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August 6, 2010
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Congress (finally) extends jobless benefits WASHINGTON (PAI) – After months of stalling caused by Senate Republican filibustering, Congress finally extended jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. Democratic President Barack Obama signed the bill July 22. The Senate approved the bill 59-39, overcoming the GOP roadblock. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both R-Maine, broke ranks and voted for it, joining 55 Democrats and the two independents. The House tally was 272-152. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said lawmakers finally are aiding the long-term unemployed – and added the solons didn’t do enough. Obama put the number of jobless at 2.5 million. He urged passage of aid to states and to small businesses, too. “Finally, the Senate has overcome the final hurdle to provide relief for more than 2 million people who have lost their benefits since Republicans in Congress launched their latest political stall tactics against the jobless,” Trumka said. “Millions of Americans will have the means to feed their families and pay some bills while they seek work. We still need our leaders to do more, not less, to create jobs and sustain the economic recovery. Our nation must invest in jobs now – so we can lay a foundation for long-term growth and shared prosperity,” he added. As approved, the legislation would extend federally funded unemployment benefits, available to long-term jobless after their state benefits expire, until just after the November election. The cost would be $34 billion. Republicans said the money should be taken from other programs – such as the Troubled Assets Relief Program, also known as bank bailout repayments – so as to not increase the federal deficit. No other measures to help the jobless were in the legislation. That means extension of COBRA for the jobless was dropped. So was aid to state and local governments to avert layoffs of 900,000 government workers and 300,000 in schools. A bill summary provided by the House also said states cannot cut their levels of regular unemployment benefits. And emergency benefits claimants will not have their benefits cut if “intermittent earnings re-qualifies them for regular, state unemployment benefits – which may provide lower payments because the claimant’s more recent wages were lower,” the fact sheet adds. The Senate “finally overcame weeks of parliamentary roadblocks by a partisan minority, and voted to restore desperately needed unemployment insurance assistance to two and a half million Americans who lost their jobs in the recession,” Obama said.
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Trades putting a charge in battery plant construction By Marty Mulcahy Managing Editor BATTLE CREEK – The building trades are building Toda America’s first U.S. manufacturing facility to produce lithium ion cathode materials for battery cells, another hopeful sign that the state’s economy is expanding into new technologies that will create new jobs and job descriptions. "This is an important manufacturing investment in our quest to maintain our global leadership as the premier supplier of battery materials around the world, and now as a key local supply chain partner to the rapidly growing U.S. battery industry," said Tadashi Kubota, Managing Director of Toda Kogyo Group, during the project’s groundbreaking on April 20. The new $70 million, 60,000 square-foot facility is being built on an 18-acre brownfield redevelopment site in the city’s Fort Custer Industrial Park. Hazama Corp. is acting as construction manager of the project. “We’re doing well,” said Hazama Senior Project Manager Norio Miyakawa. “We have a very skillful group of tradespeople and subcontractors and we’re very happy to have them on our site.” There are about 52 Hardhats currently on the project, which will double at peak employment. The fast-track construction project is expected to be complete in November, with Phase 1 manufacturing slated to begin some time next year. The building will have “unique and complicated” systems and fixtures, Miyakawa said, among them a complex ventilation system that’s expected to create a highly clean environment to remove any potential airborne contaminants in the manufacturing process. He said the building’s design will be based on that of the company’s “mother plant” in Japan. Information released by Toda America said the project’s Phase 2 expansion is expected to be completed in 2013, reaching its full manufacturing capacity of 4,000 tons of finished product per year. The total sales volume based on the full capacity operation at the facility will be around $130 million. Mlive reported the Toda plant will provide materials to LG Chem in Holland that are to be installed in General Motors Co.’s new Chevrolet Volt hybrid vehicle. President Obama visited the LG Chem plant on July 15 to celebrate its groundbreaking. Toda is among the 16 advanced automotive battery and battery technology companies that have committed to projects in Michigan and will create an estimated 62,000 new jobs by 2020, according to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The Toda project is expected to add 50-60 direct new high-tech manufacturing jobs, and up to a total 148 new jobs including 91 indirect jobs according to the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
