Welcome to the JULY, 2014 Gregory Management & Consulting Services (GMCS) REGIONAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY UPDATE. Summer is in full swing and the industry is too. According to AGC of America’s, The 2014 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook, construction starts are up, but availability of skilled workers is down. In fact, 62% of firms are already complaining they cannot fill key professional and trade positions. Industry experts within the Mid-Atlantic region believe that the, “Skilled labor shortage could cause 'serious problem' for construction industry within 18 months.” With more significant projects being awarded almost daily, including the previously announced Comcast Innovation and Technology Center at 1800 Arch St., significant developments on Locust and on Broad streets and the recently announced $1B National Harbor casino-resort just to our south, Philadelphia’s ongoing lack of industry commitment & leadership and continually worsening adversarial relationships between labor and management at the highest level in the industry are all sure to have an impact 2015 collective bargaining. As a result, GMCS continues to experience increased demand for its Contracted Labor & Industry Relations Services from regional contractor associations, contractors and facility owners throughout these tumultuous times. While others seek to vacate the industry, GMCS remains committed to our contractors and our industry.
GMCS clients are continuously updated on industry jurisdictional trends and events taking place in the field; many associations and contractors continue to utilize our Contracted Labor & Industry Relations Services to successfully avoid disputes by partnering with a recognized, respected and experienced industry service provider like GMCS. We continue to be a conduit for communication amongst the region’s employer associations, trades and industry stakeholders. Many association members, national contractors and local contractors have come to rely on our professional and respected service when they need estimating, bidding and or project advice. Did you know that many national contractors that are interested in working within the Philadelphia marketplace contact GMCS for advice on establishing key relationships within the industry and its AEC community to gain a better understanding of the region’s collective bargaining agreements, language and contractor base? If you or your association isn’t working with GMCS, perhaps it’s time to reconsider?
Collaboration, communication and relationships are the keys to our success. GMCS has successfully been providing Contracted Labor & Industry Relations Services to associations, contractors and construction users throughout these tumultuous and challenging times. Our client’s success comes as a result of GMCS’s unique experience and industry relationships that enable GMCS to collaborate and communicate throughout the industry and to generate and implement project solutions that simply work.
Having successfully resolved hundreds of matters related to area collective bargaining agreements and contractors throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan, Lehigh Valley and the entire Mid-Atlantic region, GMCS has become the only recognized, educated, experienced and reliable source for labor & industry relation’s support. GMCS is the single, unbiased, industry wide provider of labor & industry relation’s support for the Mid-Atlantic region assuring information sharing, professional, educated and experienced support to the entire industry along with centralized labor event tracking, data sharing and a vendor that serves each association & contractor, not just a single association’s board of directors. This is the most effective and equitable model in management side construction labor relations. Association members interested in receiving these valuable and informative support services through their associations should contact their board of directors and request a free consultation. Independent contractor signatories are urged to contact Wayne Gregory directly at GMCS, wegregory@gregorymcs.com. All industry associations and contractors will benefit significantly by centralizing their labor Relations through GMCS.
GMCS provides neutral, contracted Association Management and Labor & Industry Relations support to many of our associations, contractors, facility owners and industry stakeholders. We are focused on facilitating communication and collaboration amongst our construction employer associations, constructors, facility owners, building trades and governmental bodies with an emphasis on creating a centralized, focused community that actively promotes labor harmony, industry advancement, contractor opportunities and workforce development. Please accept this informative newsletter containing relevant industry topics that can impact your associations and organizations. GMCS is always available to provide clarification or additional information on any of the topics contained within.
This month’s newsletter is comprised of the most popular postings over the last 30 days on gregorymcs.blogspot.com. They are listed by the following categories: INDUSTRY, LABOR, OSHA, MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION PLANS, HUMAN RESOURCES. Additional topics and subject matter may be found on the GMCS companion blog @ gregorymcs.blogspot.com. GMCS continues to track relevant industry legislation and provide summary updates on its companion blog.
