“Passing legislation that aims to crack down on ‘worker misclassification’ is an issue of fairness,” said Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) about his Employee Misclassification Prevention Act at a Senate Hearing entitled, Leveling the Playing Field: Protecting Workers and Businesses Affected by Misclassification. Brown originally introduced his bill, The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act, in the Senate last April. It is the latest in a number of legislative actions directed at the problem that is especially rampant in the construction industry across the US. Many contractors and subs are using hourly workers and day laborers, some of them undocumented aliens, and classifying their workers as independent contractors in order to cut costs, avoid paying medical benefits, social security and overtime as part of the cash society in the industry.
We found a chart that you might be interested in on a site called Calculated Risk that charts the percentage of job losses for previous and current recessions. It is set up to align at the point of maximum job losses during each recession and it shows that we are on the upswing if you consider the census bureau hires, but are looking at a dip if you discount them. This chart is interesting in that it shows that we are in a very slow recovery.
June 19, 2010
In an earlier posting, we noted that the President had signed Executive Order No. 13502 requiring that Federal projects over $25 million have a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with...
June 16, 2010
The blue van pulled up to the curb in front of the trauma center in one of the largest medical centers in the county. The side doors slid open and a man in workers’ clothes...
June 11, 2010
With the unemployment rate in the construction industry still lingering at about 24% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and with many former construction workers...
June 09, 2010
You might not know it but there is a shortage of skilled craftspeople in the industry. Today, with the 24% unemployment across the industry, probably not; however, look at these figures. In its updated projections, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that there will be 1,300,000 new construction jobs created in the construction industry between today and 2018. That represents a 19% growth rate and is the largest increase in the Goods producing sector in this country. That represents almost 163,000 new construction jobs a year for the next 8 years.With the economy in recession and with what is beginning to look like a “long tail” on this recession, that demand will probably not be evident until late 2011 or early 2012 and then the rate will increase at a greater rate. In order to meet that demand, we need to be doing something about it today.
June 05, 2010
Building Information Modeling or BIM is being used by architects, engineers and contractors around the US and even around the world to create new and exciting buildings. BIM is a way to virtually construct a proposed building in order to avoid conflicts among the various spatial, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The avoidance of systems conflicts and the delays that would follow on site during construction are key to the successful completion of a project for the owners and users.
June 04, 2010
“The Job is complete and you did a great job, but because of the economy and no new projects, we don’t have another assignment for you right now so you are on your own. We’re...
May 26, 2010
No question, the economy and the construction industry are in “reboot” mode after someone hit the “reset” button. Unemployment in the industry, according to the Bureau of Labor...
May 24, 2010
Certification has long been a subject of discussion in the construction industry. Discussions usually revolve around questions of “Who does the certifications? Whose courses do we...
May 10, 2010