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Changing of the guard…Gleason retires as MBCTC president… LANSING – Patrick “Shorty” Gleason started his retirement from the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council on Aug. 1, ending a long career of working with the tools as an iron worker, working with union members and then working with state and local lawmakers. The council’s President since 2005, Gleason’s main focus in the last five years has been as an advocate on behalf of the state’s unionized construction workforce in front of Michigan’s lawmakers. A past President/Business Agent of Iron Workers Local 25, Gleason will continue serving his terms as a Genesee County Commissioner and on the Mackinac Bridge Authority. “I’ve been active in politics for most of my life, and working as President of the Michigan Building Trades has allowed me to have a lot of contact with state lawmakers, advocating for the men and women in the construction industry,” Gleason said. “It’s been a very gratifying experience.” Gleason, 55, started his career as an iron worker in 1972, and worked in the field until he became President/BA of Local 25 in 1994. “There’s no way you could replace the time I spent as an iron worker,” he said. “I had a tremendous amount of fun and enjoyed the camaraderie. I was able to work with some wonderful people and some great contractors. In the working environment that the building trades are in, you learn to trust and depend on each other.” Michigan has had more downs than ups in recent years in the construction industry. While the Kennecott Mine work near Marquette is getting started, several big-ticket projects have been stalled, including new power plants near Bay City and Rogers City and the Detroit River International Crossing. “The inability to get these jobs off the ground has been a major disappointment,” Gleason said. “The environmental lobby in this state is just having a devastating effect on building trades jobs.” Married to Rise and the father of three, Gleason is an avid outdoorsman who said he looks forward to spending more time behind a fishing rod and rifle. But he still plans on maintaining a fairly active role in politics and helping out the building trades where he can. His replacement as council President is Zane Walker, also an iron worker. “The building trades are going to be in good shape with Zane, he’s got a lot of energy and he already has a lot of experience dealing with politicians,” Gleason said. “And I know he’s get help from (Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer) Pat Devlin, who’s on top of the heap among labor leaders and who has been a real pleasure to work with. I’ll miss the people in the industry, but it’s been a great run. I’ve been able to see every aspect of the construction industry, and it’s been a great experience.” Devlin said Gleason “has built up a tremendous amount of respect from lawmakers, owners, contractors and all the building trades workers he has worked with. We’re going to miss his knowledge and sense of humor, and everyone who knows him knows that there has been no greater advocate for workers on the job than Shorty. “At the same time Zane Walker brings a lot of experience and enthusiasm to the job, and I’m sure he’s going to step in and do a great job for the building trades.” …Walker steps in as new political liaison in Lansing “People have told me that I’m going to hate all the politics, but to me, that’s probably what I’m going to enjoy the most about this job.” That’s Zane Walker’s outlook on his new position of President of the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council. Walker took over the job – which primarily involves advocating politically for the building trades in Lansing – from Patrick “Shorty” Gleason, who retired effective Aug. 1. Walker, 44, was appointed by the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council to serve out the remaining three years of Gleason’s four-year term A Flint-area business agent for Iron Workers Local 25 and their political director for the last five years, Walker said “I’m looking forward to working in Lansing on behalf of all the trades. I’ve been working on iron workers issues, now I’ll be working on everybody’s issues, looking out for everybody in Lansing.” He said a top priority currently is getting legislative approval that would allow construction of the Detroit River International Crossing, and down the road, turning around the state’s negative attitude on construction of clean-coal plants. “I’ve built my own relationships with lawmakers over the years, and now one of my challenges is to expand those contacts to work for all the trades,” Walker said. “Shorty has been great during the transition in bringing me to meetings and introducing me to people I’m going to need to know. The labor movement is going to miss Shorty, he’s been a great labor leader, and I have some big shoes to fill.” |
