A PUBLICATION OFTHE AFFILIATEDCONSTRUCTION

TRADES FOUNDATION

The ACT Foundation is a divisionof The West Virginia StateBuilding and ConstructionTrades Council. Steve Burton,President; Roy Smith, Secretary-Treasurer; Steve White, Director.

Charleston - (304) 345-7570Toll Free - (800) 930-9675

www.actwv.org

IIIIINSIDENSIDENSIDENSIDENSIDE

Changes In Ohio Pg. 2Manchin Signs BillPg. 3LEAD Pg. 3Target Funds Pg. 4

VOLUME 16 NUMBER 4APRIL 2007

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came to the Na-came to the Na-came to the Na-came to the Na-came to the Na-tional Buildingtional Buildingtional Buildingtional Buildingtional BuildingTTTTTrrrrrades confades confades confades confades conferererererenceenceenceenceencein Washington DC toin Washington DC toin Washington DC toin Washington DC toin Washington DC toask fask fask fask fask for the supporor the supporor the supporor the supporor the supportttttof trades membersof trades membersof trades membersof trades membersof trades membersfor the upcomingfor the upcomingfor the upcomingfor the upcomingfor the upcomingelection.election.election.election.election.

Front runners John Edwards,Hillary Clinton and BarackObama and others like JoeBiden and Bill Richardson madespeeches to a crowd of morethan 3,000 trades members fromaround the country.

“They came to us, it was animpressive event and showed alot of clout,” said Steve Burton,Business Manager of the Tri-State Building Trades Council.

The annual conference re-views federal legislative issuesand sends trades members toCapitol Hill to lobby their Sena-tors and Congressmen.

Top issues this year were the“Employee Free Choice Act”which allows workers to union-ize and skip the election processif they get a majority of unionrepresentation cards signed.

Thanking supporters of theDavis-Bacon Act was also onthe agenda.

A recent attempt to removeDavis-Bacon protections from a$12 billion water infrastructurebill failed, thanks to strong

National Building TradesLegislative Conference A Success

SOME OF THE West Virginia Building Trades contingent rallying at the West lawnof the U.S. Capitol are (from left) Bill Dean, Iron Workers Local 549, Wheeling; RoySmith, WV State Building Trades; Sam Davis, Parkersburg-Marietta Building Trades;Keith Hughes, IW 549; and Dan Poling, Painters District Council 53.

Continued on p. 3

Democratic support along with50 Republican votes.

West Virginia’s three con-gressional members voted tosupport Davis-Bacon.

The bill has been held up foryears by opponents who claimit favored union workers.

The Davis-Bacon law makessure federal projects use wagerates paid at the local level sofederal projects won’t pushwages lower than the standardsalready set.

These “prevailing wages” helpprotect local contractors andworkers from low wages and

protect the public from shoddywork.

Trades members attendedlegislative hearings on the abusesof independent contractorschemes and immigration re-form.

Testimony was given by anumber of general presidents. Arally was held on Capitol Hill.

“It was the best legislativeconference I have attended inmore than 30 years,” said Bur-ton.

“There was a willingness totry new things, like having del-egates participate in congres-

sional hearings and attending aCapitol Hill rally.”

A number of workshops wereheld on a variety of topics.

According to Burton, a pro-gram on drug testing policiesshowed just how far ahead of thenation West Virginia is in ad-dressing the use of illegal drugsin the workplace.

A workshop on “CollectivelyBargained Workers Compensa-tion” made it clear the efforts ofthe ACT Foundation to workwith contractors in this field canbring solid results for both work-ers and contractors.

AAAAAnananananational wtional wtional wtional wtional worororororkkkkkstoppage is un-stoppage is un-stoppage is un-stoppage is un-stoppage is un-

derway as contractderway as contractderway as contractderway as contractderway as contractnegotiations be-negotiations be-negotiations be-negotiations be-negotiations be-tween Road Sprin-tween Road Sprin-tween Road Sprin-tween Road Sprin-tween Road Sprin-kler Fitters Localkler Fitters Localkler Fitters Localkler Fitters Localkler Fitters LocalUnion 669 and theUnion 669 and theUnion 669 and theUnion 669 and theUnion 669 and theNational Fire Sprin-National Fire Sprin-National Fire Sprin-National Fire Sprin-National Fire Sprin-kler Associationkler Associationkler Associationkler Associationkler Associationbrbrbrbrbrokokokokoke doe doe doe doe down onwn onwn onwn onwn on

Sprinkler Fitters Local 669 On StrikeMarch 31.March 31.March 31.March 31.March 31.

