We all know the major national holidays….including Washington’s birthday and Martin Luther King’s birthday, but one important date that is repeatedly overlooked, right in between Kiss and Make-up Day on August 25^th and Just Because Day on August 27^th is Women’s Equality Day (Suffrage) on the 26th. On Women’s Equality Day, we commemorate the adoption of the 19^th Amendment to our Constitution and the strong leadership of extraordinary women who have made America a more perfect Union by advancing women’s suffrage.

You see, at the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, a group of visionaries gathered to proclaim the ideas that “all men and WOMEN are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.” That gathering grew into a national movement that led to the ratification of the 19^th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. While introduced in the United States Congress in 1878, the wording remained unchanged in 1919, when the amendment finally passed both houses.

Since the passage of the 19^th Amendment, American women have helped shape our Nation and the world by serving in all walks of life. I am grateful for the bold leadership of these women who have opened doors of opportunity not only for me but for women of future generations.

PS The picture included in last month’s “From the President” turns out to be a hoax. Thanks to Dan Baright for bringing it to our attention. The thought behind the picture, however, was not a hoax. In 1951, Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, went to see Professor Douglas Hartree, who had built the first differential analyzers in England and had more experience in using these very specialized computers than anyone else. He told him that, in his opinion, all the calculations that would ever be needed in this country could be done on the three digital computers which were then being built — one in Cambridge, one in Teddington, and one in Manchester. No one else, he said, would ever need machines of their own, or would be able to afford to buy them. Times change!!

Although the day was hot, LCCA golfers had a wonderful day to play. The golf course staff made the event flow smoothly and the food was outstanding. Once again, Scott Nelson, H.H. Holmes Testing, did a masterful job as event Chairman and thanks to the Nelsons for treating some golfers to a free carwash.

A low score of 56 bested the field in the annual Scramble Tournament beating the past two year’s score of 59 for the Low Gross Award. Winners were:

1^st Place – Abbott Labs - 56
Ed Alfaro - Abbott Laboratories
Dale Paavilainen – Abbott Laboratories
Brian Coe – Noland Facilities Services
Bill Stried – Stried Builder’s

2^nd Place – BHFX, LLC - 59
David Hurckes – BHFX, LLC
TJ Hurckes – BHFX, LLC
Hubert Pyle – Langford Construction
Wally Pyle – Langford Construction

3^rd Place – Meyer Material Co. - 59
Norm Raupp – Meyer Material
Tom Gayton – Meyer Material
Ritch Dembinsky – Meyer Material
Brent Blankenhorn – Meyer Material

4^th Place – Camosy, Inc. - 60
Tim Staples – Camosy, Inc.
John Wickes – Krause Electric
Tony Raasch – Tippett, Inc.
Sherman Wallace

60^th Anniversary Raffle and Fund Raiser – Special thanks to J.J. Henderson & Son and H.H. Holmes Testing for hosting a “Beat the Pro” contest on the 2^nd hole. Christian Annexy, J.J Henderson’s resident golf pro, wore himself out and helped raise funds for LCCA’s 60^th Anniversary. John Brining, CISCO, was the winner of this year’s LCCA 60^th Anniversary Raffle, and took home a 50” flat screen plasma TV. The LCCA 60^th Anniversary Fund was also richer by over $1,500!

Mike Sexton, was closest to the pin on the 2^nd hole sponsored by H.H. Holmes Testing; Dale Paavilainen won the 8^th hole sponsored by NorStates Bank; Rusty Welch won the 14^th hole sponsored by IBEW Local 150; and Joe Zahn won the 17^th hole sponsored by U.S. Cellular. Congratulations to all our winners!

We had over 260 golfers participate in this year’s event and we congratulate the winners and appreciate all the golfers. We would also like to thank Midlane Golf Resort for their professional attention to details that helped make this year’s event a success. If you have comments on the outing, we would love to hear from you. Call Heidi Diederich at (847) 623-2345 or email heidi@lcca-il.org.

LCCA will officially begin celebrating our 60 years of “Building Lake County” this month. As part of the celebration, we will be taking a nostalgic look back at America in 1947. Most of you were not even born, while others were not old enough to even know that Harry Truman was President. So watch your Newsbrief each month for the “Remember When” trivia corner. You might be surprised what was going on when LCCA was created.

The 60^th Anniversary Committee, chaired by Allan Pickus, is also putting finishing touches on the program for the next year and this will be available soon. Stay tuned!