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Proposed financial rules ‘potentially devastating’ to union trades employers The subject of accounting rules for all businesses that contribute to defined benefit pension plans would draw a yawn from most everyone, but a new set of proposed guidelines for them would be “onerous and potentially devastating” according to a notice being circulated among union accountants and lawyers. An industry group called the Fair Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is proposing new rules for employers to report “qualitative and quantitative multi-employer plan exposure.” Translated, that could require building trades employers to include 16 separate disclosures on their financial reports about each plan their company participates in. One of the major problems here for building trades employers, said John Tesija, an attorney for a dozen Michigan-based pension plans, is that they would turn a contingent potential liability into something that appears to be more ominous, not to mention the additional paperwork and bookkeeping obligations. In essence, employers that contribute to multi-employer plans, like those in the building trades, would unfairly be held to the same rules as those that govern single employers with a single pension plan. In the construction industry, pension plans can’t currently assess withdrawal liability against an employer that stops contributing if, for example, that employer simply goes out of business. Instead, only employers which go nonunion, within a five-year window, can be assessed with withdrawal liabilities. The new FASB rules would turn this potential liability into an obligation that is reportable on the employer’s financials, making them look worse than they do now. “This rule would have a tremendously negative impact on building trades contractors, and turn balance sheets into a disaster,” said Tesija. Securing bank financing, or even bonding, would be that much harder, as if it wasn’t hard enough already.” The FASB is not a government agency, it is an industry group that governs how auditors perform audits. This process began at the March 17, 2010 Fair Accounting Standards Board Board meeting, when the FASB chairman announced the addition of a new “project” aimed at “expanding disclosures about an employer’s participation in a multi-employer plan” (which includes pension and other post-retirement benefits). The project, the FASB said, was added in response to “concerns” raised by several constituents about the current lack of information in multi-employer financial statements, beyond the contributions made, about an employer’s participation in a multi-employer plan. Additionally, the FASB said, several users have published reports highlighting these concerns, including the potential for increases in contributions as a result of plans being under-funded. The funded status of many of these plans deteriorated significantly during the financial crisis of 2008 when plan asset values dropped significantly. “It is envisioned that expanded disclosures would enable users of financial statements to better assess the risks a reporting entity faces by participating in a multi-employer plan,” the FASB said. The Associated General Contractors Tax Committee is monitoring developments at the FASB, as are a number of accountants in the building trades. They have a number of other concerns about the new bookkeeping proposals, including: *Adding information to financial statements – likely to be overwhelmingly negative, given the current financial status of the funds and the economy – will make it even more difficult for employers to obtain credit and bonding. *The financial information is seen as “mostly speculative,” said the notice that’s being circulated to the unionized employers, and “predicting the size of a liability and the probability of it occurring in this context is less than objective.” *The organized construction industry is a completely different animal compared to single-employer pension plans (like GM’s or Ford’s). Multi-employer pension plans spread risk among multiple employers, so that if one employer goes bankrupt, the entire pension plan structure stays afloat through contributions from other employers. That set-up virtually eliminates liability for individual employers, unless the whole plan goes under or if the employer goes nonunion. As a result, the added bookkeeping rules would place an unfair burden on those individual employers. *There’s a likewise large burden placed on plans to supply required information to all participating contractors. *The law of unintended consequences comes into play– how will the organized building trades be affected by new financial