WESTIERN ASSCIeIATI0N NEWS

Western Building Material Association is advising members on the following OSHA regulations:

Employers with l0 or more employees at sometime during the year, and those designated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, must post a summary (OSHA Form 200) of accidents and illnesses that occurred in the workplace for 199 l. This must be posted in a conspicuous place during February 1992 and kept on file for five years. Members in need of the OSHA Form 200 canobtaina copyby contacting WBMA.

Regardless of the numberof employees, the following employee informational posters should be displayed: Fair Labor Standards Act (with the new federal minimum wage of $4.25); Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; WilliamsSteiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1976 and Employee Polygraph Protection Notice.

Individual State Minimum Wages: Alaska: $4.75 (nohaining provision); Idaho: $4.25 (no training provision); Montana: $4.0o (no training provision); Oregon: $4.75 (no training provision), and Washington: $4.25 (no training provision).

Stores with more than one location could be penalized for not displaying these posters at each separate location. They can be obtained from the appropriate federal agency.

WBMA also is offering a list of suspicious alcohol and drug abuse behaviors. These include: takes more sick leave than most, is often late for work, and has on-thejob accidents; gets traffic tickets and. has car accidents; is suddenly popular with coworkers (dealing or sharing) or is suddenly very unpopular; leaves workarea frequently, or goes to car or out-of-way locations at break time; has secretive phone calls; has a suddenpersonality change; denies that drugs are harmful and visits areas where he/she has no reason to be; is visited by co-workers who have no work related reason to visit.

People who abuse alcohol or use drugs: are late to work three times more often than the average employee; are three times more likely to receive sickness benefits; are four times more likely to be involved in an onthe-job accident; are five times more likely to file a worker's compensation claim and are 16 times more likely to be absent; and two-and-a-half times more likely to be absent for more than one week (Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse)

Mountain Stgtes Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association buying show will move to a new location, the JQ Hammons Trade Center and Holiday Inn, for the March 19-20 show.

Retail strategists Patricia Johnson and Richard Outcalt will present a pair of seminars. "The Big Picture: Using Your Marketing and Financial Strength" is scheduled for managers and assistant managers March 19 from 9-ll:30 a.m. Owners will be targeted at "Gloom, Doom or Boom?" March 20,9-1 l:30 a.m. Both will be held in the Aspen Conference Center.

The seminar presenters have more than 15 years of experience in consulting and write for up to 60 trade and industry publications each year.

The new location gives the association more than 50,000 sq. ft. of exhibition and meeting space for the show.

Lumber Merchants Association of Northern California's annual Asilomar management seminar heard Walt Stoeppelwerth explain the magnitude of the U.S. remodeling market and the role dealers should play in it if they are to flourish.

During the board of directors meeting, Gary De Young was appointed to replace treasurer Mack Giles who is retiring from the industry. Committee reports included membership, Larry McFadden; nominating, Jim Merchant; insurance trust, Bob Jessell, and education, Kathleen Patterson. Breeze Cross was reappointed to the political action committee board of trustees during the Jan. 15- 17 meeting at Pacific Grove, Ca.

The annual LMA convention is scheduled for May l-4 at the Hyatt Regency, Montery, Ca. The education committee has planned a full schedule of programs to benefit retailers.

Lumber Association of Southern California is advising members of the Iuly 26,1994, enforcement date for the Americans With Disabilities Act at firms with 15 or more employees. Firms with 25 or more employees have been in observance since luJy 26, 1991.

Pointing out the sweeping and far reaching effect on a retail lumber business, they suggest stores checking to see that they meet the following requirements:

Modification must be made to the application process or work environment to enable the applicant/employee to be considered or perform essential functions of the job. Includes modification to equipment.

Fixed shelves and displays allowing selfservice by customers must be located on an accessible route but do not need to be within accessible reach.

At least 5O% of public entrances must be accessible. Cash registers in retail stores must be on an accessible route and have at least 36 inches ofthe counter with a 36 inch maximum height above the finished floor.

Accessible check-out aisles must be provided in accordance with a sliding scale based on the number of each design of check-out aisle. Final regulations require between 20 and 40% accessible based upon the size of the operation, but not less than one. Signage identifying accessible aisles shall be mounted above the aisles.

Architectural and communication barriers that are structural in nature must be removed from existing facilities, ifachievable without difficulty or expense. This may include removing temporary/mobile structures such as display racks.

