“Rt. 53 is dead … or is it?” This was the headline in a May 26 Daily Herald story on my favorite issue. Right after I took the LCCA job, I scheduled a visit with Bob Grever who was Chairman of the County Board at the time. Being new to the area, the only issue I felt comfortable talking about was Rt. 53 so I just asked for his opinion. He looked at me for a moment then reached into a desk drawer and retrieved an old newspaper passing it to me to read. The headline was about plans for the extension of Rt. 53. That 1965 newspaper said it all.

So what is the problem - a lack of money? Not really - if it is built as a toll road. According to the article, the Toll Highway Authority is looking at reviving the plan and some say it just needs more clout. IDOT already owns over 900 acres along the right-of-way and with I-355 done and the tolls up, the Toll Authority should be looking north for the next big congestion center.

So where do we find the clout needed to put the project on the drawing board? In my opinion, we just need the right people in Springfield! (Please note the following is my opinion so feel free to disagree.) It is well documented that Long Grove, Hawthorn Woods and even Mundelein have been opposed to the extension to one degree or another. A champion for these communities for 25 years has been Bill Peterson, first as a State Representative and later as their State Senator. Sen. Peterson has been a great leader in many areas. But when the discussion came to Rt. 53, he just could not find the will to support it. And without support from the Senator whose district the road would be build in, nobody else would step up.

After 25 years in Springfield, Sen. Peterson is stepping down. The next State Senator may very well be the one who opens up western Lake County or keeps the door closed at Lake-Cook Road. The LCCA Political Action Committee has looked at all the candidates and chose to support Bill Gentes for the 26^th District seat. One of the major reasons is we know he supports building Rt. 53. As Mayor of Round Lake, he understands the economic impact Rt. 53 would bring to the area and the impact on every commuter west of I-94.

We have a real chance to make a difference, but it will not happen by electing another Lake-Cook Corridor Senator. Find out what you can do to help by calling me at the LCCA Office. It is time to get the BUILD 53 trailer on the road. But first let’s get some clout!

Erosion Control Consulting, Inc.
28501 Wilmot Rd., Suite 22
Trevor, WI 53179
Phone: (815) 970-4089
Fax: (262) 997-2073
    www.mojoriser.com
ASSOCIATE
Perry Danler, President
    Erosion/sediment control consultant.

G23 Development, LLC
64 W. Seegers Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Phone: (847) 640-9300
Fax: (847) 640-9398
    www.g23dev.com
CONTRACTOR 
Tom Emma, VP Finance
    Real estate development, construction management.

LCCA will once again join with the Association of Subcontractors and Affiliates (ASA) for their 2009 convention in Costa Rica on January 10-15. The destination selected for the trip is the Grand Papagayo Resort. Located on Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast, the area is home to breathtaking natural beauty, lush tropical forests and volcanic cliffs that descend to sand beaches. This four-star resort is all-inclusive and just 35 minutes from the airport.

A package price has not been determined yet and will be announced next month. Stay tuned. Mark your calendar for a great escape from the Chicago winter next January!

August 7
LCCA Annual Golf Outing
Midlane Golf Resort, Wadwsorth, IL

September 25
Membership Meeting
TBD

November 7
Annual Awards Banquet
The Ivanhoe Club
Ivanhoe, IL

Carpenters Increase Confusion – Recently, many contractors received a notice from the Carpenters regarding the distribution of the $3.40 per hour their package increased. The actual increase to the contractor is $3.42 since, in addition to the $3.40 increase to wages and benefits, there was a $.02 increase in our Industry Advancement Fund (MIAF) to $.06 per hour. While this was included in the settlement sheet sent to contractors, the Carpenters did not include it in their communication.

Much of the Industry Fund goes to negotiate and administer the MARBA contracts and the remainder is used to help keep your dues down.

Negotiations End Without A Strike – Nine trades successfully concluded negotiations this year and while a couple went all the way to Sunday, June 1, all of them were settled without a strike. Next month we will post the final numbers for all the trades.

Looking ahead to next year, several contracts will be up for renegotiations. MARBA will be working on Teamsters, Bricklayers, Auto Mechanics and Technical Engineers. In the next few months, MARBA will be putting together Craft Committees for these contracts to analyze the agreements and recommend changes for the negotiators. They also work on strategy and other negotiating issues. If you might be interested in serving on one of these committees, please contact Gary at the LCCA Office.

