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One of the guys who originally inspired me to advocate on behalf of the blue collar workforce here in Texas, Mike Rowe, has come under fire lately because he's not afraid to spread the message about closing the skills gap in places that might not seem friendly to one side of the political spectrum or the other. The latest attacks on Rowe came after he appeared on the conservative Glenn Beck program to talk about his recent campaign, Profoundly Disconnected.After he was on Beck's show, a woman named Shannon Walsh wrote to Rowe: “How could you associate with such a horrible and psychotic person that is Glen Beck? I wouldn't accept a dime off that hateful, nasty racist. Very disappointed to see this post.”Rowe's response to her was gracious, as was his response to another person who wrote to him after he was on the air with the liberal Bill Maher:“Truth is, every time I go on Fox, my liberal friends squeal. And every time I show up on MSNBC, my conservative pals whine. Not because they disagree with my position – everyone agrees that closing the skills gap is something that needs to happen.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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September Employment, August Spending, Beige Book, AIA Reports are Positive OverallEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 148,000, seasonally adjusted, in September and 2,225,000 (1.7%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Tuesday. Construction employment totaled 5,826,000, up 20,000 from August and up by 193,000 (3.4%) over the past year. Total hours worked in construction (aggregate weekly hours) increased by 4.2% since September 2012, implying that contractors are extending working hours slightly as well as hiring new workers. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) climbed by 54,300 for the month and 103,300 (5.0%) for the year.
October 28, 2013
After years of pressing Austin leaders to approve a “living wage” law, workers' rights advocates celebrated the passage of a new set of requirements on companies that get tax breaks for relocating and building in the Texas capital. The city council late Thursday night voted 6-1 to demand that if a company gets a tax break for its project, it must pay the construction workers who build it at least $11 an hour or a “prevailing wage” if that's higher at the time of the construction. Of the more than 200 people who signed up to testify on the proposal, only 3 were against it.“What we’ve done over time is make economic incentives a right, not a privilege,” said Councilman Mike Martinez. “We need to make it a privilege, not a right,” he said, noting that Texas City already does something similar to what Austin will now do. He and others pointed out that it would be very difficult to argue that Texas City is somehow hostile to business.
October 25, 2013
Business leaders and educators in Texas are coming together to talk about how they can better cooperate following the passage of sweeping education reforms. Those reforms, known as House Bill 5, are designed to move the state away from the college-for-all policy and toward a more flexible model where the skilled trades are promoted as real options. As Construction Citizen readers know, we're passionate about the idea that there is a path to success for just about everyone even if that path doesn't require a four-year degree.That's why I'm proud to announce Construction Citizen and its publisher are teaming up with the organizers of a summit in Houston on November 5 to spur this important dialogue. Registration is now open for the Building Careers: Construction Workforce Luncheon which will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
October 24, 2013
Responsible Business Owners and Working Families Urge Council Support and Action to Bring Wage Theft DownAs Houston city council members shift into campaign mode to convince voters to re-elect them on November 5, thousands of Houstonians are urging them to close unfinished business when it comes to wage theft. Last week, faith and business industry leaders along with working families and employees of city subcontractors with cases of wage theft all gathered together in front of City Hall with a clear message: pass the Anti-Wage Theft Ordinance now! Following that show of support for the ordinance, Mayor Annise Parker has since stated that she will put the proposed ordinance on the Full Council Agenda for vote on November 13th.On October 15, supporters of the ordinance gathered with posters profiling two local families affected by wage theft. The group heard from speakers including Reverend Ron Lister, Reverend John Griffin, Sister Ceil Roeger, and Joe Marcinkowski.
October 23, 2013
Hi there. The Chamberlin Man here.Company values and good causes are topping the charts of popular corporate initiatives these days. Guess that makes Chamberlin doubly “en vogue”. Our longstanding relationship with the Houston nonprofit organization, The WorkFaith Connection, is closely aligned with our company values.Of course, we aren’t involved to demonstrate how hip we are. We are involved because it's a cause near and dear to our hearts, with a mission similar to our own. The ROI (return on investment) has been incredible, although not defined by dollars but by lives changed. Make sense?The WorkFaith Connection is devoted to empowering men and women to find and keep meaningful full-time employment through a faith-based, comprehensive job readiness training and support program. Chamberlin CEO, John Kafka, serves on the Board of Directors, and the company has hired a number of the program's graduates. They have proven valuable assets to our team.
October 22, 2013
One of my clients, an industrial construction company, recently asked me to conduct their annual employment law training. Here are my observations and lessons learned.The Nike Rule: Just do it. Training is often a back-burner project, and if you don't make a priority, it won't get done. So pick several days, schedule multiple sessions, require all supervisors to attend, and be sure to keep the sign-in sheets. This is good evidence in a lawsuit or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge, and is also good business – your company is only as strong as your first-line supervisors. The More the Merrier: Be sure those first-line supervisors are included. I know the working foremen in my sessions didn't think they needed to be there.
October 21, 2013
Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Starts, planned projects grew last month, MHC says; office, hospital markets look shakyNew construction starts in September jumped 13% from August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, McGraw Hill Construction (MHC) reported yesterday. “Nonresidential building bounced back after losing momentum in August, and the nonbuilding construction sector was lifted by the start of several large power plants, which ran counter to the sharply downward trend for electric utilities that’s been present during 2013. For the first nine months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were reported…up 2% from the same period a year ago. If electric utilities are excluded from the year-to-date statistics, total construction starts in the first nine months of 2013 would be up 11%....The 2% gain for total construction starts on an unadjusted basis during the January-September period of 2013 reflected a mixed pattern by the three main construction sectors.
October 17, 2013
Jack Eimer, president of the Central Region of Transwestern, a privately held full service real estate firm, talked recently about the future impact of technology on the users of office space with Marc Allen, Transwestern property manager.The discussion was part of Transwestern’s Ask the Expert series. In this particular issue, Eimer asks Allen to speak to the technology changes that will impact those users of office space who are signing 10-year leases today.Allen responds by saying, “Imagine what it would be like if employees commuted to work in automated cars. After arriving at work, the employee’s car would drive back home – alone. At the end of the workday, it would come back to pick up its owner, or perhaps even carpool participants. The cars will probably be electric so all the extra transit would not cost a fortune in gas. Additionally, the commute time could be productive rather than stress-inducing. It may sound like science fiction, but driverless vehicles are already being used successfully by Google, mining/minerals firm Rio Tinto and others.”
October 16, 2013
Last December we told you about a group of construction workers who volunteered their time, skills, and money to renovate a boys’ home called The Good Shepherd Residential Treatment Center. The center houses 40 boys at a time who have been removed from their families by Texas courts and are not suitable for regular foster care due to a variety of reasons. Following that renovation in which over 35 companies participated, the desire to continue to “give back” to deserving organizations in the local community has motivated several leaders in the construction industry to organize and form a new non-profit organization called “Building New Foundations”. The organization’s mission statement is:“To effect a positive transformation in the lives of the disadvantaged youth of the greater Houston area. By utilizing the community’s human, financial and spiritual resources, we commit to altering their present state and their future by focusing on their mental, emotional, corporal, educational and spiritual health and growth, as well as improving their current physical environment.”The seven board members have now announced that the first annual Building New Foundations Charity Golf Tournament will be held on Monday, November 11, 2013 in Kingwood, TX and will benefit The Good Shepherd RTC.
October 15, 2013