GMCS continues to provide an annual legislative affairs
subscription service that monitors and reports on the daily activity of the PA
General Assembly to Associations and organizations in all industries throughout
the Commonwealth. This is accomplished through our specialized GLASS Report’s product. Current GLASS Report recipients include commercial & residential
contractor associations, labor organizations, transportation management
associations and local & regional governmental bodies. Associations
and organizations that subscribe to the GMCS GLASS Reports receive timely updates to each piece of legislation
impacting their organizations as they occur along with a listing of the bill’s
primary and co-sponsors. Please contact GMCS @ wegregory@gregorymcs.com to discuss
your organization’s needs and how you can benefit from this informative and
essential service.
INDUSTRY:
GMCS Industry Advisory Alert – Philadelphia Signatory Contractors: Recent Industry Request to Submit “Pension Fund - Withdrawal Liability Calculation” Collectively
Gregory
Management & Consulting Services (GMCS) received numerous queries last week
from regional contractors regarding a recent request from an executive at a
local employer association to collectively acquire and submit a request for
their individual “Pension Fund - Withdrawal Liability Calculation” from a
particular trade’s defined benefit pension plan. Additionally, anyone not
willing to submit that request through the association was directed to advise
the association of their unwillingness to participate.
Read
more here…
GLASS Report: Legislative Action Alert: House Bill 2319: Regular Session 2013-2014
An
Act amending the act of August 24, 1963 (P.L.1175, No.497), known as the
Mechanics' Lien Law of 1963, further providing for definitions. Legislation to
enable employee benefit trust funds that provide necessary health and
retirement benefits to construction industry workers to recover unpaid
contributions under the Mechanics’ Lien Law.
Read
more here…
Cheap imported glass replacement may cost $18 million at Grocon project
The
Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) reports that the replacement
of sub-standard glass at the 150 Collins St building project by Grocon may cost
$18 million. Grocon has revealed that it has to replace half the glass in the
$180 million building. The glass came from Chinese supplier, China Southern
Glass.
Read
more here…
Skilled labor shortage could cause 'serious problem' for construction industry within 18 months
Like
a recent post
on gregorymcs.blogspot.com, there are some very interesting parallels in
this article as it relates to the Philadelphia marketplace. As many industry
leaders have been predicting throughout the most recent economic downturn, the
lack of incoming apprentices throughout the downturn will ultimately result in
a skilled labor shortage impacting the entire commercial construction industry.
Read
more here…
Construction Employment Increased in 40 States and D.C. from a Year Ago and in 30 States and D.C. from April to May as Sector Slowly Rebuilds - June 20, 2014
Construction
firms added jobs in 40 states and the District of Columbia over the past 12
months and in 30 states and D.C. between April and May, according to an
analysis today by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor
Department data. Association officials said the employment gains help, but that
construction employment remains below peak levels in every state and the
District of Columbia, except North Dakota.
Read
more here…
Construction Industry Adds 6,000 Jobs in May As Sector's Unemployment Rate Declines to 8.6 Percent, Lowest May Level In Six Years
Construction
employers added 6,000 workers to payrolls in May as the industry’s unemployment
rate dropped to 8.6 percent, its lowest May level in six years, according to an
analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of
America. However, association officials cautioned that gains remain spotty and
that thousands of highway construction jobs are at risk because of a pending
halt in federal transportation funding later this summer.
Read
more here…
Philadelphia Building Trades Council, PHA strike 'monumental' construction deal
Philadelphia's
building-trades unions traded lower wages for guaranteed jobs; in
exchange, affordable housing will be less costly to build for the Philadelphia
Housing Authority.
According
to the deal struck on Thursday, the Building and Construction Trades Council
promised a 20 percent reduction in labor wages in return for long-term
construction job guarantees.
