The Building Tradesman Newspaper

LANSING – Ten construction workers in Michigan died on the job in 2009, an historic low since MIOSHA has kept count since the agency came into existence in 1974. ..

The hits just keep on coming. ..

For the first time since the start of the Great Recession, every state and the District of Columbia reported losing construction jobs over the 12 months leading up to December 2009, according to a new analysis of state-by-state employment data released this month. The analysis, conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America, found few signs of a construction industry recovery. (Although six states reported construction job increases between November and December 2009). ..

ANN ARBOR – The second of two new patient towers was handed over to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital last month, nearly completing a major transformation of the patient experience at the health care facility. ..

WASHINGTON (PAI) – By a 5-4 margin, an ideologically split U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21 threw out many restrictions on financing political campaigns – including limits on corporate and union spending, and bans on spending for ads within 60 days of an election.   Its ruling opened the way for a flood of corporate campaign cash. ..

WASHINGTON (PAI)–The number of union members nationwide declined by 771,000 in 2009, to 15.33 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.  That wiped out numerical gains of the prior two years, combined.  But unions’ share of the workforce was virtually unchanged, moving from 12.4% in 2008 to 12.3% last year. ..