO NEW LEVELS

Two First National Plaza, 25th Floor • Chicago, Illinois 60603 P: 312.558.1220 • F: 312.807.3619 • www.ogletreedeakins.com

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Financial News

Turning Things Around AGC, Reed Construction Webinar Goes Over Highs, Lows In Current Economy Industry economic experts insist that the stimulus, in some ways, is working for construction. Proving it’s working, however, has been easier said than done.

Over the course of a 90-minute webinar, Chief Economists Jim Haughey of Reed Construction Data, Ken Simonson of the AGC of America and Kermit Baker of the American Institute of Architects delivered that and many other messages when outlining the current financial state of the industry. The presentation, titled Turning Points In Construction, outlined what the last few months have shown us in trends and construction spending and when the industry can expect its next upswing.

While it’s far too early to waive any pom-poms, there are some signs of a light at the end of the recession tunnel. According to numbers from Reed Construction Data, overall construction spending will increase 2.2 percent in 2010 after steep drops in the previous two years (6.9 percent in 2008, 11.1 percent in 2009).

Non-residential construction spending has seen a slightly worse drop than heavy and highway construction, but not nearly the drop experienced in the housing market.

There were no surprises from Haughey when it came to talking about the slowdown in the retail and hotel markets. Retail was largely seen as overbuilt when the recession began and hospitality construction has been impacted by tightening credit. Construction in a number of markets – most notably education, highway and healthcare – is dependent on legislative developments and have continually changing landscapes.

A portion of Simonson’s presentation discussed unemployment, which took close to a 14 percent jump nationwide in the industry between June of 2008 and June of 2009. Illinois experienced an increase of 15 percent in its construction unemployment rate – one of 39 states to see a double-digit dip. Despite the plummeting employment numbers, labor and materials costs have continued to go up. Average hourly early earnings for the construction industry have gone up 3.8 percent in 2009, close to one point higher than the average for other professions.

Simonson forsees slightly better construction spending numbers in 2010, partially crediting the stimulus for a non-residential market that will stay even in its best-case scenario and drop five percent in its worst-case scenario.

Baker pointed out how much harder this economic downturn had hit the building industry in comparison to the rest of the country.

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U.S. Department of Labor numbers indicate that while the total decline in payroll employees in the last six months is just over four percent, that number is over 19 for construction firms and over 15 for architectural firms.

For more on this presentation or a copy of the PowerPoint, contact Communications Manager Andy Cole at the Builders Association.

FOUNDATION, from page 2 • Just Rite Acoustics, Inc. (Hole Sponsor) • Warady & Davis LLP (Hole Sponsor) • W.E. O’Neil Construction Company (Hole Sponsor) Applications for the 2010 Builders Foundation Scholarships will be available soon and the deadline to submit those applications to the Board is November 1. Interested students must have graduated from a Chicago area high school and be a student majoring in Construction Engineering or Construction Management at one of 16 accredited institutions. For more on the eligibility requirements, see www.bldrs.org.

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AGC News

Stimulus Package Well Intentioned, But Contractors Ask...

How Much Is It Helping?

Although the five-month-old federal stimulus package seems to be helping contractors retain workers, it isn’t fueling new construction hires or making an impact on normal construction hiring patterns, according to analysis of an AGC of America survey.

New E-Verify Takes Effect September 8 New regulations from the Department of Homeland Security will deploy “a more robust tool” for verifying employment eligibility as part of its quest to crack down on employers who hire illegal workers.

The regulations, which take effect September 8, will require that federal contracts be awarded only to employers who use the E-Verify system for checking workers’ employment eligibility in the U.S. E-Verify is a free, Internet-based system run by DHS and Social Security Administration that allows employers to electronically verify employment eligibility of new hires.

According to E-Verify’s Web site, the new rules will only affect federal contractors and subcontractors who are awarded a new contract after September 8 that includes the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause (73 FR 67704).

“Requiring those who seek federal contracts to use this system will create a more reliable and legal workforce,” DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a press release. “The rule complements our Department’s continued efforts to strengthen immigration law enforcement and protect critical employment opportunities.”

DHS also announced that it will be dropping the “No Match” rule, another means of verifying employment authorization in the U.S. that was blocked by a court order and never took effect, saying that E-Verify instead “provides a more robust tool” for addressing the same problem.

The changes reinforce an earlier DHS announcement that it will refocus workplace enforcement efforts from prosecuting illegal workers to prosecuting the employers who knowingly hire them “in order to target the root cause of illegal immigration,” according to an April 30 press release.

Look for more information on compliance on the AGC and uscis.gov web sites.

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Thirty-six percent of member companies working on stimulus projects reported that they plan to hire new workers this year or the next - the same percentage as those without upcoming stimulusfunded work.

The AGC Chief Executive Officer Steven E. Sandherr feels that slow distribution of funds is partially to blame. In a recent telephone conference he pointed out that, though the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act provides $4.6 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers, only $716 million has been obligated and $84 million has been paid out.

“While the construction portion of the stimulus is having an impact, it is far from delivering its full promise and potential,” said Sandherr. “With construction unemployment at almost double the national rate, it is disappointing to see so many stimulus programs getting off to such a slow start.”

It’s the AGC’s belief that the scope of that slow start also extends to the General Services Administration, which has only obligated $656 million and paid out $12 million of its $5.9 billion allotment in stimulus construction funds.

Those numbers add up to disappointing news for an industry currently experiencing an unemployment rate almost double the national average. One bright spot in the survey’s findings revealed that 60 percent of contractors with stimulus-funded projects say the funds are helping them retain existing jobs.