Read
more here…
Additional
related article can be found here…
City of Philadelphia Regulations For Construction Signage – Building Permit Applications Submitted After June 30, 2014:
Read more here…
BIM Evolved: Hyper-speed rendering: How Gensler turns BIM models into
beauty shots in seconds
Seven
seconds. That is all it took for Gensler’s Mark Bassett to generate a
geometrically accurate, photorealistic rendering from one of the firm’s Revit
models. The colors popped. The lighting and shading were spot on. The
materials, finishes, fixtures, and furnishings were precisely represented.
There was no need for touch-ups using Photoshop, or tweaks in 3ds Max. Just a
few clicks of the mouse and voilà!—a professional-level 3D rendering appeared
on Bassett’s monitor.
Read
more here…
BIM Evolved: Extending
BIM to Infrastructure
Building
information modeling (BIM) has, by now, been firmly established as the “go-to”
technology globally for the design and construction of buildings. While there
are many building design and construction firms who still have to get started
on their BIM implementations let alone being well on their way to transitioning
from CAD to BIM, there is no doubt that this is the way forward for the
building industry; that sooner or later, they have to make the leap. The
technology whereby a building is represented as an intelligent 3D model with
data-rich components that can carry information about themselves and their
relationship to other components now seems so obviously superior than the
earlier CAD technology where a building was represented primarily by generic 2D
lines for the purpose of designing and constructing it. The benefits of BIM are
undisputed, even though not every firm is able to derive them as quickly as
they would like.
Read
more here…
Modular Construction in the Vertical Construction Environment
The
Center for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) recently asked a panel of
industry leaders the following question: “What role do you think modular construction
will play in tall buildings in the coming years?”
Read
more here…
SRC sells William Penn High to Temple: Building to house
a job-training academy run by the Laborers' District Council Education and
Training/Apprenticeship Fund
Partnership
will offer skills training, educational opportunities in North Philadelphia.
Part
of the property will be razed and turned into athletic fields and recreation
space for Temple students. The school building fronting Broad Street will
remain, and will house a job-training academy run by the Laborers' District
Council Education and Training/Apprenticeship Fund. It will offer training in
construction crafts and general education topics.
Read
more here…
Another
related article can be found here…
Misuse of $210K handled quietly
The
chief financial officer of the region's publicly funded marketing agency, Visit
Philadelphia, embezzled $210,000 over five years, but was permitted to resign
quietly when she agreed to pay back the money.
Read
more here….
Another local Non-profit Executive Resigns over inappropriate use of corporate credit card:
Michael
McGeary resigned effective April 18 after being confronted about using a
business credit card for personal expenses.
Read
more here….
ABI: Three Point Jump for Architecture Billings Index
On
the heels of consecutive months of decreasing demand for design services, the
Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has returned to positive territory.
Read
more here…
LABOR:
U.S.
Supreme Court Issues Long-Awaited Decision in NLRB v. Noel Canning; President
Obama's Recess Appointments to NLRB Deemed Unconstitutional
On June 26,
2014, the United States Supreme Court unanimously found that President Obama
acted unconstitutionally when he made several recess appointments to the
National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") in 2012.
Read more here…
GLASS Report: Legislative Action Alert: House Bill 2352:
Regular Session 2013-2014
Legislation
that prohibits the use of permanent replacement workers during a labor dispute
and prohibits employment agents and contract employment agencies from
recruiting or providing employees to permanently replace employees in labor
dispute.
Read more here…
John J. Sabia Educational Foundation
Scholarship’s Available
All
applications will be reviewed by the trustees of the John J. Sabia Scholarship
Foundation. The trustees will then award the scholarship based on their review
of the application and interviews with selected candidates.
Read
more here…
National Labor Relations Board and OSHA partner to extend
Whistleblower reporting deadlines on site safety complaints.
OSHA
has issued a Decision on Referring Untimely 11(c) Complainants to the National
Labor Relations Board (Decision), OM-14-60 (May 21, 2014).
