“Nothing endures but change.” A quote by Heraclitus in about 500 B.C., has meaning for LCCA over 2000 years later. The end of one era is upon us and the beginning of the next is just around the corner. For the last 13 years, Gary Dowty has helped set the direction for LCCA and that era is about to end. And as much as we want to look back at the accomplishments over that period, I am even more excited at looking forward to the new ideas and direction that our next Executive Vice President will bring.

Tim Penno was selected from over 100 applicants to be LCCA’s new Executive Vice President replacing the retiring Gary Dowty. Tim has spent 10 years with National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Chapters representing union contractors in labor relations, legislative matters and much more. The son of a masonry contractor Tim worked throughout high school and college summers as a laborer and mason tender. He learned construction from the ground up and his experience will serve him well at LCCA.

Tim has a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In his early association career he served as a lobbyist in Wisconsin and was credited with forming coalitions to get legislation of interest to his association and the industry passed in Madison. With the legislature in Springfield so important to the future of construction, it is nice to have someone with this background to guide us through the Capital Spending mess and all the other legislative goals we have.

I want to thank the EVP search committee for the commitment and leadership. The Committee was ably lead by Rick Grabowski. The committee members included Gary Edwards, Mike Ryan, Steve Thelen, Suzanne Zupec, and myself. Gary Dowty did his usual good job setting up the process and keeping it on schedule. A variety of criteria were considered in choosing a candidate. In the end, the goals of collaboration with other groups, labor relations and communication guided the selection. A special thanks to the Board of Directors for your vote of confidence. Our governing board is a truly talented and diverse group. Your continued help and guidance is one of the association’s greatest assets.

Gary will continue to work with Tim until Thanksgiving. Tim and Gary will be making the rounds to other associations, legislators and related groups plus some of our members. Please take the time to help Tim learn the nuances of our membership. In order to make this a seamless turnover I ask that the each committee chair take a very active leadership role in the transition.

Welcome aboard Tim!!

Allied North America
500 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2050
Chicago, IL 60611
    Phone: (312) 252-3900
    Fax: (312) 372-6778
    www.alliednorthamerica.com
ASSOCIATE
Rudy Drost, Account Executive
    Insurance and Bonding.
SPONSORED BY: Jim Drost, HRH

Veolia ES Zion Landfill
701 N. Green Bay Road
Zion, IL 60099
    Phone: (847) 599-5905
    Fax: (847) 746-0666
    www.veoliaes.net
ASSOCIATE
Ron Vercellotti, Sales
    Landfill for demolition waste and contaminated soil.
SPONSORED BY: Mike DeNinno, Lake County Grading

LCCA Winter Workshop Chair, Allan Pickus, is pleased to announce the selection of Guatemala as the destination for the 2009 trip. Departing February 9^th and returning February 17^th next year, the trip is guaranteed to please and was put together to minimize the cost and maximize the experience.

The trip will take you on a tour of the markets, archaeology and scenery of Guatemala. Guatemala has the distinction of having the highest and most active volcanoes in Central America, the most impressive Mayan ruins, and scenery from mountains to lakes, and cities to forests – and everything in between. Your trip starts in the heart of volcano country in the quaint city of Antigua with colonial architecture and cobblestone streets. Next you visit Chichicastengo – a highland town with Central America’s largest indigenous market. Next you venture to Lake Atitlán – a crater lake surrounded by quaint villages. Finally the trip ends in Flores with a full day trip to Tikal, one of the world’s largest subtropical forest and home to a once thriving Mayan community. Join your friends at LCCA on an unforgettable journey through Guatemala.

The cost of this 9 day, 8 night trip is just $3,450 per person double occupancy - $4,170 per person single occupancy. For more information or to register, go to www.lcca-il.org/events.

Carpenters Settle Residential Contract – The District Council of Carpenters and the Residential Construction Employers Council have reached tentative agreement on a one-year extension of their agreement effective October 1. A ratification vote will be held in the next few weeks. The agreement is recognition of the current decline in the residential building industry and only provides a $1.40 increase, half what other unions have been demanding. In addition, the agreement will permit 4-10-hour day weeks at straight time and random drug testing.

Up to $2.00 per hour will be available March 1, 2009, or August 1, 2009 if new housing starts rebound as tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Prate Wins Carpenters Arbitration – Prate Installations has been at odds with the Carpenters union for many years regarding the payment of carpenters’ piecework on shingling, insulation and siding work on residential construction work.

The prohibition against piecework apparently was not negotiated into the Residential Construction Employers (RCEC) agreement until 1998. After a 2002 strike against Prate, the company agreed to pay hourly as provided in the agreement. However, the company found many union carpenters working on piecework basis after this time for competitors. Prate’s owner, Mike Prate, notified the union many times of alleged violations but nothing happened.

Finally, Prate filed a grievance against the union alleging violation of the Most Favorite Nations Clause that requires all contractors doing the same work be offered the same conditions. The grievance was submitted for arbitration and a decision was just rendered that agrees with the contractor that the union was not enforcing the agreement and while no other “agreement” was negotiated by the union, this lack of enforcement was enough to breach the Most Favorite Nations Clause.

The arbitrator agreed that Prate can continue to pay piecework (residential work only) until such time that the union can prove that they can enforce the prohibition. And the union was directed to pay over $10 million in damages and fees.

Subcontracting Trucking? Read On – The Teamsters have started filing grievances against contractors who subcontract trucking alleging violations of the Subcontracting provisions of the area agreement when “brokers” are used to meet the demand.