The survey also asked companies about their planned spending on construction equipment.

Answers revealed that firms without stimulus work are more likely to purchase new equipment in the next year, but that firms with a stimulus boost are planning higher price tag purchases: 42 percent of firms with stimulus work say they will spend over $500,000 but only 18 percent of firms without stimulus work say they will invest more than half a million dollars in new equipment and supplies.

In other stimulus news, the Associated Press reports that states are funneling stimulus money toward bridges already in good condition instead of repairing unsafe bridges that engineers have labeled “deficient or obsolete.”

The stimulus program’s “shovel-ready” mandate, which lawmakers intended to spur quick job growth, has made it “nearly impossible” to implement long-term planning and construction projects to address bridges in especially bad shape.

The AP’s analysis concluded that the majority of states are planning work on fewer than two dozen bridges, making it a low priority in deciding where federal stimulus funds go.

The study also concluded that “in 24 states, at least half of the bridges being worked on with stimulus money were not deficient,” and “in 15 states, at least two-thirds of the bridges receiving stimulus money are not deficient.”

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Association News

New Members

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LABOR, from page 12 “We are giving the nonunion sector a marketing tool,” McCarron said. He said some nonunion shops are telling owners, “Hey, your job could get shut down or delayed because of a jurisdictional dispute.”

But the Plan for the Settlement of Jurisdictional Disputes, also referred to as the “Green Book,” is outdated and too static to effectively serve as a dispute resolution tool, according to McCarron. The Green Book, he said, assigns work by craft, regardless of a trade union’s training abilities or adoption of technological changes.

“The Green Book was established 100 years ago,” when union work represented 80 percent of the construction market, McCarron said. He questioned the wisdom of continuing to rely on the Green Book during a time when union representation has shrunk significantly in the market.

The union membership rate in the construction industry is 15.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Jan. 28, 2009, in Union Members in 2008.

McCarron cited a number of examples of significant worksite changes that have altered how jobs are conducted. For example, he pointed out that concrete is not mixed on the job site anymore-it comes premixed, and that a lot of equipment that was previously assembled at the worksite is now prefabricated. The next 10 years

BIM, from page 10 than $300 million in value used BIM for architectural and structural design. Participants reported improved communication and understanding of the project because of BIM technology.

The AGC of Greater Milwaukee is looking upon the new standards as a positive development for the industry as a whole.

“Public agencies not surprisingly often serve as incubators in terms of trying to progress new initiatives,” Fabishak stated. “I think that the more we find our owners asking for this, it begins to move the industry in a direction that will provide better value, more transparency and understanding of how projects will fit together.”

Even while embracing the benefits of BIM regulations, through, Fabishak said he advocates a “thoughtful and cautious” vetting of new technologies in order to create real benefit for builders.

“The same degree of cautiousness that exists in our industry relative to change is probably not uncharacteristic of public owners,” he said. “It’s a matter of best practices. If there’s a better way to milk the cow, then let’s figure it out.”

Napier, the DOA Project Manager and a BIM specialist, recommended that contractors begin to “develop awareness and monitor application” of BIM because of the changes to come.

He also said that the DOA is basing the guidelines on open standards for interoperability, meaning that they are not locking into one brand of BIM software.

“We have implemented, we believe, within the capability of the technology and the capability of those using it,” Napier said, emphasizing that full implementation “is going to be a long process, years to come.”

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could quadruple the changes the industry has seen in the past 20, “So are we going to still rely on the Green Book?” he asked.

EFCA: A Work in Progress On the issue of legislation, McCarron called the congressional debate over the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560, H.R. 1409) “a work in progress.”

“We were pushing to get it done before the August recess,” but then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that was not going to happen, according to McCarron. “So we are looking at September or [some point during] the rest of the year-post health care reform,” he said.

“The Senate is the problem,” McCarron said. He said progress on passing the bill is being stymied by Democratic opponents of the bill’s card-check provisions, which would amend the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as the bargaining representative of a group of employees if a majority of them sign valid union authorization cards.

However, provisions that would require mandatory arbitration are still in the legislation and should make it into the final bill, McCarron said. “But they are talking about expediting an election in 10 days.”

“That will be interesting — how that would work,” he said.

He said he sees the election provision as helpful because employers would be either prohibited from meeting to dissuade employees from forming a union, or if they did meet, would be required to give union representatives equal time and access to the workers to make pro-representation counter arguments.

Key to Job Site Safety is Enforcement On the issue of recent regulations intended to help reduce injuries and fatalities on construction jobs, McCarron said, “You can have all the laws on the books you want. They need to be enforced-with fines and real consequences-for people to be safe.”

“From everything I hear from the Obama administration and Department of Labor,” according to McCarron, what the unions considered lax enforcement under the Bush administration is changing towards a stronger focus on compliance. In their own training programs, Carpenters representatives explain to their members where a lot of the break points are on safety, he said. A nonunion worker does not get that level of training, he added.

The construction industry has made safety a priority, according to McCarron, but he said there is still work to be done.

Davis-Bacon Surveys Needed McCarron also said Department of Labor prevailing wage determination surveys have to be done faster to establish new benchmarks. The surveys are crucial, he said, to update determination information that the Bush administration either did not update or processed too selectively. As a result, some markets have not been surveyed since the early 1990s, he said.

McCarron acknowledged that there may be a few issues in current Davis-Bacon Act rules that could be tweaked, but he said enforcement to ensure that employers pay prevailing wages in compliance with the law is the biggest issue relating to the act for his union.

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