Whistleblowers
that fail to file safety complaints with OSHA within the mandatory 30 day
timeline will be notified by the National Labor Relations Board of their right
to file a similar charge with the NLRB.
Read
more here…
Unions turn to marketing to get the good word out
Advertisements
showing construction workers in hard hats credit members of the General
Building Contractors Association with creating Philadelphia's skyline and
landmark projects.
The
association's members employ union workers, but in an indication of just how
hard it can be to sell the union idea these days, the ads don't even mention
the word.
Read
more here…
Unions push legislatures for labor history courses
Unions and
their allies are trying to flex their muscle in state legislatures, pushing for
labor history to be included in social studies curriculum and hoping a new
generation of high school students will one day be well-educated union members.
Read more here…
Regional Collective Bargaining Settlement
Sheets available:
GMCS has compiled a detailed settlement report defining the regional trade
settlements from last year’s collective bargaining as well as detailing the
previously negotiated settlements for trades and associations. Copies are
available to associations engaged in regional negotiations. Please
contact GMCS at wegregory@gregorymcs.com
today for instructions on how to receive your copy.
GMCS is the Philadelphia Region’s Leading Labor Relations Solutions Provider:
A recent study by the Center for Construction Research and
Training indicates that work site conflict costs, on average,
$11,000.00 per incident. GMCS provides contracted labor relations
services to many of the region’s employer associations, contractors, facility
owners and industry stakeholders helping you to avoid those costly
conflicts. With two
levels of affordable annual agreements costing less than 50% of the cost of an
average conflict, contracted
labor relations services can help your organization stay on schedule and
budget.
Contact wegregory@gregorymcs.com for your
consultation today.
Carpenters, Teamsters protest at Pa. Convention Center
(Video)
The Carpenters
Local 8 and the Teamsters Local 107 were shut out of work at the Convention
Center last month after failing to sign a new customer satisfaction agreement
by the 11:59 p.m. May 5 deadline.
Read more here…
Latest WTI Continues to Signal Pickup in Wage Growth
Private sector
wages are expected to increase at a higher rate later this year, according to
the revised second-quarter Wage Trend Indicator™ (WTI) released today by
Bloomberg BNA, a leading publisher of specialized news and information.
The index rose
to 99.10 (second quarter 1976 = 100) from 98.92 in the first quarter. This is
the WTI's third straight quarterly gain.
Read more here…
OSHA & SAFETY:
Semiannual regulatory
agenda published
The Office of Management and Budget has
published the Spring 2014 unified agenda. The agenda lists regulatory actions
now in development and under consideration by each federal agency, providing
information about each rule and its stage of development. OSHA's updated agenda
includes projected timelines for several safety and health standards.
For a concise list of those items that
impact the construction industry, read more here…
Worker killed in building collapse at Cherry Hill shopping center
One
worker was killed and another injured when the building they were demolishing
collapsed on Route 38 in Cherry Hill.
The
contractor, whose name has not been released, was working to take down a former
Blockbuster building to make way for a Wawa in the shopping center at 500 Route
38.
Read
more here…
Job Safety and Risk
Factors in Construction
Managing
construction safety risks requires more than recognizing the most frequently
cited OSHA standards or focusing on reducing the experience modification rate
(EMR) and injury and illness rates.
Read more here…
"Deadly Dust" video wins award for getting out the message on silicosis
"Deadly
Dust," an OSHA educational video on the hazards of silica exposure, won
first place in the safety category in an international competition to find the
best business communications videos.
Read
more here…
National safety stand-down reaches 1M workers
OSHA and partners from industry, labor, academia and
community organizations reached more than one million workers and 25,000
businesses last week during the National Safety
Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. From June 2 to 6, businesses
paused their workday to focus on preventing falls in the workplace, the number
one cause of death in the construction industry.
Read more here…
OSHA launches annual summer campaign to prevent
heat-related illnesses
OSHA announced May 22 the launch of its
annual Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers. For the fourth
consecutive year, OSHA's campaign aims to raise awareness and educate workers
and employers about the serious hazards of working in hot weather and provide
resources and guidance to address these hazards.