transparency rules that haven’t been deemed necessary all these years? “I heard from the owner of a mill shop today who said that if he had to put this information on his balance sheet, his company would be done, he’d have to close his doors,” Tesija said. The company would lose its line of credit and any hope of being bonded. “That’s why it’s important for people in the trades to let FASB know that these proposed regulations could have a devastating effect on their employers, and that FASB should stop this process.” Following is contact information for the Financial Accounting Standards Board Or, to e-mail members of the FASB Board: Robert Herz rhherz@fasb.org Thomas Linsmeier tjlinsmeier@fasb.org Leslie Seidman lfseidman@fasb.org Marc Siegel masiegel@fasb.org Lawrence Smith lwsmith@fasb.org
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Labor must become ‘all in,’ not spectators, in this industry By Mark Breslin For my entire career I have worked for the advancement of union construction. To do so has required a great degree of personal optimism in the face of cynicism, inertia, conflict and declining numbers. Now even being the eternal optimist, I am worried about the future of the union business model and labor and management’s ability to safely navigate to a better future. But I have the solution; at once simple and painful. Tell the truth. Be brave. Implement change. The truth is that the future for union construction is going to be very rough. Everywhere in the U.S. and Canada labor and management are facing the same critical challenges: market share declines, escalating benefit costs, increased nonunion competition and a sputtering economy. This has manifested itself in difficult bargaining, loss of trust, jurisdictional strife and general fear and anxiety about an uncertain future. At times like this fear causes some leaders to “ball up” instead of reaching forward boldly. We must avoid this at all costs. The challenges of the economic environment we are in are unprecedented; but meeting the challenges that labor and management face now are foundational to their common future. Contractors must remain competitive. Unions must fulfill their role as employee advocates to create security. Both of these must be done in a way that balances economics and market share. This requires change. But to set up change you have to get everyone on board. The most important thing that needs to be done to promote necessary change is for labor and management is to first tell the truth. Tell the truth to every union worker in the US and Canada. A million to two million union craftspeople must understand that the truth is as follows;
Labor and management need to educate our workers like never before. The union members need to fully understand the real truth about the challenges ahead and act in support of whatever change is needed. No more telling them what they want to hear. No more blaming the other guy. No more treating them like mushrooms (keep them in the dark and feed them bull---t). This is most critical in apprenticeship. They need to start their careers knowing that the industry and our future areon the line. To empower them to meet the competitive challenges they need to be “all in.” To accept necessary changes as suggested by their leadership if and when necessary, they need to understand why. To step up professionally and productivity wise so that contractors can try to fill the labor cost gap they need to understand costs vs. time vs. our competition. Every apprentice program needs to add this content in. No offense to traditionalists, but “union heritage and history” as coursework pales in comparison with “your role and responsibilities in our future.” All these must lead to apprentices’ and journeymen’s unqualified support of their leaders, vocally and politically, so that those unable or unwilling to change do not dominate the agendas of their organizations. Our ultimate goal is for them to become engaged and energized as owners rather than spectators of both our problems and solutions. The polarization of labor and management sank the union airline, steel, auto and several other major industries. The union construction industry has moved towards change faster than those industries – but is time getting short? The broader view must be solution-based, not conflict based. Combining truth-telling with sound change strategies is the way of the future. It is hard to keep one’s chin up when it keeps getting punched, but it is the few of us who remain committed to education and change and optimistic about the result, who will keep our collective future from the edge of darkness. This is today’s training, growth and leadership challenge and test. And that’s the damn truth. Mark Breslin is a strategist and author specializing in labor-management challenges. He is the author of Survival of the Fittest, Organize or Die and Alpha Dog. He has addressed more than 50,000 labor and business leaders each year in North America. More on his work and profile is available at www.breslin.biz.