Here are the contracts we know will be up for renegotiation:

Automobile Mechanics, Local 701 - MARBA
Bricklayers, District I - Northern Illinois Mason Contr. Assoc./MARBA
Electricians, Local 117, 150, 461, 701 - NECA
Electricians, Local 134 (Chicago) - NECA
Glaziers Local 27
Heat & Frost Insulators, Local 17
Ironworkers - Local 1 - Assoc. Steel Erectors of Chicago
Ironworkers - Local 63 - Iron League of Chicago
Plumbers/Pipefitters Local 501 (DuPage, Kane, Kendall, DeKalb) - PAMCAMI
Teamsters, Joint Council 25 (Including Local 301) - MARBA

LCCA Labor Updates – This year, we have emailed and/or faxed 13 updates so far to keep contractor members abreast of negotiations and distributions of negotiated wage/fringe packages. These are sent to the “Company Representative” in our database. Unfortunately, it seems that in many cases, the information does not get to the right person. We have created a new list that you may add your payroll and HR employees to receive these updates. It may be too late for this year (there are a few more to come), but at least we will be ready next year. To add someone to this list just send an email to lisa@lcca-il.org with the name and email address for the person and mention “Labor Extra” in the subject line.

A special thanks to Carol Lord and MARBA for tracking the negotiations and providing us with the changes and settlements as they occurred. Without their help, we would not be able to provide you with updates.

Average Hourly Rate Nationally Now $44.70 – According to the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC), the average hourly rate including both wages and benefits is not $44.61 per hour. The South Central region (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) post the lowest rate with the average wages and benefits at $28.53. Topping the list is the Middle Atlantic region (District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania) with a rate of $54.09. The New England region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont followed with and average wage and benefit at $48.61.

Closer to home, the East North Central region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and West Virginia) finished in the middle with an average of $43.95. By comparison, the average wage/fringe package in Chicago last year was $54.03!

National Heavy & Highway Coalition Formed – Two years ago the Heavy and Highway Alliance was disbanded due to the defections of several unions. An attempt is now underway to reunite the seven original members: Laborers, Carpenters, Operators, Cement Masons, Bricklayers, Teamsters, and Ironworkers as the National Heavy & Highway Coalition.

The Heavy and Highway Alliance was formed in 1954 as an independent labor organization that worked with the seven basic trades to make contractors more competitive in bidding heavy and highway work. The new coalition will continue to administer about 45 collective bargaining agreements.

Currently only four of the original seven are committed to returning to the group. Talks with the other unions continues.

Merryman Excavating Charge Dismissed – Merryman Excavating filed suit some time ago against Operating Engineers, Local 150, MARBA and the IUOE 150-MARBA Joint Grievance Committee after the Joint Grievance Committee ruled against Merryman and awarded $96,364 in damages to IUOE 150. After that, charges have been going back and forth including the filing of alleged violation of the Federal Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) by Merryman against the Operators. In February, a federal judge dismissed the racketeering claim. Still, 12 of the original 13 charges are ongoing.

New Contracts On Website – There are a few updated Labor Contracts on the LCCA Website including the new Operators agreements and the Technical Engineers Agreement. In addition, we will soon have the Ironworkers Local 1 and Roofers agreements. If you have other current agreements that are not included, please get a copy to the LCCA Office and we will get them on-line.

To check out all the agreements, go to www.lcca-il.org. Click on the “Members Only” tab on the upper right side and enter the “user name” and “password.” If you do not have your password, contact the LCCA Office.

Arbitrator Rules On Electricians Impass – For the first time, IBEW Locals 117, 150, 461 and 701 all negotiated together with Northeast Illinois NECA for a new agreement. Unlike most labor agreements in Chicago, the IBEW agreement include a clause that requires all impasses be referred to the Council on Industrial Relations (CIR) in Washington for settlement. This guarantees no strikes but does leave final settlements in the hands of others. The CIR recently ruled that the union will get $1.40 per hour total package with another $1.40 if the union and management come to an agreement on portability of employees.

