Elizabeth McPherson's blog

This month, the market research firm Harris Interactive surveyed 2450 adult Americans and determined that Americans have a conflicted opinion about labor unions.  As explained in today’s press release, the latest Harris Poll reveals several interesting contrasting results from the survey.  Even people from households with union workers are critical of some union conduct, although they are less critical than those from nonunion households.

Survey results include:

• Most Americans (including both union and nonunion) agree that unions improve wages and working conditions of workers.
• Even among union households most people believe that unions are too involved in politics:  

  [node:read-more:link]

As Hurricane Irene approaches New York and other cities on the east coast of the US, construction sites everywhere are halting work and securing work sites in preparation for the coming wind and rain.  According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, preparations at the construction site at ground zero on the towering One World Trade Center include placing sandbags to block flooding and readying pumps for clean-up following the storm, covering electrical equipment, storing scaffolding, and securing the large cranes which are in use at the site.   [node:read-more:link]

Agents of the government of northern California’s Butte County have taken steps to deter contractors working in the swimming pool and roofing industries from cheating the workers’ compensation system and to level the playing field for those who abide by the law.  Pool permits will now have to include proof of workers’ compensation coverage for all who are to work on the projects, and the California State License Board (CSLB) will now be notified when anyone claims exemption from workers’ compensation coverage in all reroofing permits, which may result in more site visits by CSLB to see if the exemption claims are legitimate.

According to the news distribution website PR Newswire (registration required), the California Professional [node:read-more:link]

CBS News’ What’s Trending recently spotlighted Gary Russo, a construction foreman working in New York on the second avenue subway project.  Russo has attracted much attention and has generated several YouTube posts which have gone viral since he brought his karaoke machine to work and began singing Frank Sinatra songs for his fellow workers and passersby during his lunch breaks.

In the video interview by Michelle Castillo of What’s Trending, Russo offers this advice:

“Find out what you love to do, and do it.  Don’t worry about getting paid, don’t worry about is it hard or not, just do it.”

The 50-year-old claims to be a normal guy who has gone through many of the same problems as others,  [node:read-more:link]

An eye-opening article in Britain’s Construction Enquirer this week reported on the looming predicament the construction industry is facing: the aging workforce and the resulting imminent shortage of skilled craftsmen.  Editor Aaron Morby interviewed Mark Farrar, Chief Executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills about the latest statistics reported by that company.

The numbers paint an ominous picture of an impending skilled workforce shortage.  The article reports:

“The number of workers aged 55 years and over in the industry has increased by 65% since 1990, while those aged 24 and under has fallen [node:read-more:link]

According to Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, construction of the memorial at the site of the 9/11 attacks to the World Trade Center towers will be completed in time for the 10th anniversary of the tragedy this September.  The New Jersey newspaper Asbury Park Press interviewed Ward about the obstacles this important project has faced which threatened the achievement of the 10-year deadline.  In 2008, the port authority appointed Ward to take over the lead of the project, and Ward is happy to report that the team has “turned the project around”.   [node:read-more:link]

Following the June passing of Alabama’s new illegal immigration law, HB56, many Hispanics have left the state to seek work elsewhere, causing a potential shortage of construction workers needed for rebuilding areas destroyed by the April tornados, according to an article by staff writer Patrick Rupinski in The Tuscaloosa News last week.  The article tells how a worker in the Hispanic ministry at a local Catholic church called to check up on a man she had not seen lately and that he told her that he had moved to Texas, like many other Hispanics who are now leaving Alabama.  Rupinski writes:

“Some Hispanics left after the April 27 tornado rendered them homeless. But a potentially larger exodus of Hispanics began after the Alabama Legislature passed a law in June that bans hiring people who are in the country illegally.”  

WFAA News 8 TV in Dallas/Fort Worth aired an investigative report last night by David Schecter about the plight of worker misclassification in the Texas construction industry, and the lack of law enforcement by local and state entities.

Mansfield Independent School District’s $39 million Center for the Performing Arts currently under construction contracted with AB Rebar for part of the project.  Owner Macario Mireles was able to offer the lowest bid for the work because he pays his employees as independent contractors and does not pay payroll taxes, unemployment tax, or workers’ compensation insurance on behalf of them.   [node:read-more:link]

Home builder and general contractor Reynaldo Orozco has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to repay $504,047 in unpaid employment tax for filing a false tax return for his Miami business, Rock Construction Builders Inc.

According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, court documents state that from 2004 through 2007, Orozco issued corporate checks from his business to nonexistent subcontractors, then cashed those checks himself at local check cashing stores to generate large amounts of cash which he then used to pay his employees without reporting those wages on quarterly employment tax returns and without withholding taxes [node:read-more:link]

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) have issued a plea for action against the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed revision to their Construction General Permit regarding new regulations for stormwater runoff from construction sites.  An AGC newsletter released yesterday states:

“The proposed changes to the current permit would greatly increase its complexity and the cost of complying with its terms and conditions, putting you and your company at a new and unprecedented level of risk of non-compliance, including fines of up to $37,500 per day. The proposed permit would rigidly prescribe the stormwater controls that you had to put in place, require you to sample and test runoff for compliance with a new limit on turbidity, leave you liable for non-compliance with that limit even if you have implemented all of the prescribed measures, and require you to self-report any non-compliance to a publicly accessible database within 24 hours.”

In the following video, AGC’s Mike Kennedy explains some of the details of the new EPA rule.   [node:read-more:link]