The LCCA Board of Directors voted to bestow Honorary Membership Status for Allan Pickus and Larry Frederick at their last Board Meeting.

Allan Pickus, formerly with Pickus Construction & Equipment, is a two time Past President of LCCA who has helped chart the history of the association for more than 40 years. Whether negotiating with the Carpenters or leading the Winter Workshop to foreign ports of call, Allan was always leading the association to improve value for the members.

Larry Frederick, formerly with Skokie Valley Asphalt, was President of LCCA during one of its most trying periods – the Operators lengthy strike in 1981. His cool head and ability to calm tensions helped the association survive and grow from the experience.

Allan & Larry join the following LCCA Honorary Members:

Jack Benson
Eric Christenson
George Harlow
Don Henderson
Bob MacGruder
Tom Pora
Harold Rodbro
Harold Schafer
Jack Scholtz

Both will be recognized during the Annual Meeting on November 2^nd.

On October 14, 1947, the Bell X-1 became the first airplane to fly faster than the speed of sound. Piloted by U.S. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager, the X-1 reached a speed of 700 miles per hour, Mach 1.06, at an altitude of 43,000 feet. Yeager named the airplane "Glamorous Glennis" in tribute to his wife.

LCCA in association with the College of Lake County, will offer a Supervisor Training Seminar on “Project Management” beginning on October 8^th and will meet on 4 Monday nights for 4 hours each concluding on November 5^th.

The seminar is designed to develop key project management skills that will improve the flow and reduce the cost of construction projects. The course will touch on:

Assigning costs to resources
Preparing project budgets
Connecting the project plan with the schedule
Managing budgets and controlling costs

Wayne Pratt will once again facilitate the class and his experience with construction and our members makes him a valuable asset for participants. The cost of the course is just $215 per person and a registration form is enclosed for your use. Training your key employees can make the difference in your ability to compete with your competitors. Make sure you are not working at half your capacity. Register today!

If you book your trip to the LCCA-ASA 2008 Convention in Cancun before September 12, you can save $50 per person. And spend the money before you leave since the trip is all-inclusive and you will not need it at Le Blanc Spa Resort. There are also many air fare deals to be had online or you can check with Marcy Gelber at Travel by Marcy if you need help. But the bottom line is to book early. As fuel prices rise, air tickets will probably go up. Plan ahead and you will save money. The details:

Date:          January 10-14, 2008
Location:   Le Blanc Spa Resort, Cancún, Mexico
Cost:          $1,350 per person double occupancy
                (Land only, ALL INCLUSIVE)
Air:             Assistance with air transportation is available from Travel by Marcy. Call Marcy Gelber at (847) 597-5911 for more information.

Carpenters Bond List - Ever wonder if the company with which you are about to sign a subcontract has a valid wage and benefit bond posted with the Carpenters? We can help by sending you updates so you will know when bonds are cancelled and reinstated.

But why do you need to know this information? According to the Carpenters Agreement, you are responsible for the payment of all wages and fringe benefits for any subcontractor who does not have a valid bond posted. Every month the Carpenters send an updated list to MARBA of contractors who have bonds cancelled or reinstated. MARBA then sends us the list.. Knowing if you have subcontractors working for you who have a bond cancelled will put you on notice that you might be liable if a problem arises. Certainly justification for a call to the sub to see what is happening.

Currently, about 20 members receive the updates. If you are not getting the list, just call Lisa at the LCCA Office.

LCCA Concludes Negotiations with Plasterers – LCCA has successfully concluded negotiation with Cement Masons, Local 362 for a new 4 year agreement for Plasterers in Lake County. The agreement will provide annual increases of $3.15, $3.20, $3.25 and $3.40 over the term of the contract. There were several other changes included into the contract including:

Foreman premium was increased to 6% over journeyman’s wages from the $1.00 over in the last agreement. This about doubled the premium due foremen.

Bonding requirement were increased to mirror the requirements in the Lake County Cement Masons agreements.

Overtime was changed to permit 1 ½ times pay for just the first 4 hours of overtime each day. Any additional is double time.

Plasters will now be required to possess an OSHA 10-Hour Card, a Scaffold Users certification and a CPR card by July 1, 2008 or their hourly wages will be reduced by 5%.

If you would like a copy of the agreement, just contact the LCCA Office.