There is an easy way to protect yourself from grievances on this issue. Just provide the “notice” as provided in Article 3.2(b) in the MARBA agreement. This states:

“The Employer will give written notice to the Union of any subcontract involving the performance of work covered by this Agreement within five (5) days of entering into such subcontract and shall specify the name and address of the subcontractor. Any Employer who gives such notice and requires the subcontractor to agree to comply with and observe the provisions of Section 3.1 hereof with respect to job site work and Section 3.2 hereof with respect to work performed other than at the job site shall not be liable for any delinquency by such subcontractor in the payment of any wages, fringes, benefits or contributions provided herein except as provided hereinafter.

If thereafter any subcontractor shall become delinquent in the payment or meeting of the obligations set forth above, the Union shall promptly give written notice thereof to the Employer and Subcontractor specifying the nature and amount of such delinquency. More than one such notice may be given with respect to delinquencies. If such notice is given, the Employer shall withhold the amount claimed to be delinquent out of any sums due and owing by the Employer to such Subcontractor and shall pay and satisfy there from the amount of such delinquency by such Subcontractor as follows:

If such Subcontractor does not dispute the existence or amount of such delinquency, the Employer shall forthwith pay the amount of such delinquencies to the person or fund entitled thereto. Any dispute as to the existence or amount of such delinquency shall be settled by the Union and Subcontractor as provided in Article 6 hereof and the Employer shall pay the person or Funds entitled thereto the amount of such delinquency as so determined and costs incurred.

Upon written proof by the Union that the Employer's subcontractors are not in substantial compliance with Articles 3.1 or 3.2, the Employer shall cease employment of such subcontractor on all of its projects within three (3) working days receipt of written notice. Furthermore, the Union shall indemnify and hold harmless the Employer for all costs including attorney's fees associated with defense of claims brought by such subcontractors against Employer if said subcontractor is found not to be in violation.

The Employer shall not be liable for any such delinquency occurring more than sixty (60) days prior to the receipt of such written notice from the Union.”

This is not a new provision. In fact it has been in the agreement since at least 1995. But sometimes we forget as time goes by and it is not a problem. It’s a problem now - so send the notices to Teamsters Joint Council 25!

Temporary Heating Heading To Arbitration – Several contractors have been contesting grievances filed by the Operating Engineers who claim jurisdiction over temporary propane heaters used to cure concrete. There are several systems being addressed including Dry Air and open flame systems. According to at least five area contractors who are involved, the work has traditionally been done with Laborers. The Operators would like to see an Operator manning the heaters 24 hours a day!

Grievances were filed and the Operators Joint Grievance Committee refused to hear them claiming they were jurisdictional in nature. This has not deterred the union who now is demanding arbitration of the issue.

How can you protect yourself this winter? Whenever possible use natural gas rather than propane. For some reason, this method of heating is not an issue.

Carpenters - Laborers Battle for Forms – We know of at least one case where a building contractor has been told that stripping of forms is Laborers work. Traditionally, this work has been done by Carpenters but you can expect more aggressive actions by Laborers in the future to get this work. If you are approached by the Laborers, call the LCCA Office.

Operators Send PAC Letter – Contractors signatory to the Operating Engineers Local 150 agreement were sent a letter recently requesting a fax number and e-mail address. It is OK to provide this information.

The request is a result of the IUOE PAC which is a deduction that, like dues, you cannot legally collect unless you have a signed authorization from each union member working for you. It is their obligation to provide you with these authorizations.

Since you must keep this information with an employee’s employment record, I would suggest that you ask for the authorizations by “regular mail” so you can file their paper and not waste your paper and time. That is our money saving tip of the month!!!

Chicagoland's Congestion Cost – Lake County Partners reports that in July the Metropolitan Planning Council released an eye-opening study that measured the true cost of the traffic congestion plaguing the Chicago metropolitan area. Here are some of the facts and figures:

Do you have a cell phone policy in your company? If not consider one. At issue is not just the lost productivity on the job while the employee chats with friends and family, a cell phone’s ability to take pictures is likely the greatest liability you face. Accidents, safety violations, and many other situations would be a nightmare if photographed and emailed to attorneys, the news media, etc. And without knowing the details of what, when and where the picture was taken, it will be very difficult to refute.

If you have a cell phone policy, let us know and if any of our attorney friends can offer more guidance, let Gary know at the LCCA Office. This was not an issue just 20 years ago!

Scott Yelvington New NorStates President – Fred Abdula, Chairman of the Board of LCCA member NorStates Bank, announced that Scott Yelvington has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer effective September 16^th. Mr. Yelington brings 30 years of banking experience to his new position most recently with the Metropolitan Bank Group.

Welcome aboard Scott.

LCCA Members in ENR Top 400 – Several LCCA members appear in the recent Engineering News Record’s list of the top 400 Contractors. Congratulations to:

Turner Corporation
Pepper Construction Company
Graycor
William A. Randolph
Novak Construction Co.

Tractors For Charity Oct. 4-5 – The 4^th Annual Antique Tractor, Truck and Construction Equipment Show will be held on Saturday, October 4^th and Sunday October 5^th at the Historic Petersen Farm. The farm is located on McCullom Lake Road, 1½ miles west of IL 31 in McHenry. McCullom Lake Road is just north of Rt. 120.

Saturday show hours are 9:00 am – 6:00 pm and Sunday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Admission at the gate is $3 for adults and $1 for children. All profits benefit the McHenry FISH Food Pantry.