Read more here…
New interactive training tool highlights hazard identification
OSHA
has announced a new interactive webtool that will help small businesses
identify and correct hazards in the workplace. The tool allows employers and
workers to explore how to identify workplace hazards in the manufacturing and
construction industries and address them with practical and effective
solutions.
Read
more here…
New educational resources available to protect workers from heat illness and falls
New
and updated materials for OSHA's Fall Prevention and Heat Illness campaigns are
now available. OSHA's Fall Prevention Training Guide includes lesson plans, or
"toolbox talks."
Read
more here…
Cooperation of city office, federal agency helps keep construction workers safer in Philly
In
the wake of last summer's deadly building collapse in Philadelphia, the city
has kept a keener focus on safety at construction sites around town.
And
it's paying off.
Since
October, inspectors with the city's department of Licenses and Inspections and
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have removed roughly 150
construction workers from "imminently dangerous" working conditions.
Read
more here…
Alliance with Scaffold and Access Industry Association renewed to protect workers from scaffold hazards:
OSHA
has renewed its alliance with the Scaffold and Access Industry Association to
provide information and training to protect the safety and health of workers
who use scaffolds and lift equipment. Through the alliance, OSHA and SAIA will
work to reduce and prevent fall and caught-in-between hazards and issues
related to frame, mast climbing and suspended scaffolds and aerial lift
equipment.
Read
more here…
OSHA urges Employers to prevent texting while driving:
OSHA reminds employers
that they have a responsibility to protect their workers by prohibiting texting
while driving. It is a violation of the OSH Act if employers require workers to
text while driving, create incentives that encourage or condone it, or
structure work so that texting is a practical necessity for workers to carry
out their job.
Read more here…
OSHA National fall
Prevention Program:
Falls
are the leading cause of death in construction, and OSHA is working with NIOSH
and the National Occupational Research Agenda to get the word out about how to
"Plan, Provide, Train" to prevent fatal falls. To learn more, please
check out OSHA’s Fall Prevention Campaign resource page here…
MULTI-EMPLOYER PLAN UPDATE:
Milliman analysis: Funded status deficit
increases by $10 billion in May
The
Milliman 100 PFI funded status worsens to $268 billion due to an increase in
pension liabilities.
The
funded status deficit of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension
plans increased by $10 billion during May as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension
Funding Index (PFI). The $268 billion deficit at the end of May is primarily
due to a drop in the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value
pension liabilities. Investment gains helped to partially offset the full
extent of liability increases in May. As of May 31, the funded ratio fell to
84.3%, down from 84.7% at the end of April.
Read
more here…
The
Pennsylvania General Assembly has given us another opportunity to expand our
employee benefit plan boundaries discussion. This time, the discussion applies
to multiemployer plans in the construction industry. It has been reported that
Rep. William Keller, D-Philadelphia, introduced a bill in the General Assembly
to amend the state’s Mechanics’ Lien Law to classify union benefit fund
trustees as subcontractors allowed to pursue claims for nonpayment against
employers and property owners. This action followed a Pennsylvania Supreme
Court ruling that unions and benefit fund trustees do not qualify as
subcontractors as a result of collective bargaining agreements with employers.
Read
more here…
DOL delays its proposal to expand fiduciary definition
The
U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that it will, once again, delay its
proposal to redefine (and ultimately expand on) the term fiduciary as it
relates to employee benefit plans. Specifically, the DOL’s re-proposal of
this rule, which the agency is calling Conflict of Interest Rule-Investment
Advice, will now be issued in January of 2015. The DOL announced the updated
timing on May 27 in its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda of Spring 2014
Read
more here…
Pennsylvania Commission Signs Off on Actuarial Analysis of “Rescue Effort” Pension Reform Plan, Skepticism Abounds
According
to McAneny, the plan would maintain the current defined benefit plan for the
first $50,000 of income with an employee contribution rate of six percent. The
defined contribution component consists of a one percent employee contribution
on the first $50,000 of income and then the full seven percent contribution
rate would apply to any salary above $50,000.
