Version 2.01 of the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness
Classification System enables researchers to more readily identify factors that
contribute to construction industry fatalities and provide the industry with
insight into developing injury prevention strategies; the revision improves on
current safety and health surveillance and will have long-term effects on
safety and health intervention programs and policies targeted at both the
construction industry and the overall U.S. workforce.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
McDonald s labor ruling may be employer train wreck
In a landmark challenge to traditional labor law, the
National Labor Relations Board is attempting to lump together McDonald’s and
its independent franchises as joint employer, which leaves many questions on
what this could mean for other collective benefit plan structures.
NLRB General Counsel Richard F. Griffin, Jr. said his office
has “found merit” in some of the charges against the world’s largest fast food
company and will name McDonald’s as a joint employer respondent. But as Oak
Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s plans to figure out where the company will end
up, labor lawyers that represent large and small employers with similar
employment and labor disputes offer a roadmap of likely scenarios.
Art Museum gets $5M grant from Corbett administration
The Philadelphia Museum of Art received a $5-million grant
from Gov. Tom Corbett's administration that will go toward the renovation of
the museum’s main building.
The grant, announced by Susan Corbett on Thursday during a
press conference, is one of the economic growth initiative grants awarded by
the Corbett administration's redevelopment assistance capital program. It will
go toward the museum’s $350-million renovation, designed by architect Frank
Gehry, which will add more than 169,000 square feet of space, including a
redesign of the "Rocky" steps.
The grant will go toward addressing building system repairs
and upgrades, energy efficiency improvements, fire and life safety system
investments, and work required to keep the museum in compliance with safety
codes.
Oxford Mills: Kensington's factory-turned-apartment complex a success
It didn’t take long for Oxford Mills to prove it’s unique
approach to residential real estate is so far an early success.
D3 Real Estate, which is a development team consisting of
Greg Hill and Gabe Canuso, partnered with Seawall Development Co. of Baltimore
to convert an old dye works manufacturing plant at 100 W. Oxford St. in South
Kensington into what is called Oxford Mills — The Center for Educational
Excellence.
New Philly police contract gives Ramsey more powers
A day after six Philadelphia police narcotics officers were
charged in a sprawling federal corruption probe, Mayor Nutter announced
Thursday that an arbitrator has awarded police a new contract that gives the
commissioner long-sought powers to transfer officers in and out of the department's
drug and internal affairs units.
The details of how officers could be rotated out of those
units every five years remain to be hammered out between the department and the
police union.
Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said the flexibility to
rotate officers was not just about battling corruption, but career development
for officers who want to enter specialized units and moving experienced
officers to other posts in the city.
Medical workers say violence is too often part of the job
Last week's shooting at an outpatient office on the campus
of Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital was a reminder that the healing professions can be
surprisingly dangerous.
Organized nurses and emergency doctors have complained for
years about violence at work that is common and frightening but that won't grab
headlines like the case in which a patient opened fire, killing a caseworker
before he was stopped by a psychiatrist who had his own gun and returned fire.
"People get frustrated because everybody pays attention
to this particular incident, but don't realize that . . . nurses and other health-care
providers are victims of violence every day," said Deena Brecher,
president of the Emergency Nurses Association.
Higher ed officials grapple with knotty problems, but construction moves ahead [2014 Giants 300 Report]
University stakeholders face complicated cap-ex stressors,
from chronic to impending.
An analysis of Dun &
Bradstreet stats by consultant Paul Abramson indicates that some $11 billion
was spent on higher ed construction last year—up a billion from 2012, with
nearly 70% comprising new buildings (http://bit.ly/1qhMzaw).
As examined in BD+C’s
in-depth May report, university stakeholders face complicated cap-ex stressors,
from chronic (lender stinginess, deferred maintenance) to impending (President
Obama’s pledge to start rating colleges on value delivered, consumer pushback
on ever-rising costs).
Construction Employment Increases in 215 out of 339 Metro Areas between June 2013 and June 2014
Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas
and Monroe, Mich. Top Growth List; Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md. And
Cheyenne, Wyo. Experience the Largest Actual and Percentage Declines for the
Year
Construction employment
expanded in 215 metro areas, declined in 80 and was stagnant in 44 between June
2013 and June 2014, according to a new analysis of federal employment data
released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association
officials noted that uncertainty about a range of federal infrastructure and
construction programs could weigh on future growth for the sector.
Bureau of Labor Statistics: EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX - JUNE 2014
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.7
percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending June 2014, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries (which make up
about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.6 percent, and benefits
(which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 1.0 percent.
Sunoco Logistics isn't a public utility, judges decide, delivering pipeline setback
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Sunoco Logistics has gotten a setback
to its plans to pump propane and ethane in its 300-mile Mariner East pipeline
across southern Pennsylvania.
Two administrative law judges on Wednesday released a
25-page decision recommending that state utility regulators deny the company's
request to exempt buildings to shelter 18 pump stations and 17 valve control
stations from local zoning ordinances in 31 locations.
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