Jim Kollaer's blog

Shell Oil, has for the last few decades, brought the best and brightest thinkers and futurists together to create scenarios for what the emerging futures might be for the next 50 years around the globe, what the implications might be for the energy business during that period and what the underlying assumptions might be for the countries where they operate.

The scenario process usually takes two years and the team interviews business and government leaders, thinkers, futurists and reviews the most current literature from the academic world.  As the futurist and author Joe Jaworski told me, the scenarios for the possible futures emerge from the dialog and the conversation.

Perhaps it is like the multiple colored tracks we see on the weather report when a hurricane like Irene is approaching.   [node:read-more:link]

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) issued a press release yesterday claiming that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is overstepping and favoring the unions. The release says:

“Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today criticized two decisions issued by the Democrat-appointed majority of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that negatively impact employees’ rights.  First, the NLRB overruled a 2007 decision granting employees the ability to file a decertification petition for a secret-ballot election within 45 days after an employer recognizes a union as a monopoly bargaining agent.  Second, the board ruled in favor of creating a new standard for a bargaining unit, despite the fact that the current 20-year old standard has been without controversy.”

The release quotes ABC Vice President of Federal Affairs Geoff Burr as stating: [node:read-more:link]

The construction industry has begun to place an even greater focus on safety on the jobsite.  According to the latest National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2010 conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, that effort is beginning to pay off in fewer workplace fatalities.

According to the study, “The number of fatal work injuries in the private industry construction sector declined by 10 percent in 2010.  Fatal work injuries in construction have declined every year since 2006 and are down nearly 40 percent over that time.  Economic conditions may explain much of this decline with total hours worked having declined another 6 percent in construction in 2010, after declines in both 2008 and 2009.  Even with the lower fatal injury total, construction accounted for more fatal work injuries than any other industry in 2010.”   [node:read-more:link]

Last week, we attended a dinner of the Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center at which a vote was taken on the worst case of wage theft and worker abuse on  the cases where the Center had recently been involved.

The choices that the organization chose were a family who had overworked and underpaid a domestic worker, a self-proclaimed contractor who had underpaid seven workers on a home remodel, and Carole Johnson, LLC who had performed the interior construction for a new Wal-mart in Houston and paid a group of workers with checks that bounced.  When she was confronted with the situation, she denied that the workers had ever even worked for her on the job.

After the gala attendees reviewed the cases, they overwhelmingly selected Carole Johnson, LLC as “The Most Despicable Employer” for cheating her workers out of their pay and failing to provide basic safety equipment like eye protection and gloves for workers cutting metal for the job.  Laura Boston, Director of the Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center, announced the winner of the vote.   [node:read-more:link]

According to Reuters, “A leading indicator of nonresidential construction in the United States, [the American Institute of Architects Billings Index,] fell for a fourth straight month in July, in a sign that demand for offices and other commercial properties is weakening.”

That is not a good sign for the shrinking backlogs of construction companies around the country and might point to a really tough next 6 months and even into 2012.

The index dropped to 45.1, and since anything under 50 speaks to a weakening economy, we may be looking at more consolidations and mergers in both the design and construction firms around the country.

The billings index usually leads the construction indexes by 12 months or so, those pundits who [node:read-more:link]

The debate goes on without resolution.  “Are undocumented workers taking good construction jobs away from hard-working Americans?”  One side says an emphatic “Yes.”  The other side says, “No, they are taking jobs that most Americans don’t want.”  We have some information that you can take a look at as you make up your mind what you believe.

One of our readers sent us a copy of the Worker Wage Rate Form from the University of Texas System –Office of Facilities and Construction.  This form is being used on a Student Housing project at The University of Texas, San Antonio, and likely on projects throughout the UT System.  

Graduation ceremonies are interesting.  They are celebrations, “crossing of the bar,” successful completions.  Not only are they completions, but they are new beginnings.  Graduation ceremonies mark significant milestones in our lives and in our industry.

Recently we attended, along with leaders from the industry, family members, company coaches and leaders, the graduation of 16 “helpers” at The Marek Company’s Houston office.  These individuals had completed the 2,000 hours of jobsite work as well as a year long series of safety, equipment and on-the-job training courses designed to teach them the industry and the craft that they have chosen as a career.

We have written about the Marek Company several times for their outstanding commitment to a sustainable workforce for the future and for their commitment to a structured workforce development program.  They truly understand the importance of having highly skilled [node:read-more:link]

If you are being forced to use a Project Labor Agreement to construct a public building as the result of President Obama’s executive order, you might want to take a close look at this study.

A newly released report by the National University System Institute for Policy Research in San Diego found that

“PLAs are associated with higher construction costs.  We found that costs are 13 to 15 percent higher when school districts construct a school under a PLA.  In inflation-adjusted dollars, we found that the presence of a PLA is associated with costs that are $28.90 to $32.49 per square foot higher.”   [node:read-more:link]

Channel 4’s investigative news team from WSMV has been digging around on several issues surrounding the construction industry, specifically around the $585 million Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee.  Recently they uncovered that one of the drywall subcontractors, Stallings Drywall from North Carolina, a sub for Bell, Clark and Roswell is cheating on this publically funded project by misclassifying the workers as independent contractors and not paying taxes, unemployment, workers’ comp or social security.

In the report, Dr. William Canak, a Middle Tennessee State University sociologist, talks about the statewide problem:   [node:read-more:link]

The use of low-wage underground carpenters and drywall workers in Portland has landed a specialty subcontractor in hot water and, pending the outcome of his trial, a possible term in jail.  An article in Oregon Business explains:

“The subcontractor is Stephen Nagy, formerly president of S&S Drywall Assemblies, arrested January 2011 and charged with racketeering, theft and other crimes related to shady business practices.  S&S has shut down its Hillsboro office and disconnected its phone line while Nagy awaits trial.”

The regional carpenter’s union, itself the target of questionable practices from some of its critics, is protesting the shady practices of S&S by picketing [node:read-more:link]