The CIR was created by the IBEW and NECA over 70 years ago and it puts together a panel with equal representation from Labor and Management to find a binding settlement. Management panel members are all electrical contractors and NECA staff, while the union is represented by other IBEW BA’s and International union officials. No lawyers! Both sides make written comments and then appear before the panel to provide oral comments and answer questions. After considering all comments, the panel issues a binding settlement.

The key issue for management was the ability to work their employees in other local jurisdictions. The decision requires both sides to continue to negotiate the portability issue and if an agreement is reached, the union will receive another $1.40 bringing the total increase to $2.80 per hour. If agreement is not reached at the end of 90 days, a decision may be imposed by the national NECA and IBEW.

As a side note, Lake County IBEW Local 150 will receive $.23 more that the other unions to bring them into parity with the other unions if an agreement is reached on portability.

The Legislature in Springfield has wrapped things up and left as much undone as done. As expected, no agreement could be reached on a Capital Bill and this will probably now need to wait until after the November elections before any progress can be made. In the end, it was the House Democrats who refused to go along with a proposal authored by the Governor. The stumbling block was the source of revenue and the House Speaker’s insistence on line-item appropriations that would limit the Governor’s ability to “borrow money” for projects outside the scope of the approved capital plan. It will be a long cold summer in Chicago. We can only hope that something changes before next year or it will be “war as usual” again in Springfield.

On a good note, The Structural Work Act bill (HB 2094) was never called for a vote and like all the other bills left hanging, are off the table for now.

A budget was passed but is once again a deficit budget with no new funding sources and more money for education. Once again, the Governor will need to make cuts to bring the budget into balance. If he chooses, the Governor could just refuse to make the cuts and call the General Assembly back into Special Session. Some House members, however, are said to be preparing impeachment resolutions so he may want to avoid a summer session. Anyway, a politician only has two seasons – legislative and re-election campaigns. Now we are in the re-election mode which takes precedence over mere state funding and spending issues.

Most bills opposed by ICIC did not pass. Next month we will have a complete recap. A special thanks to ICIC’s Kim Robinson who has worked very hard to keep us – and therefore you – informed as the General Assembly worked their way to adjournment. Along with lobbyists Jim McPike and Jack Dorgan, LCCA and the rest of the ICIC associations are well represented in Springfield.

I would say that all in all, it was a very disappointing session.

The top five seniors in the Building Trades program at the Lake County High School Tech Campus were recognized by LCCA during the annual Awards Program at CLC on May 22. Recognition Plaques and $250 gift certificates were presented by Heidi Diederich, LCCA Director of Member Services, to:

The awards are presented annually by LCCA to the top seniors in the class. Students are not only judged on their skill with the tools, but also their attitude and dependability – traits we look for in construction.

The 8^th Annual Career Expo, co-sponsored by CISCO and LCCA, hosted 450 8^th graders on May 6^th and 7^th at the Lake County Fair Grounds. This year students came from Lake Zurich, Waukegan, Winthrop Harbor, Ingleside, North Chicago, Antioch and Lake Villa.

Apprenticeship programs participating included: Carpenters, Laborers, Roofers, Bricklayers, Plumbers, Electricians, Sheetmetal Workers, Operating Engineers, the Chicagoland Construction Safety Council and the Lake County Tech Campus Building Trades Program.

Students had a great introduction to the construction trades and enjoyed themselves because they learned hands-on how to build tool boxes, operate a jack hammer, lay brick, bend conduit, crimping copper pipe, and much more.

Several LCCA Members were included this year in the Engineering News-Record’s list of the top 400 contractors. Congratulations to:

Lake County Partners reports the following Economic Updates in Lake County:

• Lake Zurich struck a deal with Barrington based Equity Services Group to complete a new development plan for the outdated downtown area. ESG's plan also includes a residential development of condominiums and single family homes.
• Libertyville approved construction of its first parking structure, a three-tiered configuration, at the corner of Brainerd Avenue and Lake Street.
• Round Lake has put out bids for developers to present plans for that community's downtown area. Mayor Bill Gentes prefers a mix of commercial and residential development that will utilize access to the Metra Train Station and provide a more walkable downtown destination.
• The 600 acres of farmland near Waukegan sold last month by the Pritzker Family was apparently purchased by a member of the Pritzker Family. The exact identity of the buyer was not immediately known. The 256 acre parcel that is located in Libertyville Township also drew a bid from the Lake County Forest Preserve District who was ultimately outbid for the property.