SPECTER OPPOSES CARD CHECK LIKELY STALLING THE BILL: Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) March 24 announced that he does not support the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), or “card check” legislation, and that he would vote against cloture, or to cut off debate on the bill. The Employee Free Choice Act was introduced March 10 by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the U.S. Senate and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Jerry Gorksi, 2009 ABC National Chairman and president of Gorski Engineering, Inc., Collegeville, Pa., issued a statement following Specter’s announcement.
“ABC applauds Senator Specter’s decision to oppose the so-called Employee Free Choice Act,” Gorski said. “This is just another indication that the more people learn about this legislation, the less they like it.
“As a Pennsylvanian, I’m pleased to see Senator Specter defending a worker’s fundamental American right to a secret-ballot election when deciding whether or not to join a union,” Gorski continued. “And I agree with the Senator that, during these difficult economic times, the last thing we need to do is add another burden on employers that would result in further job losses.”
ABC MEMBER TESTIFIES ON UNION INTIMIDATION TACTICS AT SENATE CONFREENCE: Frank Cannon, an employee of C.J. Coakley Co. Inc., a member of ABC’s Virginia chapter, March 23 testified at a hearing held by the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican Policy Committee on how elimination of the secret ballot nder the Employee Free choice Act would expose him and his coworkers to further union intimidation.
Cannon told members of Congress and the media about specific incidents in which he had been bullied or intimidated by union representatives. He mentioned instances when he was pressured to join a union and at least one instance where he was intimidated into under-performing on the job. “Even in secret ballot elections, co-workers bully and coerce others into joining the union,” Cannon said. “The elimination of the secret ballot under the Employee Free Choice Act would only serve to make the threats of union organizers that much more effective and intimidating.
“The lengths that unions will go in order to achieve their goals can be terrifying,” Cannon continued. “Imagine if these same people who use these tactics every day were given the opportunity to see how I was voting in an organizing campaign. The secret ballot is not only our fundamental right, but the only safe and fair way that can allow a worker to decide whether or not to join a union.”
NEW VERSION OF LEED TO LAUNCH APRIL 27: The new version of the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Design (LEED) green building rating system will be launched April 27.
The updated version of LEED, known as v3, recognizes new technologies and advancements in building science and prioritizes energy efficiency and CO2 emissions reductions. It is comprised of three main components: LEED 2009, the new version of the technical rating system; a more user-friendly, reliable and faster LEED Online; and an expanded building certification infrastructure.
Under the LEED 2009 component of LEED v3, available points will be redistributed so they will more accurately reflect the positive impact being made on the environment by each action. In addition, LEED 2009 will allow for regional bonus credits, or points that can be obtained when a building meets requirements that are specific to the region in which it was built. Under the current system, LEED certifications are available in eight categories including new construction, existing building, commercial interiors, core and shell, retail, schools, health care and homes. The changes in LEED 2009 will strive to consolidate and simplify these categories and help streamline the certification process.
Once LEED v3 goes into effect, projects registered under the version 2 rating system can be transferred to v3 for free for the first 180 days.
WAGE AND HOUR UPDATE:Recently the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced settlements with construction companies in New Hampshire and Texas totaling more than $800,000 in back wages. In the New Hampshire situation, a husband and wife and their adult son each set up a separate construction company. The workers were rotated from company to company so that they would not work over 40 hours a week at any one company. In addition, the employees were misclassified as independent contractors in order to avoid paying them overtime for work beyond 40 hours in a workweek. In addition to the back wages, liquidated damages and civil penalties totaling $600,000, the husband was prohibited from serving as an owner, director or executive in any business entity covered by the FLSA in the future. In the Texas situation, the construction company employees were paid on a piece-rate basis for all of their work hours including those over 40 in a workweek. However, the construction company did not increase the piece rate to a time and one half rate for hours worked over 40, which resulted in an overtime back wage settlement of over $200,000. These two settlements remind all construction industry employers that the construction industry is still “an industry of interest” to DOL. As a consequence, misclassification of workers as independent contractors or failure to pay employees overtime for hours worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek will result in prosecution by DOL whenever a complaint is filed or an investigation is scheduled. Construction industry employers should be very careful to completely and thoroughly comply with both recordkeeping and overtime pay requirements of the FLSA in order to avoid such federal court prosecution. By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney
CARPENTER’S UNION UPDATE: On February 5, 2009, Judge Robert E. Jones of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon approved a consent decree which resolved a dispute between the Carpenters’ Union and Hoffman Construction Company. In the consent decree, the Carpenters’ Union did not admit any wrongdoing or liability, but agreed to pay the General Contractor $450,000.00 and conduct extensive training for its employees and members to settle the obligations of unlawful picketing during a 2007 strike. The General Contractor experienced picketing at several sites during the 19-day strike against drywall contractors. The General Contractor claimed that the Carpenters’ Union members engaged in unlawful picketing with improper signage, mass picketing which blocked ingress and egress, and improper picketing at reserved gates. The General Contractor also alleged that the Carpenters’ Union pickets intimidated workers, disrupted traffic, struck vehicles, made excessive noise, and caused physical damage while engaging in derogatory racial and sexist obscenities and threatening language. Under the consent decree, the Carpenters’ Union will pay $200,000.00 into an escrow account established by the Federal Court. The funds will be released to the union after non-carpenters’ union members conduct training sessions covering diversity, discrimination, intimidation, and appropriate picket-line behavior. When the Carpenters’ Union left the AFL-CIO to join the Change To Win Federation, the Carpenters’ Union stated that it was doing so because the AFL-CIO unions did not know how to properly conduct union organizing drives. This consent decree raises more than a few questions about the knowledge and willingness of the Carpenters’ Union to follow state and federal legal requirements concerning picketing. By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney
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