A key issue, according toDave Ford, Business Agent forDistrict 30 , is language to stopcompanies from having bothunion and nonunion operations,often called Double-Breasting.

In addition wages and ben-efits have not yet been agreedupon.

Apparently the work stop-page will not affect most of WestVirginia because of an agreementalready worked out with themajor company in the area.

The primary sprinkler com-pany in West Virginia is Brewer& Company of WV based inCharleston.

According to Ford, Brewer

has signed an interim agreementwhich means they will agree towhatever the final outcome is.

As a result, workers atBrewer are not on strike andcontinue to work.

Negotiations resumed onApril 10. As the ACT Reportgoes to press the outcome is still

PAGE 2 APRIL 2007THE ACT REPORT

Ohio Allows Prevailing Wage, ResponsibleContracting And PLA’s On Schools

AAAAAFFFFFeeeeebrbrbrbrbruaruaruaruaruary 15y 15y 15y 15y 15resolution byresolution byresolution byresolution byresolution by

the Ohio School Fa-the Ohio School Fa-the Ohio School Fa-the Ohio School Fa-the Ohio School Fa-cilities Commissioncilities Commissioncilities Commissioncilities Commissioncilities Commission(OSFC) took a large(OSFC) took a large(OSFC) took a large(OSFC) took a large(OSFC) took a largestep towards re-step towards re-step towards re-step towards re-step towards re-storing fair con-storing fair con-storing fair con-storing fair con-storing fair con-tracting practicestracting practicestracting practicestracting practicestracting practiceson school projects.on school projects.on school projects.on school projects.on school projects.

According to building tradesofficials in Ohio the move willallow prevailing wage rates, re-sponsible contracting andproject labor agreement lan-guage in school building con-struction contracts.

Resolution 07-16 authorizeslocal school districts in Ohio to“establish criteria and qualifica-tions standards” by which con-tractors are chosen and buildingprojects are performed.

This authorization would per-mit, but not require, these mea-sures on all projects.

“We’ve got some mixed feel-ings about the action taken bythe Ohio Commissioners,” saidSam Davis, Business Managerfor the Parkersburg-MariettaBuilding and ConstructionTrades Council.

“It would have been muchbetter if (the Commission) spe-cifically required prevailingwages rather than leaving it upto each school district, on aproject-by-project basis.”

Davis’s evaluation of the reso-lution focuses on the long-termimplications for labor unions thatwill have to “constantly sell theidea of living wages and highstandards for contractors” asprojects are proposed for fund-ing.

“The Commissioners havecreated an adversarial processfrom which they have eliminated

themselves,” explained Davis.“In other words they’re say-

ing to the school districts, “Nowyou deal with it.”

The resolu-tion was passedby Commis-sioners ap-pointed bynewly-electedOhio Gov. TedS t r i c k l a n d .The action re-versed a policyestablished byformer Commissioners thateliminated prevailing wage re-quirements and project laboragreements on any Commissionbuilding project.

“This is progress in the sensethat we now have a chance tomake our point,” said Davis.

In an attachment to the reso-lution, the Commission listed 17“Model Responsible Bidder Re-quirements” that address such

issues as OSHA compliance,past performance and the cred-ibility of low-bidders.

The requirements are similar

to 18 points adopted by theWest Virginia State SchoolBuilding Authority defining a re-sponsible contractor. Any WVcounty that uses State SBAfunds must include the 18 pointsinto their evaluation process.

“In Ohio it allows counties touse responsible contractor lan-guage but there’s not a thing toactually require them to do it,”said Davis.

THIS PICTURE SHOWS a lentils that is too short. It was installed by Lang Masonryand is just one of many examples of shoddy work found and documented at theFrontier High School.

The need for high standardsin construction by local schooldistricts has been a focal pointfor Bill Schneider, Business Agent

for PipefittersLocal 168 inMarietta, Ohio.