Laborers Seek Operators Landscape Work – At least two area companies have been sent large bills seeking payment of fringes for contractors subcontracting “hardscaping” to subcontractors who employ Operators and Teamsters for the work. One target seems to be block lined retention ponds that are fixtures at many commercial development sites. Typically, a Laborer spotter will monitor the job recording all the hours that are worked by other union employees and then send the bill.

While the Operators have repeatedly told us that they will back the general contractors, some have resorted to making sure the contract for these retention ponds and other brick paving is held by the owner or some other company not signatory to these agreements. There is no violation of a subcontracting clause if the sub is not working for you!

Operators Elect Bill Dugan – After a hotly contested race for President of Operating Engineers Local 150, it appears that Bill Dugan has retained the position of President with almost 70% of the vote. We look forward to working with Bill and his team in the future.

According to the The Kiplinger Letter, government regulations cost companies $5,400 per year for each employee. It is interesting to note that, when adjusted for inflation, this number has not changed much in the last 20 years. But hang on to your hat. Both the state legislature and Congress seem bent on raising this burden on business. Whether it is 9/11 security regulations, capping trucker driving hours, changes in lien laws or just new licensing requirements, many actions by government seem to have an equal and opposite reaction for business. Illinois is already ranked 40^th in Forbes magazines “2007 Best States for Business” list. The good news is we cannot go much lower. The bad news is the state legislature continues to try.

When politicians come looking for campaign contributions, ask them what they are going to do to reduce this burden. With about 5.2 million employed in the private sector in Illinois – the regulation burden on Illinois business would be about $28 billion EVERY YEAR. Now that kind of money could solve a lot of problems in the state!

Local Gas Tax Authorization Passes – Senate Bill 831 which would permit Lake County and others to place a local option motor fuel tax on the referendum ballot, has passed both house and has been sent to the Governor for signature. Unfortunately, that is not a slam dunk as in the past due to the seemly irrational approach the Governor takes to legislation. This bill will become especially important if efforts to pass a Capital Bill fall through, leaving Lake County without any new money for roads.

Chicago Area Transportation Bill Moving, Barely – In spite of Gov. Blagojevich’s vow to Veto SB 572, the bill was voted out of committee and will be heard by the full House on September 4. This bill provides for a ½% increase in the sales tax to get Chicago Mass Transit back in the black and will also provide needed road construction funds for the collar counties.

The LCCA Safety Committee chaired by Fred Rodheim, Abbott Laboratories, has started work on an enhancement to LCCA’s Safety Manual. Most members have a Safety Manual for the company and a safety manual for individual employees but nothing for the most important person in the Safety Chain – the jobsite superintendent or foreman. Since most safety programs live or die on the backs of the jobsite manager, the committee has decided to write a manual just for them.

This will be more a jobsite safety management manual that not only deals with hazard recognition and OSHA compliance, but also handling OSHA inspections, delivering tool-box talks, handling a crisis and much more.

The plan is to have this manual available in March of next year. If you have and comments or suggestions, call Gary at the LCCA Office.

LCCA will provide safety training for all students enrolled in the Lake County High School Tech Campus Building Trades Program this month. Jim Davis, Pepper Construction Co., will help the students understand what it takes to work safely and avoid injury as they learn.

Recognizing and avoiding hazards
Awareness of others working around them
Hand & Power tool use
Housekeeping
Ladders and scaffolds
Working at heights (max 2 stories)
Having a good “Safety Attitude”

The students will put what they learn to good use as they begin construction of a single family home that eventually will be sold. The “hands-on” experience will be supplemented by classroom instruction in all phases of construction.

The LCCA Safety Fund has elected Officers and Directors for 2008 as follows:

President – Fred Rodheim, Abbott Laboratories
Treasurer – Scott Johnson, Kelso-Burnett
Secretary – Gary Dowty, LCCA
Director – Rick Grabowski, Pickus Construction & Equip.
Director – Lyle Ehlers, Boller Construction Co.

The fund receives over $6,000 a year from the Safety Fund contribution in the Lake County Cement Masons Agreement. This is used to subsidize safety training for LCCA members. Currently, OSHA 10-hr. Hazard Recognition courses cost members only $20 verses the $100 for non-members. Likewise First-Aid/CPR courses are just $25 per person. We do not believe that you can get this level of safety training anywhere else for this price.

Next year we expect the income to more than double when we start receiving contributions from the Laborers Lake County Contract that was negotiated into the agreement last year. If you are not taking advantage of LCCA’s Safety Training, call the LCCA Office and see how we can save you money and improve safety on your jobsites.