Special thanks to Tom Gurnon, Elkhorn West Construction for attending several of the Metro’s Board of Governor meetings and to all the contractors who wrote letters and emails to support the Free Enterprise System.   

A Great Win for ABC Members and all Merit Shop Contractors! 

MORE GOOD NEWS: The County of San Diego Board of Supervisors March 2 unanimously voted to enact an ordinance that ensures fair and open bid competition by banning the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on county-funded construction projects. The ABC San Diego Chapter worked closely with allied organizations to support the proposed policy.  The board of supervisors considered putting the PLA ban on the June ballot for voters to consider, but after assessing the cost, instead decided to add a provision to the San Diego county code, citing the public’s best interest as a reason for the ban. 

“To promote competition in contracting and reduce the risk of cost increases to the taxpayer, the Board of Supervisors finds and determines that it is in the public interest to prohibit the County from requiring persons or firms engaged on County construction projects from having to comply with or negotiate project labor or similar pre-hire agreements,” the ordinance states. 

San Diego, the sixth most populous county in the nation, is following in the footsteps of Orange County, the fifth most populous, which banned PLAs in November 2009, and the city of Fresno, Calif., which became the first city in the country to ban PLAs in 2000. 

ABC ENCOURAGES OSHA TO CONTINUE COOPERATIVE SAFETY PROGRAMS: ABC March 4 voiced strong support for safety programs that encourage cooperation between the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and employers. ABC submitted the statement as part of the “OSHA listens” public meeting, which was designed to give stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback on OSHA’s agenda, including proposed budgets cut to agency-industry cooperative programs and an increased focus on enforcement. 

In its statement, ABC expressed concern over the proposed fiscal year 2011 budget that increases OSHA’s overall budget by $14 million, mostly for increased enforcement, but drastically reduces the budget for Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) that encourage employer cooperation.  ABC said the proposed budget sends the message that creating best practices and improving training programs is no longer a priority. 

During the past 10 years, ABC and its chapters have had numerous successful alliances and partnership agreements with OSHA offices, and industry-wide participation in the VPP program more than doubled between 2003 and 2008.  ABC pointed out that OSHA’s traditionally cooperative approach has led to better communication between the agency and employers and a corresponding decrease in the number of fatalities and injuries in the construction industry since 1994, due at least in part to the cooperative programs.

“Ultimately, ABC, its members and OSHA share the same central goal – to send each construction worker home safely to his or her family, every night,” ABC wrote. “We both agree that egregious violators have no place in our industry.  Yet, ABC believes that enforcement alone cannot bring greater safety to our, or any other industry.”  

ABC CALLS FOR ACTION AS CONSTRUCTION UNEMPLOYMENT HITS 27 PERCENT: Overall construction unemployment hit 27.1 percent in February, according to a report released March 5 by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, prompting ABC the same day to call on Congress and the administration to act immediately to free up lending, increase access to capital and decrease the tax burden on the construction industry in order to create jobs. 

“More than one-quarter of the nation’s construction workforce is now unemployed,” said 2010 ABC National Chairman Jim Elmer. “Yet Congress and the president continue to consider ‘jobs legislation’ that will have little or no effect on the construction industry.  This is unacceptable.”  In addition to an overall construction unemployment rate that is nearly three times the national average, the March 5 jobs report also showed a loss of 9,600 jobs from the nonresidential construction sector and not much hope for improvement in the coming months, according to ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. 

In order to kick-start the lagging economy and put the men and women of the construction industry back to work, ABC unveiled a jobs proposal on March 2. The jobs proposal recommends the following: eliminating uncertainty in the business environment by calling on Congress and the administration to focus on free-enterprise initiatives and open competition instead of anti-business legislative and regulatory proposals; increasing access to capital for new construction projects and viable, low-risk projects that simply need funding in order for work to commence; providing meaningful tax relief and reducing the tax burden on hard-working Americans and small businesses; enacting a national comprehensive energy plan that includes new construction and upgrades to the nation’s insufficient and crumbling infrastructure; allowing the entire construction industry workforce to participate on federally funded or federally assisted projects; and supporting construction training programs that will attract new skilled workers.

For more information about ABC’s Construction Jobs Creation Proposal, click here.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR UPDATE: On March 3, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis addressed the annual winter meeting of the AFL-CIO Executive Council and announced that DOL plans to begin a campaign next month to let workers know that they might be misclassified as independent contractors.  Solis mentioned the April 14-15 National Action Summit in Houston, which is targeted toward Latino workers in the construction industry.  Solis told the labor leaders that the campaign is intended to inform workers of their rights, let them know who they can call to address problems, as well as “who they can trust.”  Solis said that the effort starting in Houston will continue throughout the year and is intended to target the “misuse” of independent contractors in the construction industry.  Solis also commented about the criticism Vice President Joe Biden received from labor leaders the previous day and noted that she had encouraged Biden to attend the meeting to “receive your support.”  Solis also said that Biden “is your friend” and that he is very supportive of labor.  These comments should serve as ample warning to all employers in the construction industry that special care should be taken to ensure that individuals are properly classified as either employees or independent contractors in accordance with established legal standards.  Failure to do so may well result in a significant investigation by DOL which could also result in substantial economic loss if individuals are misclassified.                     By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney

Training Classes

Management & Safety Class Schedule

MARCH & APRIL 2010

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

¨      March 24, 2010 - – 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – LINCOLN

¨      March 31, 2010 - – 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – OMAHA

First Aid/CPR Classes             We have a newly purchased state-of-art AED trainer

$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

¨  March 18, 2010 – 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. – LINCOLN

¨  March 30, 2010 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – OMAHA

¨  April 1, 2010 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – LINCOLN

¨  April 14, 2010 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – LINCOLN

¨  April 15, 2010 – 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. – OMAHA

TIME’S RUNNING OUT…SIGN UP FOR MOBILE CRANE SAFETY TRAINING TODAY.

Mobile Crane Safety Training

A workshop for all managers, supervisors, operators and riggers – presented by the Crane Institute of America.  Participants will learn what the crane standards  consist of.  This five day class will involve classroom time and actual hands on operation.  At the completion of the five day class applicants will have the opportunity to be certified for all three cranes.

$895.00 for first person from ABC Member Company, $825.00 for each additional person from ABC Member Company

$1,300.00 for each person from Non-Member Company

$450 for each recertification

¨  March 22 – 26,  2010 – 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. - LINCOLN

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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:                                     

Names (please print):                                                                                              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