Schneider isa resident of theFrontier SchoolDistrict justnorth ofMarietta.

For the pastfive years,

Schneider and other trades rep-resentatives have been docu-menting problems with schoolbuilding construction performedunder the previous OSFC regu-lations.

“Our list of problems with thenew Frontier Local School Dis-trict includes roofs that need tobe repaired or replaced, bricknot safely connected to the un-derlying block masonry, insula-

tion installed incorrectly or miss-ing altogether, and inadequatemetal lentils around doors andwindows,” said Schneider.

Schneider’s research includesengineering reports obtainedthrough Freedom Of InformationAct (FOIA) requests, some ofwhich document serious prob-lems identified while the con-struction was still ongoing in early2002.

One report by Jerry Bartles,an engineer for Rooftec, Inc. ofWilloughby, Ohio, warns againstpossible catastrophic failure ofschool buildings.

Bartles wrote, “In my opin-ion the structural decking is un-sound, drainage is unacceptableand the (debris from previouslyinstalled roofing) will hastenstructural failure. The debris alsoprovides the fuel for fire.”

Even though serious problemswith the construction were iden-tified in inspections as early as2002, the local school boardclaims they remained unaware ofthe problems until relatively re-cently.

“When you’ve got over 36active leaks in the roof of oneelementary school, it’s hard toremain uninformed for verylong,” said Schneider, referringto the conditions identified in afinal report on March 13, 2006.

Schneider believes the factsdemonstrate a fatal flaw in howthe School District ensures qual-ity construction.

“For the most part, the inspec-tions get done, but you can’t in-spect quality into a job,” saidSchneider.

“That can only happen whenquality contractors hire qualitypeople to build quality buildings.”

“THIS IS PROGRESS IN THE SENSETHAT WE NOW HAVE A CHANCE TOMAKE OUR POINT,” SAM DAVIS,

BUSINESS MANAGER, PARKESBURG-MARIETTA BUILDING AND

CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL

LACK OF MEASURES LED TO SHODDY CONSTRUCTION

APRIL 2007 THE ACT REPORT PAGE 3

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Bills about unauthorizedworkers, plumbing and sprinklerfitters licensing, defraud a drugtest and a tax credit for hiring ap-prentices are all laws of the land.

Two of the bills ran intotrouble after passage due totechnical problems.

Upon review S.B. 70, theunauthorized worker bill, had tobe vetoed by the Governor andrepassed in an extended sessionof the legislature before it wassigned.

The effect of the bill, to in-crease penalties against employ-ers who hire unauthorized work-ers, will go into effect 90 days

from passage, which is June 18.Another bill, S.B. 416 almost

was vetoed for a similar techni-cal problem.

The problem is called a titleflaw, when the opening para-graph of a bill does not containthe key elements in the bill.

However Sen. Jeff Kessler,(D-Marshall), who is Chairmanof the Senate Judiciary Commit-tee and lead sponsor of the bill,was able to convince the Gov-ernors legal staff that the title wasproperly written.

“We really appreciate Sena-tor Kessler’s efforts,” said SamDavis, Business Manager of theParkersburg-Marietta BuildingTrades.

“We heard the bill had to bevetoed and there was no time tore-pass it, then Kessler jumpedin and it was signed.”

WATCHING GOVERNOR MANCHIN sign four ACT backed bills are (from left) JohnClarke, IBEW Local 141; Ronnie Burdette, Operating Engineers 132; Tim “Squirrel”Jividen, WV State Pipe Trades; Bill Dean, Upper Ohio Valley Building Trades; GaryYarnell, Plumbers and Fitters Local 565; Larry Walker, WV Division of Labor; RandyFerguson, Ferguson Brothers Heating & Plumbing; Jim Lewis, Training Coordinatorfor UA 545; Del. Orphy Klempa (D-Ohio) and member of the Carpenters; and Del.Jim Morgan, (D-Cabel) Chairman of the House Committee on GovernmentOrganizations. (Not pictured but present - Carl Reynolds, Training Coordinator forthe Laborers District Council, Steve White ACT Foundation).

The bill goes into effect June8, 2007 and makes the sale anduse of products whose purposeis to defraud a drug test illegal inWest Virginia.