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Canadian Timber Subsidies

Investigation of Canadian timber subsidies are continuing with the Department of Commerce due to issue a preliminary decision March 5.

The Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports maintains that Canadian lumber has a subsidy of almost 3o%.They say Canadian officials have repeatedly recognized that their timber pricing system results in subsidies. Canadian provincial governments, which own over 9O% of the timber in Canada, sell the vast bulk of the timber at below market rates, the coalition stated in a Jan. 30 filing.

Speaking for the coalition, John Ragosta offers a series offacts to offset what he terms "myths." He maintains that Canadian Provinces provide massive timber subsidies which were not eliminated afterthe 1986 countervailing duty case. Despite Canadian claims, a countervailing duty will not impair U.S. supply and will have a small price effect, he notes.

Countering other Canadian statements, he points out that Canadian timber subsidies seriously injure the U.S. industry which wants an open and competitive timber market. He also discounts claims that Canadian mills face an exchange rate disadvantage, that large southern paper companies are behind the lumber case and that the U.S. coalition is unconcerned with the environment.

Cedar Producers Protest Tax

British Columbia members of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association are circulating letters to customers in the United States asking them to protest any duty that might be imposed on Canadian lumber imports.

The only result from imposing a punitive duty is that the price to the American customer and consumer will increase, the letter claims in asking those receiving it to send copies with a cover letter to their customers.

Home Depot Cuts Lead Solder

To emphasize the ban on lead solder in plumbing used for drinking water, Home Depot will stop selling the material in its plumbing departments.

"We're taking this extra precaution to further protect the public against the inadvertent use of lead solder and as a demonstration of our willingness to act as proactively and responsibly as pos- sible," said Mark Eisen, Home Depot manager-environmental marketing.

Congress passed a law in 1986 banning the use of lead in drinking water supplies and labeling lead solders "not for use in drinking water plumbing." However, Home Depot research and the EPA Hardware Store Education Initiative found that accidental or purposeful misuse could still be a problem.

Plywood Faces Competition

Plywood faces stiff competition from reconstituted wood products, especially waferboard and oriented strandboard, plastic panels and gypsum board between now and 1995.

A study by The Freedonia Group, Inc. says that while competing products offer price/performance advantages over plywood in certain applications, plywood's ease of installation, appearance, strength and moisture re- sistance will promote some incremental demand increases.

Softwood plywood, which has a broader range of applications, has better prospects than hardwood plywood, which competes with vinyl wall coverings in the interior paneling market.

Coming out of the recession, building construction will increase demand for building boards 2.8% per year through 1995 to 72 billion square feet,

WWPA Spring Meeting Agenda

Timber supply will be an important issue at the Western Wood Products Association's spring meeting at the Westin St. Francis, San Francisco, Ca., March 17-20.

A panel of industry resource spe-cialists will discuss the issue at2 p.m. Wednesday with resource and environment committee chairman Jim Rarick moderating. Panelists: Jim Craine, vice president of public lands, California Forestry Association, Sacramento; Jim Geisinger, president, Northwest Forestry Association, Portland, Or.; Jim Riley, executive vice president,

Intermountain Forest Industry Association, Coeur d'Alene, Id., and Scott Shotwell, vice president, public affairs, National Forest Products Association, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Alston Chase, a constructive environmentalist, will speak at the kickoff brealdast Wednesday. The name of the "Mystery Speaker" who will address the traditional industry luncheon Thursday is being kept under wraps.

Following the opening breakfast Wednesday, morning meetings will convene for economic services, export, technical and resources and environ- the study claims. U.S. manufacturer shipments will increase 3% per year paced by an export demand aiross virtually all product lines. Products such as waferboard, oriented strandboard and medium density fiberboard will offset weakness inhardwood plywood, hardboard and insulation board. Gypsum board's demand is expected to be healthy, but competition will keep the price down. ment committees. On Thursday, marketing services, quality standards and executive committee meetings will follow breakfast. The Industry Luncheon will be held that day with the chairman's reception in the evening.

Dollar sales of building boards will increase at 4.7Vo per year to over $12 billion in 1995. This, according to the report, will reflect intense price competition among building board producers and with competitive products such as vinyl wall coverings and foamed plastic construction products.

The members meeting followed by a board of directors meeting will close the meeting Friday.