The LA Times reported last week that Congress has instructed the FAA to have a plan that will allow private companies to fly drones in US airspace by 2015, but if you watch carefully you might see them already flying in your neighborhood or over your construction site.They might be used in a...
This Week's Second Look
Wage Theft
Wage theft is a practice in which employers cheat workers out of wages and benefits owed. This occurs when employers fail to pay workers for all of the hours they work, fail to pay “time and a half” for hours worked over 40 in a single week, or misclassify employees as independent contractors in order to avoid paying payroll taxes on behalf of those employees.
The “war for talent” is certainly a reality for Houston based construction firms, whether they are general or specialty contractors. Firms are hiring again at an ever accelerating pace and people with experience are in great demand. So firms are after the best “talent” and are making increasingly...
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently discovered that some metals appear to “heal” themselves under certain conditions. Graduate student Guoqiang Xu and Michael Demkowicz, a professor of science and engineering at the university, found that when a separating...
The Construction Citizen team has written many times about the growing controversy over whether college is becoming obsolete and actually a liability for many in America. While pursuing a four-year degree is still a great option for a lot of people, there is growing consensus that it's...
Editor’s note: In April, Professional Janitorial Services Executive Don Dyer delivered this powerful testimony to the Texas House Business and Industry Committee, which is studying what more lawmakers might need to do to combat the problem. While we've repeatedly covered the issue and how it...
The newest, “earthquake proof” bay bridge opened earlier this month on Labor Day to the delight of thousands of commuters in cars, on bikes and on foot who have been waiting for two decades for the new bridge to open.An earthquake during the 1989 World Series collapsed two fifty-foot long sections...
Last week Houston City Council’s Public Safety Committee held a hearing to discuss a proposed city ordinance to eradicate wage theft in the Houston area. The hearing included a presentation by Houston City Attorney David Feldman who explained the details of the proposal, and statements from...
Following reports on the alleged mistreatment of workers on University of Texas student house projects, some of those workers actually received some good news this past week. They’ve now received checks for the overtime their bosses had previously denied them.After fighting very hard to get...
As many of you are aware, Construction Career Collaborative, also known as C3, was founded because several leaders in the commercial construction industry decided to step forward and address the huge problem that exists in our industry of an unsustainable workforce. In other words, more...
