Construction Employers' Association

PRESS RELEASE

Daily Pacific Builder

“UNIONS 2002” EDITION

CEA Salutes its Union “Partners”

By Jim Losch, President, Construction Employers’ Association; President, Hallmark Construction, Inc.

August 26, 2002

Jim Losch, CEA President

It’s been an honor serving as CEA’s President this year. Representing “Who’s Who” in the unionized building construction industry in Northern California, the Construction Employers’ Association (CEA) is committed to protecting the interests of unionized builders. Our primary objectives are to provide our member firms with effective collective bargaining and labor relations representation, management-labor “partnering” opportunities and legislative and governmental advocacy services at the state level.

Collective Bargaining Representation

CEA negotiates the collective bargaining agreements affecting the building contractor performing work in Northern California, including the Carpenters Master Agreement and the Laborers Master Builders Agreement. In addition, CEA negotiates the Cement Masons and Operating Engineers Agreements on behalf of its members signatory to these Agreements. CEA’s collective bargaining success is due to the active participation of the principals of our member firms, guided by an experienced staff led by CEA Secretary Michael Walton. Enhancing members’ competitiveness while maintaining industry stability remain CEA’s primary goals in collective bargaining.

Last year on the collective bargaining front, CEA took the lead in successfully bargaining with the Northern California District Council of Laborers an early extension of the 1999-2002 CEA-Laborers Master Builders Agreement through June 30, 2006.

Labor Relations Representation

Along with collective bargaining representation, CEA continues to devote its utmost attention to providing quality labor relations representation for its member firms. Adhering to a preventative approach, CEA’s experienced staff assists members in mitigating labor disputes and associated liabilities by providing professional advice and quality representation at grievance/arbitration proceedings. Rick Walton and other CEA labor relations staff members assist members in settling most labor issues without the need to go to formal arbitration. In addition, CEA provides its members with up-to-date labor related information, including wage and fringe benefit rate changes and other pertinent union issues.

Management-Labor Cooperation

As the association representing the unionized building construction industry in Northern California, CEA focuses on activities and issues that enhance cooperation with the key crafts employed by our members along with leaders of other building trades unions, while representing our members’ interests. Besides working closely with the State Building Trades Council on key legislative and regulatory issues affecting the unionized sector of our industry, many CEA members have developed cooperative working relationships with business representatives representing the local building trades councils where they perform work.

CEA and its members salute Robert Alvarado, Executive Officer of the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council and Jose Moreno, Business Manager of the Northern California District Council of Laborers who were each elected to their respective union leadership positions last August. In addition, our association and its contractors appreciate the working relationships we have developed with the following Bay Area Building Trades Council executives and look forward to continuing to work together on issues of mutual concern: Stan Warren, San Francisco; Neil Struthers, Santa Clara and San Benito Counties; Bill Nack, San Mateo County; Barry Luboviski, Alameda County; Greg Feere, Contra Costa County; and Lou Franchimon, Napa-Solano Counties.

2003 CEA Officers

CEA’s 2002 Officers Stand with Carpenter Leaders at the Association’s Annual Meeting - Standing from left to right are: Daniel Curtin, Director, California Conference of Carpenters; CEA Secretary Michael Walton; Past President/Treasurer Donald Clark, Operations Manager of Clark Pacific; Robert Alvarado, Executive Officer of the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council; President James Losch, President of Hallmark Construction, Inc.; and Vice President John Stripe, Vice President of McClone Construction Company.

CEA and Carpenters Lead Industry Efforts to End Crippling Eldredge Court Order

For over five years our industry was stymied by the U.S. District Court Order in the Eldredge case that required the Carpenters Training Committee to indenture 20% female applicants off a sequential applicants’ list. As employers, we experienced inordinate delays in getting qualified carpenter apprentices dispatched to our jobs. The lifeblood of our industry, the Carpenters’ Apprenticeship Program, was dying on the vine.

Last Fall, CEA in partnership with the Carpenters union took a leadership role in implementing a highly effective and innovate industry-wide apprentice recruitment and hiring program that succeeded in achieving the female carpenter apprentice hiring goals imposed by the U.S. District Court Order in the Eldredge case. Through the tremendous efforts of the Union and its numerous signatory employers, the United States District Court released the Carpenters Training Committee of Northern California from the crippling Court Order in March, 2002. Special thanks are in order to Robert Alvarado for his leadership and commitment in spearheading this industry-wide apprentice recruitment and hiring program.

We are now working collaboratively with the Carpenters Union to focus our efforts on a means by which we can best recruit talented men and women into our industry.

Labor-Management Conferences

In June, CEA held its 15th annual “State-of-the-State” labor-management conference with the Carpenters Union leadership. We also held our annual labor-management conference with the Santa Clara and San Mateo Building Trades Councils in March of this year. The CEA annual conference with the leaders of the San Francisco Building Trades Council is scheduled for mid-October. We have found these conferences to be beneficial in building relationships and improving understanding between building industry executives and union leaders. In addition, they provide a forum to constructively communicate and explore solutions about issues of mutual concern affecting the unionized building industry.

Beyond labor relations and collective bargaining, CEA offers its members a wide range of services and benefits.

Building Industry Legislative Program

Recognizing the importance of effective legislative representation and, in particular, the detrimental impact onerous legislation can have on our businesses, CEA initiated its Building Industry Legislative Program in 1996 to advance and protect the interests of the unionized building construction industry. CEA’s Legislative Program has been very successful by assuming a leadership role with labor and other industry groups in representing the unionized building construction industry. Since it was first established, CEA has successfully sponsored five bills for the betterment of the California unionized building industry. A summary of CEA’s legislative activities is included in this publication in a separate article by CEA’s Legislative Program Chairman Terry Street, president of Roebbelen Contracting, Inc.