Read
more here…
HUMAN RESOURCES:
An Interesting And Local Perspective on A
New Format For Job Interviews
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia achieves
great business outcomes from video interviewing.
Chief Advisor at HR Tech Advisor Ward Christman
spoke with Kim Delaney BSN, RN, nursing and respiratory recruitment manager for
the hospital on how her team leverages HR technology to meet the challenges
from their vice president of HR to become more productive with existing
resources.
Read more here…
Communicating with Employees—Don’t Shove It
onto the Back Burner
Ask employees what
they like least about their jobs, and they typically cite a problem with
communication. In fact, in many national employee attitude surveys,
participating organizations across the board were rated lowest on questions
related to communication, while at the same time employees who took the survey
said communication was very important to them.
Read more here…
The 10 Sins of Performance Appraisers
Performance evaluation—it’s hard to get it right,
but, unfortunately, it’s easy—and expensive— to get it wrong. We’ve identified
the 10 most common mistakes of managers and supervisors who conduct performance
appraisals. We call them the “10 Sins.”
Read more here…
Family and Medical Leave Act: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Revise the
Definition of “Spouse” Under the FMLA
The
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees of covered
employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical
reasons. The FMLA also includes certain military family leave provisions
Read
more here…
Have you implemented a workplace anti-bullying policy?
Workplace
and school violence events have contributed to our increasing national
conversation about “bullying.” Recently, National Public Radio quoted a
Zogby poll in which more than a quarter of American workers reported that they
have experienced abusive conduct at work. Sixty-four percent of respondents to
a Monster Global Poll felt that they had been “bullied, either physically hurt,
driven to tears, or had their work performance harmed.”
Read
more here…
Are Your Sales Employees Properly Classified as Exempt
Many employers treat their sales employees as
exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime and minimum wage
requirements. Regardless of whether they pay them a salary, commissions, or
some combination of both, employers often assume that all salespersons are
exempt and not entitled to overtime. Depending on the circumstances, this
assumption can be problematic and costly.
Read more here…
Extended leave not a reasonable
accommodation
A recent appellate court ruling may
affect the ability of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to challenge
"inflexible" employer leave policies, policies that result in the
termination of employees who are unable to return to work after the fixed leave
period, as a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and
Rehabilitation Act. In Hwang v. Kansas State University, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled that an employer's adherence to an
inflexible six-month maximum leave policy did not violate the Rehabilitation
Act.
Read more here…
6
Steps for Avoiding Dumb Retaliation
Retaliation
suits are the dumbest of the dumb because they are so easily avoided, but they
happen with startling frequency. What should HR do? Have a written policy.
Read
more here…
This e-mail newsletter has been provided complimentary to Associations and
industry stakeholders by Wayne Gregory of Gregory Management & Consulting
Services (GMCS). Wayne
Gregory has been the recognized regional leader in the areas of Labor &
Industry Relations since 2005 and is continuing to serve the industry and its
multi-employer Associations under the GMCS
brand, Knowledge, Trust, Integrity
and a unwavering commitment to Serve
the industry. From Association Management & Executive Leadership
services, Owner Representation, Government & Legislative Affairs
& Subscription Services and Labor & Industry Relations, let GMCS help
your Associations and organizations to forge a new and clear path forward.
We hope that you enjoy the new newsletter format and welcome all comments
and suggestions regarding these changes. You may forward those to Wayne
Gregory @ wegregory@gregorymcs.com.
Best wishes to all for a safe, prosperous, healthy & harmonious 2014.
Sincerely,
Wayne E. Gregory
Gregory
Management & Consulting Services
Audubon, PA 194031
E-Mail: wegregory@gregorymcs.com
On the web: www.gregorymcs.com
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