Welcome
to the September, 2015 Gregory Management & Consulting Services (GMCS)
REGIONAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY UPDATE.
GMCS wants to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor
Day. It’s been an interesting and
historical month in Labor right here in Philadelphia over the last month. We have witnessed a historical change in the
Philadelphia Building Trades take place with John Dougherty (Doc) assuming the leadership helm on
December 1, 2015. The Finishing Trades
Institute of the Mid-Atlantic Region (Philadelphia) continues to establish
their relevance and value to the industry by becoming a 2015 Susan Harwood Targeted
Topic Grant Recipient. Finally, as
reported here and to our clients over the last several months, the game
changing decision by the National Labor Relations Board involving
Browning-Ferris Industries of California where it has refined its standard for
determining joint-employer status. The revised standard is designed “to better
effectuate the purposes of the Act in the current economic landscape.”
From
our owner groups in West Philadelphia, Signatory General Contractors, Sub
Contractors and the Labor Brokers that currently operate in the region; it is
our opinion that this decision is certainly a game changer and that many risk
being tied into the new joint employer standard. If you have exercised control over terms and
conditions of employment indirectly through an intermediary, or whether you have
reserved the authority to do so, you are potentially at risk of being found to
be a joint employer and sharing all of the risks that come with that
title. From the owner groups that are
mandating changes in the regions’ collective bargaining agreements, to the
contractors that utilize labor brokers to employee hoist operators on their
projects and so many more scenarios, the net is wide on this one and, in our
opinion, the risk of being found to be a joint employer of a contractor that
you have hired to build your building or work on your project is
significant. All are recommended to seek
appropriate legal counsel on this matter.
GMCS is 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.
Is
your firm looking to fill key positions within your organization? With over 25 years of industry contacts &
experience within the Philadelphia metropolitan region and developed industry
relationships to work from, GMCS
has become a powerful recruiting organization in this region’s
construction industry marketplace. Our goal is to provide our clients and
candidates with superior quality recruitment services while maintaining the
highest degree of integrity, confidentiality and professionalism. Go here to find out more about our Employer and Candidate Services. GMCS
maintains an active network of experienced industry professional candidates
that are currently exploring their next career opportunity. GMCS actively
markets these candidates to both regional and national firms as well as
partnering recruitment agencies throughout the country. Interested candidates and employers should
contact Wayne Gregory today at
wegregory@gregorymcs.com to discuss the
best GMCS employment and
recruitment solution for you.
We
currently have several excellent candidates that are interested in making a
move within the regional marketplace. GMCS is making those candidates available
to interested employers at no cost. Interested
firms should contact Wayne Gregory @ wegregory@gregorymcs.com for more
information.
Sponsorship
and marketing opportunities are available to industry stakeholders and
contractors; interested firms should contact Wayne
Gregory @ wegregory@gregorymcs.com for more
information.
Regional
Industry Employment Candidates Looking for new and rewarding challenges:
GMCS
is looking to place an experienced Commercial Construction Project Manager that
is highly interested in transitioning into the Real Estate Property Management
side of the industry. (EMPLOYER FEES WAIVED):
GMCS
is looking to place an experienced Facility Manager that has an extensive
facility maintenance background with leading Philadelphia
institutions. Experience level ranges from HVAC service to senior
management roles. Candidate is highly interested in transitioning into a new
position within the Tri-State area. (EMPLOYER FEES WAIVED):
GMCS
is looking to place an experienced commercial construction industry
professional with a broad
background in human resources, with particular emphasis on labor relations and
employee benefits. BA, MBA, and JD
degrees; Certified Employee Benefit Specialist and Compensation Management
Specialist designations. (EMPLOYER FEES WAIVED):
Johnny Doc to head building trades council:
John
Dougherty, leader of the politically powerful Electricians union in
Philadelphia, expanded his sphere of influence Wednesday with a new title.
Dougherty
was selected to succeed Pat Gillespie as head of the Philadelphia Building and
Construction Trades Council, which represents nearly 40 unions in Philadelphia
and the suburbs.
Read
more here…
US Labor
Department awards $10.5M in workplace safety and health training grants to 80
nonprofit organizations:
The
U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has
awarded $10.5 million in one-year federal safety and health training grants to
80 nonprofit organizations across the nation for education and training
programs to help high-risk workers and their employers recognize serious
workplace hazards, implement injury prevention measures and understand their
rights and responsibilities.
Read
more here….
National Labor
Relation’s Board Issues Decision in Browning-Ferris Industries: Joint Employer
Standards In Question
In
the decision, the Board applies long-established principles to find that two or
more entities are joint employers of a single workforce if (1) they are both
employers within the meaning of the common law;
and (2) they share or codetermine those matters governing the essential
terms and conditions of employment. In evaluating whether an employer possesses
sufficient control over employees to qualify as a joint employer, the Board
will – among other factors -- consider whether an employer has exercised control
over terms and conditions of employment indirectly through an intermediary, or
whether it has reserved the authority to do so.
