In October 2010, Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing embarked on a project that would mark a time of change for the City of Dallas and its residents. Woodall Rodgers Freeway is a major highway that runs just north of Downtown Dallas directly through the city. It is a connector freeway between two other large highways. When Wodall Rodgers Freeway was constructed in 1962, highways were the most popular mode of transportation. City officials and wealthy landowners were building homes and purchasing land outside of Dallas city limits, thus making highways extremely appealing. Read more » about Klyde Warren Park: Five Acres of Waterproofing [VIDEO]
On Wednesday, May 15, 2013 the AGC Annual Safety Stand Down was held on commercial construction projects throughout the Greater Houston area. It was a day dedicated to emphasizing the importance of each construction worker returning home safely every day. I was fortunate to participate in two separate events.
With the impressive ExxonMobil construction project in the background, David Doucet, Mark Briggs (Area Directors for the North and South Occupational Safety and Health Administration offices, respectively) and I met that morning to sign a Safety Training Alliance agreement, an agreement that reinforces the need for a safety first work environment. Located on 385 acres, the giant jobsite will be completed in 2015 to become the company’s largest worldwide Read more » about AGC's Annual Safety Stand Down
Last Friday marked a momentous occasion for our country, as a group of craft professionals bolted the spire for the new World Trade Center into place 1,776 feet above the ground in New York City. This incredibly emotional moment meant a great deal to many Americans, and provided an opportunity to remember those who were lost in the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Last Friday morning, the final pieces of the spire atop New York City’s One World Trade Center were bolted in place. This made it the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere and the third tallest in the world. The building was built over the course of seven years and replaces the original tower destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001.
At 1,776 feet tall with the addition of the last pieces of the spire, the tower pays tribute to the year the United States declared its freedom.
Last month a panel of civic leaders, employers, attorneys and workers participated in a forum discussion titled “Wage Theft – Its Impact on the Local Economy and in the Community”. The free event, hosted by Rice University’s Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality and by the Fey y Justica Worker’s Center (formerly the Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center), was held on the 3rd floor of the Fondren Library at Rice University. The diverse panel offered different perspectives on how wage theft impacts the local Houston economy, responsible businesses, social programs, and the community as well as what can be done to eliminate this unethical practice.
Simply put, wage theft is a practice in which employers cheat workers out of wages and benefits owed. According to Houston’s Down With Wage Theft Campaign:
“Wage theft depresses family income and as a consequence limits spending, lowers business sales, leaves taxes unpaid, public services undermined and economic growth diminished..." Read more » about Wage Theft Forum at Rice University
Seven Regional Qualifying Rodeos Scheduled for 2013
Crane Institute Certification (CIC) announced last month that it has renewed its partnership for the third year in a row with Maximum Capacity Media (MCM) to offer the industry the MCM-CIC Crane Operator Rodeo. The event provides operators in North America an opportunity to showcase their skills, and is intended to increase awareness of the 2014 OSHA requirements for crane operators to be certified by type and capacity. Debbie Dickinson, Executive Director of CIC, offered the following comments:
“This is the only crane operator recognition program of this scale in North America. Working with Regional Qualifier Hosts in cities from coast to coast, we are able to introduce young people to crane operation as a profession, and educate local governments and businesses about the role training, experience, and certification plays in safe crane operation.”Read more » about Crane Operator Rodeo Competition 2013-2014
A recent blog in the New York Times is only one indicator that the last five years have been totally devastating on the skilled workforce in this country. The unwritten, but widely known, 20% plus unemployment in the construction sector is only the preface to what is to come.
Many construction companies were not able to retain their skilled workers when the recession hit and construction stopped on a dime. Many of those workers moved from the east coast to more active markets in order to survive. A number of them took oil field jobs from Montana down to Texas where they could make a living for themselves and their families.
Now that both the residential and commercial construction sectors are recovering, many firms are finding that their skilled workers have disappeared. The article in the New York Times also points out that even though construction has begun to recover, salaries are stuck at recession levels, further contributing to recruiting and hiring difficulties in their markets. Read more » about Here Comes the Skilled Construction Worker Shortage
Florida legislators have made a bold move in the battle against payroll fraud with the passing of Florida House Bill 217 titled “Money Services Businesses”. Aimed directly at the bandits who run check cashing stores to enable dishonest contractors to avoid paying workers’ compensation and payroll taxes, the bill is now on its way to Governor Rick Scott for his signature into law. The details of the bill were explained in a press release from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR).
“The new legislation will require check cashers to log any checks cashed in excess of $1,000. In addition to the check amount, each business will be required to submit traceable information such as payor, payee, fee charged, type of identification presented and payee’s workers’ compensation insurance policy number, if the check was made out to a business. The bill also provides that multiple checks accepted from any one person in one day, which total $1,000 or more, must be aggregated and reported in the database.”
Readers of Construction Citizen have already been informed about how these check cashing store / workers’ comp fraud schemes work, but here it is again. A dishonest contractor will submit a bid for a job using a company name which lists only a few employees – just enough to obtain a small workers’ compensation policy. The contractor will then take checks paid to that company by the general contractor to a check cashing store to cash them so that most of the workers can be paid in cash. Read more » about Check Cashing Payroll Fraud Scheme Thwarted in Florida
In an emotional and technically challenging effort, the American-flag-draped spire that will sit atop New York’s One World Trade Center was lifted up the side of the building. One World Trade Center was built near the site of the original World Trade Center buildings that were destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001.
The spire, an antenna tower for the area, helps make the building the tallest in the United States at 1,776 feet. Hardened steelworkers in brown hard hats waited on the 104th floor for the crane operator to lift the spire so that it could be fitted onto its collar on top of the building. On the ground, construction workers, New Yorkers and the press watched the spire move slowly up the side of the building. The spire was built in Montreal and shipped 1,500-miles by barge. Read more » about One World Trade Center Spire Travels to the Top [Video]
In October 2010, 
Last Friday marked a momentous occasion for our country, as a group of craft professionals bolted the spire for the new World Trade Center into place 1,776 feet above the ground in New York City. This incredibly emotional moment meant a great deal to many Americans, and provided an opportunity to remember those who were lost in the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Last Friday morning
Construction in Texas may be "cheap," but that's only if you consider the final price of the project. In most cases, the true costs are borne by workers, taxpayers, and society at large. Case in point: 
Last month a panel of civic leaders, employers, attorneys and workers participated in a forum discussion titled “Wage Theft – Its Impact on the Local Economy and in the Community”. The free event, hosted by 
A recent blog in the New York Times
Florida legislators have made a bold move in the battle against payroll fraud with the passing of 
