The study details and offers extensive analysis of the countless risks to job creation, small businesses and overall economic growth that would result from this misguided legislation. Epstein concludes that passage of the Employee Free Choice Act would radically alter the balance of power between management and labor and create huge dislocations in established ways of doing business that will in turn lead to large losses in productivity.

Meanwhile, a new national survey from McLaughlin & Associates shows that there is widespread public opposition to the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, even among union members. According to the poll, 86 percent of voters feel that workplace votes on unionizing should remain private, and only eight percent believe that such votes should be public. And, 88 percent of union members believe that the process should be kept private.

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S EXECUTIVE ORDERS TARGET OPEN SHOP CONTRACTORS: President Obama Jan. 30 issued three executive orders establishing new labor requirements for government contractors that target open shop contractors.  The first order repeals Executive Order 13201, or Beck Order, that required contractors to inform employees of their rights in refusing to pay union dues earmarked for non-collective bargaining activities, including politics and lobbying.  In addition, the new order mandates that most federal contractors and subcontractors post and comply with a notice informing employees of their rights under federal labor laws or face consequences that could include losing the contract and being blacklisted from future projects.  This order is effective immediately, although the Secretary of Labor has 120 days to initiate a process to determine the form and content of the rule.

The president also issued an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from being reimbursed for costs associated with educating employees about joining a union, including preparing and distributing materials; hiring or consulting legal counsel; holding meetings; and activities planned or conducted by managers, supervisors or union representatives during work hours.  The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council must enact this rule within 150 days.  The third executive order mandates that service contracts covered by the Service Contract Act include a clause requiring contractors to offer workers employed under a previous contract the right of first refusal for non-managerial and non-supervisory positions they are qualified for.  Penalties for not complying with this order include paying back wages and the possibility of a three-year debarment from federal contracts.  The Secretary of Labor must issue regulations within 180 days.

WHITE HOUSE DELAYS IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS: White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Jan. 20 issued a memorandum to all federal departments and agencies delaying implementation of many recently-finalized regulations scheduled to go into effect early this year, including rules stipulating how unions disclose finances and mandating how federal contractors verify workers’ employment eligibility.  According to the memo, “all proposed or final regulations that have not been published” should be delayed 60 days so they can be “reviewed and approved by a department or agency head appointed or designated by the president.”

As a result of the memo, federal contractors will not have to begin using the Employment Eligibility Verification (E-Verify) system to verify all new and many existing employees until at least May 21.  The rule had already been pushed back from Jan. 15 to Feb. 20, due to pending litigation.  In addition, employers will not have to start using the updated Employment Eligibility Verification Form, also known as Form I-9, until at least April 3.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION UPATE: On November 25, 2008, the human resources manager of an Arizona contractor was sentenced to two months in prison, 12 months of house arrest and 36 months of supervised release for harboring and hiring illegal aliens in violation of federal law.  The federal district court in Arizona also ordered the HR manager to pay a $10,000 fine and to complete 500 hours of community service.  The HR manager was responsible for creating and maintaining employment records for the construction company.  In December, 2005, ICE inspected the employment documents of 115 employees and notified the HR manager that 11 workers were unauthorized aliens.  A raid was conducted on March 7, 2007 by ICE and at least 50 I-9 forms were seized and applied to undocumented aliens.  In addition, records seized by ICE during the raid indicated that the company had received several “no-match” letters from SSA.  The HR manager was arrested and admitted that the 11 unauthorized workers identified during the 2005 inspection continued to work for the company, some for as long as 14 months after the inspection.  In addition, the HR manager admitted that she conspired to hire at least 63 other illegal aliens and conceal their employment records from ICE during the inspection.  This sentencing is a reminder to all construction industry employers that the construction industry is a “high visibility” industry for ICE.  Construction industry employers should be very careful to obtain accurate and valid I-9 documentation for all employees in order to avoid situations like the Arizona raid and sentencing.                                                                By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney

*******************EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION*****************

February 10, 2009

Embassy Suites Hotel

1040 P Street

Lincoln, NE  

If you haven’t made your reservations to attend the premier event of the year, do so today by calling

 402-477-4451.

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PRODUCTIVITY EQUALS PROFITABILITY 

This is a one-day program that will help provide employees of self-performing construction companies with a realistic view of what must happen in the field in order to increase gross profit on every job.  This program is designed for the self-performing general and trade contractors, owners, CEO’s, upper-;level managers, estimators, project and operations managers, general superintendents and field supervisors at all levels of responsibility.

This program is being presented by Michael Brunner and will be held at the Mahoney State Park on February 26, 2009

from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

COMMUNICATION & LEADERSHIP BASICS PROGRAM 

This eight-hour program focuses on identifying, explaining and applying the basic concepts of both communication and leadership in the construction industry.  The program is for anyone in the construction industry who holds (or plans to hold) a leadership or management position – presidents, vice presidents, project managers, estimators, field supervisors, foremen, crew leaders, lead men, etc. 