Read
more here….
Five Practical Issues Browning-Ferris Creates for
Employers:
National
Labor Relations Board’s decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of California,
Inc., 362 NLRB No. 186 (Aug. 27, 2015), will have significant and far-reaching
effects as it greatly expands the scope of relationships in which the Board can
and will find entities to be joint employers. While the full ramifications of
the Board’s decision remain to be seen, here are five issues, which are
discussed thoroughly by Members Miscimarra and Johnson in their dissent, that
employers will likely face as a result of Browning-Ferris:
STRIKE UPDATE:
AGC Washington DC and the Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters,
Philadelphia settle over a year long Labor/Contract dispute:
The
new contract reflects the continued commitment of the Washington DC Contractors
and the Metropolitan Regional Council to grow the union market share in the
Washington, DC area.
The
Four-Year Agreement (5/1/14 through 4/30/18) provides for a total Wage-Fringe
Benefit Package increase of $4.30.
Read
more here…
Carpenters,
contractors settle Convention Center side dispute
Outside
the Convention Center, union carpenters no longer allowed to work there pursued
a public strategy to regain those jobs: rallying and protesting, armed with
bullhorns, leaflets, and an inflatable Fat Cat.
Inside
their union hall, another strategy was underway: firing off grievances against
13 major show contractors, the companies actually hired to set up and dismantle
the trade shows and conventions that fill the center.
Read
more here…
Value of Construction Put in Place at a Glance - July 2015:
Spending increases 9.3% above the $533.7 billion for the same period in 2014:
The
U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that
construction spending during July 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of $1,083.4 billion, 0.7 percent (±1.5%)* above the revised June estimate
of $1,075.9 billion. The July figure is 13.7 percent (±2.0%) above the July
2014 estimate of $952.5 billion.
During
the first 7 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $583.2
billion, 9.3 percent (±1.5%) above the $533.7 billion for the same period in
2014.
Read
more here…
New OSHA
Directive to Speed Up Resolution of Whistleblower Complaints:
A
directive to establish nationwide policies and procedures aimed at speeding up
the resolution of “whistleblower” complaints handled by the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) was issued on August 19, 2015.
Read
more here…
Construction
companies, supervisors charged in worker death
District
Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the New York Police Department and the city's
Department of Investigation announced the charges in the April death of Carlos
Moncayo, an employee with Sky Materials Corp. Moncayo was in an unsecured
trench at a building site in Manhattan's trendy Meatpacking District when it
caved. The building was once home to the restaurant Pastis and is now being
developed into a Restoration Hardware retail store.
Read
more here…
The long reach
of the National Labor Relations Act
Non-union
employers are often under the misimpression that they are not affected by the
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) — the federal statute governing union-related
issues in the private sector.
A
recent court decision stands as yet another reminder that this is not the case,
and that non-union employers can still run afoul of the NLRA’s ever-changing
requirements (and that employees and their advocates are increasingly using the
NLRA to pursue claims against employers, even non-union employers).
Read more here…
Virtua proposes $1 billion campus in Westampton:
Virtua
Health is proposing a $1 billion hospital complex on a 110-acre farm that the
South Jersey nonprofit acquired in Westampton Township more than a year ago.
The project would include a nine-story hospital that would replace the
four-floor Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly, three miles away in
Burlington County.
MILLIMAN US: Pension Funding Index August 2015: Corporate
pension funded status drops by $16 billion in July:
In
July, the funded status of the 100 largest corporate defined benefit pension
plans worsened by $16 billion as measured by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding
Index (PFI). The deficit rose to $261 billion primarily due to a decrease in
the benchmark corporate bond interest rates used to value pension liabilities.
As of July 31, the funded ratio declined to 84.8%, down from 85.5% at the end of
June. This breaks the upward momentum from the second quarter of 2015 where the
funded ratio had increased for three consecutive months.
Read
more here…
FMI's Q3
Nonresidential Construction Index Shows Nonresidential Construction Sector
Remains Optimistic Despite Drop in Overall Economy:
The
nonresidential construction sector continues at a steady pace, a slight decline
notwithstanding, according to the FMI Nonresidential Construction Index Report
(NRCI) for Q3 2015. The Index reflects
the observations and sentiments of a sampling of construction industry
executives nationwide.
Read
more here…
ABI: Strong Conditions Persist for Architecture Billings
Index: Long struggling Northeast region starting to rebound:
The
Architecture Billings Index (ABI) is reflecting healthy and sustained demand
for design services in nearly all nonresidential project types. As a leading
economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate
nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction
spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the July ABI
score was 54.7, down a point from a mark of 55.7 in June. This score still
reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an
increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 63.7, up slightly from
a reading of 63.4 the previous month.
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 2015.
Sincerely,
Gregory Management & Consulting Services
Audubon, PA 19403
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