ARIZONA SGENE@

FRANK DAVIS executive vice president

THE BLOCK industry, our main I competitor in home construction I believe, has reached "D Dav" on facing the reality that they can no longer expect continued exemptions in thermal standards related to housine.

'lt is acknowledged that America, presently and in years to come, has an energy crisis. Masonry, as an industry, must face up to the problem and combinqat the minimum, a 2 x 4 studding with a 4 inch block veneer for efficient energy savings for the homeowner.

Masonry has never had a study that would substantiate or justify preferential treatment. ALBSA had the foresight to conduct an energy conservation study at Arizona State University, which proved 30Vo savings for wood frame versus block.

Your association also had the foresight to develop the MESH (Maximum Energy Saving Home), which would contribute to a 5OVo saving in energy. We were not satisfied with just the original 307o savings in the ASU studv.

There was a recent article in the Arizona Republic on retrofitting an existing masonry home calling for l" foam insulation glued to the ex- terior wall with a stucco finish. This alone is an admittance of substandard energy construction. The average cost would be $2.500 for the outer insulation.

The day a homeowner moves into a new home, it is ready for costly retrofitting under present thermal standards. The answer is the home should be built at the construction staqe for maximum energv savings. not-after it is completed. flie event[ai loser is the consumer who pays high energy bills and inflationary energy costs with the future holdine no optimistic view of a decrease.

Energy savings is serious business. The issue should not be played with in the political arena of Congress. Favoritism to an industy which fails to meet the challenge to save energy should not be allowed.

The wood industrv has met the challenge. I say, let the block industry do the same or they deserve to lose their market.

tJUE\UYU CHUCK LINK executive director

A RECENT studv reveals that com- A pany security staffs give little priority to employee stealing. According to the American Management Assn., employers are preoccupied with protection against burglary, vandalism and possible terrorist attacks.

The AMA study results in the following pointers on "who is most likelv to steal: "

Ybunger, unmarried workers do most of the stealing because they have the least to lose if they are caught and fired. little senioritv and no dependents.

Ironically, the younger workers most inclined to cheat the companv are often those with high career loali concerned with self-imorovement.

Fully 57Vo of the employees questioned durine the survev admitted thev had abused -employee discount privileges from time to time by using the privileges to purchase items for unauthorized persons.

Many employees admitted having stolen tools, money, or supplies from their employers.

Theft and cheating by employees become particularly likelv if emplovees congiegate after worliing houis.' llow THAT the general elections l!are over and you are shaking your head in disbelief, don't look pisf tfre mirror to fix the blame.

Many workers who had stolen or abused other employee privileges also showed sloppy work habits and admitted such cheating as reporting sick when they were not really sick.

Our industry has a tendency to be ultra-conservative to the point where building material dealers lend little, if any, assistance to the campaigns of those politicians who should be in office protecting the interests of our need for this type activity and no one else wanted the inherent resoonsibilities. Since the organization of the BMV PAC, we^have developed many fri-ends in both ttre State Senate and Assembly. We have supported those legislators who, through their actions, demonstrated support of our industry. They have helped us kill bills that would have created big problems for us and they have helped us introduce and pass bills that we needed.

There is a new era of political procedure. Every organization has a political action committee (PAC), a special interest group to defend the beliefs of that group. For us it means fighting the environmentalists, the state employee organizations, the local public servant groups, the teachers, and many others who are the recipients of tax money. Their total contributions to their PAC's are in the millions. During our four year existence we have received approximately $30,000 in contributions, but we have been cautious and we have contributed our funds wisely.

During our four year history only one retail dealer in the Southern California area has contributed to the PAC. The Northern California dealers have contributed and for a good reason they understand. And yet . . during this past campaign period most of the targeted Assembly seats and the requests for funds were from the Southern California area. Our PAC willingly provided assistance to those requests since it is the total number of conservative seats in the Assembly that will help our industry. That is the important issue.

During the past two years the distributon and wholesalers in Northern California have shown a keen interest in the PAC and have fully supported it.

Although it will be quite some time before you can again personally vote for a state legjilator or actively campaign for someone you want in office, you can continue to support legislative activity by contributing to the BMI/PAC. Support during a campaign is but one phase of oolitical and leeislative helo. This is an ongoing situation that has shoin results in the past and will c6ntinue to progress.

Let's get going on the development of a Building Material Industry Political Action Committee in which all members of the industry, big, small, consumer, contactororiented, distributor, wholesaler and manufacturer participate. A small contribution of $100 for each $1,000,000 in gross sales is not much to ask. Send your contribution to BMI/PAC, 1055 Lincoln Ave., San Jose, Ca. 95125. It is our own industry that we are protecting.