This program is also being presented by Michael Brunner and will be held at Mahoney State Park on February 27, 2009

from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

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Training Classes

Management & Safety Class Schedule

First Aid/CPR Classes

$50.00 each attendee – Member Price/$60.00 each attendee – Non-Member

Recertification only - $40.00 each attendee – Member Price/$50.00 each attendee – Non-Member Price

¨  February 11, 2009 – 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. – LINCOLN

¨  February 25, 2009 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – OMAHA

¨  February 26, 2009 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – LINCOLN

¨  March 5, 2009 – 1:00 – 5:00p.m. – LINCOLN

¨  March 12, 2009 – 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. – OMAHA

¨  March 18, 2009 – 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. – KEARNEY

¨  March 24, 2009 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – LINCOLN

¨  March 26, 2009 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – OMAHA

¨  April 1, 2009 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. - OMAHA

OSHA 10 Hour Class

OSHA requires a competent person on all job sites.  This course ensures that your people have the necessary training to comply with OSHA standards CFR 1926.32(f) for a competent person. Training includes OSHA Construction Standards CFR 29 1926, Scaffolds, Ladders and Stairways, Housekeeping, Personal Tools, Electrical Hazards, Fall Protection, Materials Handling, Hazardous Communications and much more!

**CFR 192 OSHA Regulations Book for the Construction Industry with new steel erection standards will be available for $25.00** each for class participants.

$135.00 each attendee – Member Price/$240.00 each attendee – Non-Member Price

¨  February 17, 2009 – 7:00 – 5:30 p.m. - OMAHA

¨  February 20, 2009 - 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – LINCOLN

¨  February 24, 2009 -  7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – LINCOLN

¨  March 10, 2009 – 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – OMAHA

¨  March 12, 2009 – 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – LINCOLN

¨  March 19, 2009 – 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – KEARNEY

¨  March 25, 2009 - 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – OMAHA

¨  March 26, 2009 - 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – LINCOLN

¨  April 1, 2009 - 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – OMAHA

Forklift/All Terrain Training

The OSHA standard 29CFR1926.602(d) requires employees who operate forklifts be trained in both the classroom and through a practical exercise on the type of equipment that they will be running in the field.

$125.00 each attendee – Member Price/$200.00 each attendee – Non-Member Price

¨  March 4, 2009 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – OMAHA

¨  March 5, 2009 – 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. - LINCOLN

30 Hour OSHA Class

Federal Law requires each company have a designated trained safety coordinator.  This will give your foremen, supervisors, safety directors or safety coordinators the expertise to comply with all OSHA and State requirements.  This is an in-depth look at CFR 1926 and 1920 and NE 757 as they affect construction. Price includes study materials

$395.00 each attendee – Member Price / $595.00 each attendee –Non-Member price.

¨  April 2, 9, 16, 2009 -7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – LINCOLN

PRODUCTIVITY EQUALS PROFITABILITY PROGRAM-Presented by Michael Brunner:

This eight-hour program focuses on identifying, explaining and applying the basic concepts of both communication and leadership in the construction industry.  The program is for anyone in the construction industry who holds (or plans to hold) a leadership or management position – presidents, vice presidents, project managers, estimators, field supervisors, foremen, crew leaders, lead men, etc.

$225.00 each attendee – Member Price/$325.00 each attendee – Non-Member price.

¨  February 26, 2009 – 8:00 – 4:30 – MAHONEY STATE PARK (includes lunch)

COMMUNICATION & LEADERSHIP BASICS PROGRAM-Presented by Michael Brunner:

This eight-hour program focuses on identifying, explaining and applying the basic concepts of both communication and leadership in the construction industry.  The program is for anyone in the construction industry who holds (or plans to hold) a leadership or management position – presidents, vice presidents, project managers, estimators, field supervisors, foremen, crew leaders, lead men, etc.

$225.00 each attendee – Member Price/$325.00 each attendee – Non-Member price.

¨  February 27, 2009 – 8:00 – 4:30 – MAHONEY STATE PARK (includes lunch)

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Omaha Classes are held at the Education Center, 2602 Harney Street, Omaha

Lincoln Classes are held at the Training Center, 830 Westgate Blvd., Lincoln

PLEASE DUPLICATE THIS FORM FOR MULTIPLE CLASSES

Company:                                         Address:                                Phone:                                   Fax:               

Names (please print):                                                                       Class/Date:                            Cost:              

                                                                                                          Class/Date:                            Cost:              

                                                                                                           Class/Date:                            Cost:              

Return Registration Form and Check Payable to Associated Builders & Contractors

830 Westgate Blvd., Lincoln, NE  68528    FAX 402-477-4522

Email-debh@abcnebraska.org