Here it is the end of June and we still have no labor agreements in place! And now several unions have elected to strike. We have been working very hard to come to settlement with the Carpenters, Cement Masons, Laborers and the Operating Engineers but it is apparent that the unions do not understand, or aren’t willing to realize, there is simply no work out there to accommodate the types of increases they are asking for.

You may have heard that we are unwilling to negotiate. That is simply not true. During this work stoppage, it will be interesting to see how long it will last and just how sympathetic people will be towards the unions. NOTE: DO NOT SIGN ANY INTERIM AGREEMENTS!!

Please contact Gary Dowty at the LCCA office for any information that you may need to understand the rules and procedures during work stoppages.

On another note, LCCA is moving forward. By now, all of you know that Tim Penno is no longer affiliated with the association. Gary Dowty has been retained as an “Interim Exec” to maintain business as usual at LCCA. Gary’s focus will be to direct the efforts of the Search Committee that I have appointed to recruit a new Executive Vice President. Mike Ryan, will chair the committee and I’m certain we will find someone soon. Our goal is to have someone by September. If any of you have someone in mind that may be interested in this position please notify either Gary or Mike.

The office staff, Lisa and Nancy, have committed to “business as usual” while this transition takes place. Please feel free to contact them if you need help. They are always willing to do whatever it takes to accommodate your requests. We are fortunate to have them on our staff.

Pacruta Boller, LLC, Waukegan, IL

Patrick Tayfel, President

Disabled Veteran owned Small Business General Contractor.  Sponsored by Gerry Dumalski.

Bob Boller, Boller Construction

Micky Day, DK Contractors

Bruce Diederich, Waukegan Roofing

Karen Johnson, Roughneck Concrete Drilling & Sawing

Gary Dowty, Interim EVP

The search has begun and the Search Committee met to consider what traits and skills they were looking for in the next EVP. The list includes:

• Outgoing personality
• Quick learner
• Great communication skills, both written and verbal
• Membership development and maintenance skills
• Volunteer motivation
• Financial & staff management

Chuck Parrish, Circle Concrete Construction

Mike Renschen, NorStates Bank

Chris Siefert, Riley Construction

Ed Stuckey, Stuckey Construction

We know that times are difficult and everybody is pinching pennies but membership in LCCA is good for business and good for the industry. If you have a prospect in mind, call Nancy Grabowski at the LCCA Office.

Golf Outing Chair, Scott Nelson, H.H. Holmes Testing, explains, “The morning shotgun will start at 7:00 am and our afternoon shotgun will begin at 1:30 pm. A light breakfast in the morning, great barbeque lunch and a light dinner will be included.

        Several LCCA Members and local unions have graciously volunteered to be sponsors of the 2010 LCCA Golf Outing.  If we are going to be able to provide free beer on the course, we need three more sponsors. Consider being a Gold Beverage Cart Sponsor. Sponsors to date include:

Platinum Medallion Event Sponsor:

        <One Available>

Gold Beverage Cart Sponsor:

        Waukegan Roofing

        <Three  Available>

Silver Special Event Hole Sponsor:

Waukegan Roofing

Hard Rock Concrete Cutters

Camosy Construction

        <More Available>

Bronze Hole/Evening Reception Sponsor:

Bornquist, Inc.

Burris Equipment

Curran Contracting Company

Lake County Building Trades

Patten Industries

Thelen Materials, Inc.

        <More Available>

      
If you are interested in becoming a Golf Outing Sponsor, contact Nancy at (847) 623-2345 x5.

Suburban Teamsters Pension in Red Zone – The Suburban Teamsters of Northern Illinois Fund (Locals 179, 330 and 673) has announced the Plan is in the critical (red) zone.  Until a Rehabilitation Plan has been agreed to, mandatory employer surcharges of 5% above current contributions will begin on May 30, 2010.  If you are a contractor bound to an agreement with these unions, you should have been notified by the Pension fund directly

Strike Update – Currently, Laborers and Operators are picketing jobs throughout the area. Carpenters are picketing only those jobs in Will & Grundy County. The following are some issues that you might want to consider for strikers:

• Employees on strike are NOT eligible for unemployment.
• Work outside the geographic boundaries of the agreement (Wisconsin, Indiana, etc.) are not covered and you may continue to work.
• Non-union supervisors may continue to work and cross picket lines but expect “union” supervision to be brought up on charges if they work.