The Plumber and SprinklerFitter licensing bill requires a setof rules to be written and ap-proved by next years legislaturebefore it goes into effect.

By July 1, 2008 people whocan show they have sufficientexperience working in the fieldcan get their license, but it willnot be required until six monthslater, January 1, 2009.

For another six monthspeople will still be able to get alicense without taking a test, un-til June 30, 2009.

The tax credit for employerswho hire federally registered ap-prentices applies to any wagespaid after January 1, 2008.

FOUR LAWS BACKED BY ACT

LEAD Focus OnSafety Training,Drug Screening

IIIIIn 1991, the Laborn 1991, the Laborn 1991, the Laborn 1991, the Laborn 1991, the LaborEducation and De-Education and De-Education and De-Education and De-Education and De-

velopment (LEAD)velopment (LEAD)velopment (LEAD)velopment (LEAD)velopment (LEAD)program was estab-program was estab-program was estab-program was estab-program was estab-lished.lished.lished.lished.lished.

By all accounts the programhas proved to be successful andan industry leader in the nation.

The LEAD program is actu-ally two separate programs, onebased in Charleston and theother in Ashland, Kentucky.

The Kanawha Valley BuildersAssociation (KVBA) with thecooperation of the CharlestonBuilding and ConstructionTrades Council designed LEADas a joint Labor-Managementprogram with a focus on hazardrecognition, safety training anddrug screening.

The LEAD copyright is sharedwith a sister LEAD program es-tablished at the same time by theneighboring Tri-State Contrac-tors Association and the Tri-

State Building Trades Council,with each program governed byseparate Boards of Trustees.

Reciprocity between the sis-ter programs provides for cov-erage throughout the Charleston,Beckley, Huntington, WV;Ashland, KY; Portsmouth,Ironton, Ohio areas.

“Our job is to help our mem-ber contractors remain competi-tive” said Jim Cerra, Director ofthe KVBA.

“You could say that wewanted to lead the way with theLEAD program.”

One of the most valuable re-sources an employer can haveis peace of mind, the kind thatcomes from knowing employeesare working safely in an environ-ment free from the inherent dan-gers of illicit drug use.

Workers who can certify theyare both safety trained and drug

CONTINUED FROM P. 1

SprinklerSprinklerSprinklerSprinklerSprinkler

unknown.Local 669 is part of the

United Association of Journey-man and Apprentices of thePlumbing and Pipe Fitting Indus-try of the United States andCanada, or UA for short.

The one local has the entireUnited States as its jurisdictionfor sprinkler fitting work.

It has been ten years since thelast strike of the local, whichlasted four days in 1997.

The issue about doublebreasting is fueled by an arbitra-tion case the union lost last year.

In the case a nonunion com-pany based in Arizona, Firetrol

Fire Protection, was bought byConsolidated Fire Protection.Consolidated owns Cosco, amajor union fire protection com-pany. Gryphon Investors out ofSan Francisco owns Consoli-dated.

In 2004 the union filed agrievance against Consolidatedand Cosco regarding the opera-tion of the nonunion Firetrol.

Consolidated refused to fol-low the contract or let the issuego to arbitration but was forcedto after the union took the caseto court.

However the arbitrator ruledagainst the unions claim thatFiretrol should be bound by theircollective bargaining agreementwith Cosco.

Continued on p. 4

PAGE 4 APRIL 2007THE ACT REPORT

ACT Foundation600 Leon Sullivan WayCharleston, WV 25301(304) 345-7570

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit # 1374

Charleston, WV 25301

Target Funds Prove To Be Valuable ToolsTTTTTararararargggggeting fundseting fundseting fundseting fundseting funds

are designed toare designed toare designed toare designed toare designed tohelp signahelp signahelp signahelp signahelp signatortortortortory con-y con-y con-y con-y con-tractors competetractors competetractors competetractors competetractors competefffffairairairairair llllly ay ay ay ay agggggainst non-ainst non-ainst non-ainst non-ainst non-union contractorsunion contractorsunion contractorsunion contractorsunion contractorswho win jobs by un-who win jobs by un-who win jobs by un-who win jobs by un-who win jobs by un-dercutting wages.dercutting wages.dercutting wages.dercutting wages.dercutting wages.