Led by Mr. Street and Dana McManus, president of S.J. Amoroso Construction Company, Inc. with professional assistance from CEA’s legislative advocates Jerry Zanelli and Scott Govenar of Governmental Advocates and CEA staff member Ginny Smith, CEA’s Legislative Committee works hard to analyze, monitor and lobby the vast number of bills that are introduced each year that could have serious implications for our member firms and the California unionized building industry.

A very tangible success CEA achieved this past year was getting our #1 legislative priority, AB 1534, our “Owner Security” bill, passed through the legislature and signed into law. The provisions of the bill took effect January 1, 2002, requiring that owners of private construction projects with a contract value of over $5 million or over $1 million in some cases must provide financial security for the project by one of several methods. Under the new law, the financial risks of general contractors are significantly reduced on larger private projects. AB 1534 had widespread support from the construction industry, including organized labor and the major union subcontracting associations who also benefit from the new laws. We thank all of you who supported the passage of this important industry bill.

To encourage compliance with this new law, CEA has promulgated a “toolbox” of form documents for each of the three types of owner security. We have posted electronic versions of these documents on our website (www.cea?ca.org) for informational purposes only. They are available to any interested party.

Public Works/Prevailing Wage Assistance

CEA’s Public Works/Prevailing Wage Program continues to be a valuable resource to members performing public works. Mike Kurey and other professional staff members provide assistance and education to members with respect to compliance issues and the technical aspects of labor and prevailing wage laws. Members are advised of the prime contractors’ and subcontractors’ prevailing wage and payroll reporting responsibilities on public works projects along with the current enforcement policies of governmental agencies. CEA has developed procedures that emphasize a preventative approach to monitoring the payment of wages to all workers and strive to minimize the potential for penalties or liquidated damages. In addition, research, advice, and investigative services are available to members who encounter prevailing wage complaints on their projects. This past year, every CEA member involved with public works contracts was offered an opportunity to implement CEA’s Preventative Maintenance Prevailing Wage Compliance Program.

In addition, CEA, the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council and the Northern California District Council of Laborers participate in the Building Industry Stabilization Program (BISP). This Program monitors prevailing wage compliance on public works building projects in Northern California.

Building Industry Safety Forums are Popular

Now in its fifth year, the CEA Building Industry Safety Forum Program chaired by Gary Kalian of Lathrop Construction Associates, Inc. with support from CEA staff member Frank Redle continues to provide an excellent training and networking resource for safety officers, executives and key jobsite personnel. Our safety forums have been popular and well-attended. Recent safety forums have featured guest speakers such as Bob Downey of RED Consulting, who spoke on “Proposition 65 and Hazard Communication” and Dr. John Taylor of UC Berkeley and Alan Larson of Safety Management Consultation Services, who educated members about “Mold and its Relation to Buildings and People.” Past seminars have covered such subjects as: "Subcontractor Compliance with Cal-OSHA Requirements;" "Train the Trainer - How to Conduct an Effective Jobsite Safety Meeting;" "New OSHA Regulations and Policies Re: Multi-Employer Jobsites;" "Cal-OSHA's Overall Approach on Compliance and Penalties, Multi-Employer Jobsites, Competent Person Requirements, and Voluntary Protection Programs;" “Crane Safety;” “Crisis Management;” “The Implications of AB 1127 and the General Contractor’s Role and Responsibilities in the Multi-Employer Jobsite Environment;” and “Key Elements and Provisions of the New OSHA Subpart R – Steel Erection Standard.”

Annual Confidential Building Industry Salary Survey

For the past five consecutive years, CEA has conducted a CEA Northern California Building Industry Salary Survey. The survey collects confidential salary and benefit data for members’ non-bargaining unit employees, including top executives, superintendents, estimators, project managers and administrative staff. The survey results are confidentially released to participating member firms in the first quarter of each year and have been a useful tool in salary administration in order to retain or attract talented management and administrative personnel.

Networking Opportunities with Building Industry Leaders

CEA's Annual General Membership Dinner in January, its quarterly safety forums, educational seminars, labor-management partnering sessions, and other Association events provide CEA members with an excellent opportunity to meet fellow industry executives.

Construction Management University Grant Program

CEA is committed to supporting and promoting quality construction management education programs and to developing long-term relationships with prominent university construction management programs and their graduates. For several years, our Construction Management University Grant Program has awarded annual grants to the following universities: UC Berkeley; California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; CSU Chico; CSU Sacramento; and Stanford University. CEA staff member John Zervas administers this Program.

In memory of one of our association’s most committed leaders and truest friends who we lost last year, CEA’s Board of Directors established the Donald L. Warmby Leadership Award. The 2001 Donald L. Warmby Leadership Award was presented to first place grant recipient, California State University Chico. The 2002 grants will be awarded to meritorious universities in the near future.

Representing the Major Players in the Industry

In recent years, CEA has grown considerably. We now include among our ranks virtually all of the major players in the Northern California unionized building industry. Collectively, our membership performs over $10 billion in construction volume annually, both in the public and private sectors, and represents approximately two and-one-half times the total number of union carpenter labor hours than are represented by any other contractor association in Northern California. Earlier this year, the Daily Pacific Builder published a ranking of the top general contractors in California by annual total gross revenue. Nine out of the top ten general contractors in this state are CEA members. The other does not belong to any association in Northern California. In addition, we continue to represent the majority of mid-sized union builders in Northern California.

A key factor to our continued growth and effectiveness as an organization has been the active involvement of the principals of our member firms.

Board Sets Policy

CEA’s board of directors sets association policy and guides its direction. The 2002 Board of Directors is comprised of the following 29 building industry executives:

CEA’s Board of Directors, members and staff salute our union “partners.”

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