Negotiations Stalemate Continues – As of today, strikes continue across the Chicago area as several unions rush to the picket line. Below are the ECONOMIC offers on the table. Every offer is contingent on work rule changes.

Cement Masons Locals 11 (Areas 161, 362 and 638), 502 and 803 (MARBA agreement)

(Cook, DuPage, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, McHenry, Lake, Will & Grundy)

Union offer:

Year One                $1.00 effective June 1 and $0.50 effective December 1 (allocated to the funds)

Year Two               $1.00 effective June 1 and $0.80 effective December 1 (allocated to the funds)

Year Three             $2.00 effective June 1

MARBA offer:

Year One                $1.00 effective June 1 and $0.50 effective December 1 (allocated to the funds)

Year Two               $1.00 effective June 1 and $0.50 effective December 1 (allocated to the funds)

Year Three             $1.50 effective June 1

Next meeting scheduled for July 6.

Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters

(Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, McHenry, Will & Grundy)

Union offer:

Year One                $2.00

Year Two               $2.00

Year Three             $2.00

MARBA offer:

Year One                $1.50

Year Two               $1.00

Year Three             $1.00

The next meeting is scheduled for July 7.

Laborers District Council and Operating Engineers Local 150

(Boone, Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry & Will - Laborers)

(Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry & Will – Operating Engineers)

Union offer:

First Year               4.9% (Laborers $2.60; Operators $3.23)

Second Year          4.9% (Laborers $2.72; Operators $3.40)

Third Year             5.0% (Laborers $2.92; Operators $3.65)

MARBA offer:

First Year               1.0% (Laborers $0.53; Operators $0.66)

Second Year          1.0% (Laborers $0.53; Operators $0.66)

Third Year             1.25% (Laborers $0.67; Operators $0.82)

The Illinois Construction Industry Committee has long opposed this approach.  In the 2009 legislative session, the General Assembly passed sweeping ethics reform legislation (SB 51) which included provisions for reverse bidding of commodities.  Construction was specifically excluded from that bill because it was understood that purchasing construction is not the same as purchasing commodities.  There are many more variables in a construction project, and many more subcontractors and suppliers, than there are in a purchase of paper or pencils.  And, one contractor may offer a different or better value solution than another contractor. 

We also know from the federal government’s experience with this system, that a contractor has no incentive to offer his/her “best” price in a reverse auction situation, because he knows that he will have additional opportunities to bid.  Contrary to what some believe, reverse auctions never guarantee the lowest price.  They simply guarantee that a contractor will offer at least a dollar less than the previous bidder.  The owner may never get to the actual lowest price, only whatever the price happens to be when the auction ends. 

The enactment of SB 351 last year also makes a reverse auction format for construction impossible.  Since contractors must now have their MBE/FBE contractors secured at the time of bidding, it is clearly impossible to get pricing and agreements in place from all subcontractors and suppliers in what can be a time span of minutes.  Even without the new requirements of SB 351, it is entirely unrealistic to expect that a general contractor could reduce his or her bid in the course of minutes without the knowledge and input of the project’s various subcontractors and suppliers.

Safety Training – Safety training continues at LCCA. So far this year almost 200 employees have been trained in First Aid/CPR, OSHA Hazard Recognition, Trench Safety. These and many more training courses are available to LCCA members for a very nominal cost thanks to our LCCA/Laborers 152 Safety Fund and our LCCA/Cement Masons 362 Safety Fund. To schedule a course, call Lisa at the LCCA Office.

Safety Day Recap – Almost 100 attended this years LCCA/Abbott/OSHA Safety Day held at the Greenbelt Cultural Center in North Chicago. Steve Billings, Aldridge Electric and Todd Larson, Lee Jensen Sales, reviewed the latest technology and techniques to prevent trench cave-ins.  Unfortunately, trench and excavation accidents continue to be a major source of injuries and fatalities in construction.

5,214 workers died on the job in 2008 - "With every one of these fatalities, the lives of a worker's family members were shattered and forever changed. We can't forget that fact." - Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor

OSHA Hexavalent Chromium Exposure Rule Now Final - OSHA is confirming the effective date of June 15, 2010 for the direct final rule requiring employers to notify their workers of all hexavalent chromium exposures. The rule revises a provision in OSHA's Hexavalent Chromium standard that required workers be notified only when they experienced exposures exceeding the permissible exposure limit. Workers exposed to this toxic chemical are at greater risk for lung cancer and damage to the nose, throat and respiratory tract.