Building trades unions are uti-lizing a “targeting strategy” tohelp their signatory contractorsby subsidizing bids on hard toget projects.

Representa-tives of the La-borers and theCarpenters inthe Charlestonarea are work-ing together tomaximize theuse of the Tar-get Funds they’ve established.

Craig Harvey, Business Man-ager for Laborers Local 1353 inCharleston, explained that “tar-geting” is as it sounds – a way tofocus resources on specificprojects to stop non-union com-panies from winning contractsaway from union companies.

CRAIG HARVEY (right) and Scott Brewer (left) worked with Tom Reece of RCGeneral Contracting and the Target Funds from both the Laborers and Carpentersto make sure union workers did not lose a Laidley Tower job because of low wagecompetition.

Harvey uses the example of anon-union company whose bid isbased on paying low wages andno benefits, a decided competi-tive disadvantage to the unioncontractor.

“We’ve put resources into afund that allow us to essentiallymake up the difference by pro-viding a payment to our signatorycontractors based on man-hoursworked on that project,” ex-

plained Harvey. “This makes theplaying field fair, with competi-tion based on something otherthan cutting wages and benefits.”

Harvey offered Jarrett Con-struction of Charleston as an ex-ample of a non-union companythat’s often a concern.

“They have been a thorn in the

side of union building tradesworkers for years by underbid-ding companies that pay fairwages and benefits,” explainedHarvey.

“My union’s decision to tar-get is based on the non-unioncompetition, we look at con-tractors who constantly affectour market share in certain sec-tors,” said Harvey. “By eliminat-ing the wage disparity, we are

comfortableour union com-panies will beable to com-pete.”

When the in-vestment firm,A.G. Edwards,Inc., put outbids for reno-

vating office space in downtownCharleston’s Laidley Tower,Harvey and Carpenters Local1207 Business Agent, ScottBrewer, knew Jarrett Construc-tion would bid on the job.

According to Harvey, he andBrewer decided to offer supportfrom their respective Target

Fund to the two union compa-nies who planned to bid the jobin competition with Jarrett.

Their strategy worked as RCGeneral Contracting, a unioncompany, won the LaidleyTower job.

The second union companywas also offered access to thesame resource. Looking at bid-ders is not always the way tar-geting funds get used according

“THIS MAKES THE PLAYING FIELDFAIR, WITH COMPETITION BASED ONSOMETHING OTHER THAN CUTTING

WAGES AND BENEFITS.” CRAIGHARVEY, BUSINESS MANAGER,

LABORERS LOCAL 1353

to Brewer. An example is a re-cent Carpenter focus on doctorswho build offices using compa-nies who fail to offer living wagesand benefits like health cover-age.

“From my perspective, indus-try segments can also be a focusof targeting,” said Brewer.“It’san outrage for a doctor to takeour insurance then build an of-fice with uninsured workers.

free have a competitive advan-tage when it comes to obtainingwork – a competitive advantagethat is automatically transferredto the employer.

The LEAD program is com-prehensive, offering instructorsto teach courses such as OSHA10-Hour, OSHA Refresher, FirstAid, CPR, and Drug FreeAwareness classes, as well as alist of drug screening options thatcan be adapted to the specificneeds of the employer, or theemployee.

“An important aspect of theLEAD approach is that we pro-vide an opportunity for workersto be proactive on the issue byvolunteering for drug screening,”noted Cerra.

Workers can sign up for thetesting on their own, or in re-sponse to a request from anemployer. Once test results in-

dicating absence of drugs arereturned, the worker can obtaina dated Drug Free Photo Certi-fication Card that documents theirdrug free status. All completedtraining is also listed on theLEAD photo identification card.

“It says something to an em-ployer when someone shows upcertified drug free, with an IDcard that proves it,” notedCerra.

LEAD will also set up pro-grams in cases where screeningis mandatory and done on a ran-dom basis. LEAD is fundedthrough collective bargainingagreements.

“Whatever the contractor’sneed may be in the area of safetytraining and drug screening, weoffer a service that meets thatneed,” concluded Cerra.

For more information, em-ployers and workers may phone(304) 346-1350 or toll free(866) 448-5323, or email to:lead@leadwv.com.

CONTINUED FROM P. 3

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