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Iron Workers the latest to enjoy Washtenaw Co.’s facilities, hospitality By Marty Mulcahy Managing Editor YPSILANTI – The Iron Workers Training Department and 650 union instructors from around North America descended upon Washtenaw Community College July 19-23, learning the latest lessons in the trade while making Washtenaw County the destination for yet another union train the trainers program. “We had a great week,” said Ed Abbott, an Iron Workers Local 25 member and Michigan native who works as general organizer for the International Union’s Training Fund. “There are always a few hiccups, but the people here have custom-designed their facilities for vocational education. The entire community came together to make us feel welcome. Everything from the welding areas, to the classrooms, to the lunch service, to the hotel rooms, to the restaurant staff, everything has come together to make us feel comfortable. We’re very happy with the hospitality that Washtenaw County extended to us.” The Iron Workers had been holding train-the-trainer exercises at the University of San Diego for the last 23 years, but outgrew those facilities. Walter Wise, general secretary-treasurer of the International Union of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers, told AnnArbor.com that making the move to Washtenaw County was a “no-brainer” given the quality of facilities at WCC. No doubt the Iron Workers also talked to representatives from the United Association of Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Sprinkler Fitters, who have brought some 2,000 instructors to WCC for training in August for more than two decades. And last summer, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and National Electrical Contractors association sent 2,000 electricians to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor during its National Training Institute program, and that will also be an annual event. Managing some of the hands-on training for the Iron Workers during the week in Washtenaw was Dick Zampa, an instructor out of Local 378 in Northern California. “All the way around, it’s been a success,” he said. “It’s a great location for the instructors, and the vendors are happy, too. They’ve bent over backward for us.” Attendance was down about 10 percent this year compared to last year, but Abbott said the poor economy is likely to blame. When the move from San Diego was announced earlier this year, the Iron Workers anticipated that long-term, the move would increase attendance because of Michigan’s more central location. Erich Smith, an Iron Workers Local 86 (Seattle) member taught architectural and ornamental iron work six hours a day during the training week. “It’s a great facility,” he said of Washtenaw Community College. “They have everything set up to work very efficiently; things went really well.” Business Manager Jim Hamric of host Local 25 said the train-the-trainer program is committed to Washtenaw Community College for next year, and a longer-term agreement is expected in the next few weeks. “Everyone I talked to couldn’t believe how well they were treated,” he said. “It was a very good week.” Mary Kerr, president of the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the combined economic impact of the three union training groups on the community is about $12 million. “As the labor unions strive to provide their members with education and networking, the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area and its educational facilities provide an excellent choice for their annual programs,” Kerr said. “The entire community welcomes the training participants to the Ann Arbor area and looks forward to establishing a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship for years to come. These events are a testament to the great strengths of the Ann Arbor area: high-quality facilities, excellent partnerships within the community, and world-class hospitality.”
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NEWS BRIEFS OSHA OKs new crane safety rules The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which moves at glacier-like speed when it comes to improving safety regulations, updated its crane safety regulations on July 28. The existing crane regulations were last updated in 1971, which is an old age similar to that of a number of existing safety-related rules aimed at construction. “The significant number of fatalities associated with the use of cranes in construction led the Labor Department to undertake this rulemaking,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “After years of extensive research, consultation and negotiation with industry experts, this long overdue rule will address the leading causes of fatalities related to cranes and derricks, including electrocution, boom collapse and overturning.” OSHA said stakeholders from the construction industry recognized the need to update the safety requirements, methods and practices for cranes and derricks, and to incorporate technological advances in order to provide improved protection for those who work on and around cranes and derricks. The new rule is designed to prevent the leading causes of fatalities involving the use of cranes and derricks, including electrocution, crushed-by/struck-by hazards during assembly/disassembly, collapse and overturn. It also sets requirements for ground conditions and crane operator assessment. In addition, the rule addresses tower crane hazards, addresses the use of synthetic slings for assembly/disassembly work, and clarifies the scope of the regulation by providing both a functional description and a list of examples for the equipment that is covered. A 23-member panel of people in the industry experienced in cranes helped write the standards, in a process that began in 2003. Approximately 267,000 construction, crane rental and crane certification establishments employing about 4.8 million workers will be affected by the rule, which becomes effective Nov. 8 The Engineering News Record called the rule “one of the most important federal construction safety actions in years.” OSHA estimates that the regulation will prevent 22 fatalities and 175 non-fatal injuries per year. The rule will mandate the institution and standardization of certification requirements for crane operators. Operators will be required to be certified for the type of equipment they are using, and other crane-related workers, including riggers, will have to be qualified.
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