Back in January he wrote an article that highlighted how little our workers understand the business side of mechanical contracting. Furthermore, he suggests that it’s the responsibility of the contractors to work with the unions to help bridge this gap. I couldn’t agree more.

MCA-KC has been working toward that engagement for a few years. But, we have to go much further.

I suggested at the beginning of this year that we take a simple step to show our commitment to this approach: the Contractor Commitment to Excellence. I’ve received minimal feedback and really need your thoughts on this.

The “Contractor Commitment to Excellence” is similar to our UA’s Standards for Excellence. It would serve as a simple checklist of things we can do every day as contractors to help move our industry forward and take back the work from the non-union shops. As Breslin says, contractors need to, “Stop complaining that change is not occurring fast enough, and do something to influence it.”

• Have open and honest communication with employees about the status of the industry and companies.
• Update MCA-KC’s job tracker form weekly to keep tabs on the non-union competition.
• Send in our prevailing wage forms every month.
• Support Journeyman Continuing Education.
• Send in proper evaluation forms of apprentices.
• Understand all local and national agreements or call the MCA-KC staff to help pursue opportunities that use all available tools to get new union jobs, projects and hours.
• Participate in MCA-KC and union led educational efforts to improve contractor innovation, competiveness, and support the next generation of union contractors.

Those are just a few of my ideas.  We need your thoughts. Email me at info@mcakc.org and tell me what you think about having a “Contractor Commitment to Excellence” and your ideas for it.  We will be discussing this at our next board meeting on May 30 and developing a communications plan for it.

Working together, I know we can turn back the tide and regain our work.

Bill Adams
President, MCA-KC

Nearly 20 contractors representing the electrical, mechanical, and sheet metal industries participated in a joint safety educational session held April 19 at the Overland Park Marriott hosted by three local associations – MCA, NECA, and SMACNA. This one-hour session covered the latest OSHA rules and requirements for crane signal persons and riggers and was presented by Brian Schrader, Safety Director for McCownGordon Construction. Schrader is an authorized instructor for OSHA and has 20 years of experience working with, and for, commercial contractors.

Future Joint Contractor Safety sessions are scheduled for every other month, with the next one planned for Thursday, June 7 from 7:00-8:00 a.m. at the Overland Park Marriott. That session’s topic covers “How to Handle an OSHA Inspection & Citations” and will be presented by Mark Banden, Compliance Assistance Specialist for OSHA.

As a reminder, these Joint Contractor Safety Sessions are free to all MCA, NECA, and SMACNA contractors. They are designed to allow companies of all sizes – large, medium, and small – to network with each other and share information regarding safety best practices and reduce their costs related to safety issues.

For more information about upcoming Safety sessions and other MCA-KC events, please visit our website at www.mcakc.org.

Sincerely,

Bob Looman, MCA-KC Executive Director                                                        

Please take a moment to read our updated analysis of some results from the Target Fund program at our website.

The good news is that these funds are helping us win projects. Over the past two years, we’ve won more Target Fund projects than we’ve lost.

The bad news is that it takes a lot of target money to win these projects. Even with these funds applied, we’re still losing a lot of projects – and a lot of union jobs – to the non-union shops.

I encourage you to read through the results and continue to use the new tools at your disposal to be as competitive as possible on bid day.

There are two other ways you can help make MCA-KC contractors more competitive.

First is by using our Job Tracker to keep tabs on our progress against our non-union competition across all jobs, whether Target Funds are used or not.

You can help us by filling out our easy to use job tracker at the MCA-KC website.

The simple form will help us determine exactly where we stand. Thank you to everyone who is actively filling out the job tracker!

Second is by actively engaging your employees in the innovation and changes our industry needs to make looking forward. Just as you as contractors engage with your association, it is vital that you provide opportunities for your employees to engage with you.

The latest Breslin Strategies Report, focuses on this important piece of the puzzle, and I encourage you to take a look.                                                        

Sincerely,

Bill Adams, MCA-KC President

From left to right: Local 533 Training Center Coordinator Administrator David Pate, Apprentices Jimmy Novich, Joe Noel, Anthony Widhalm, Josh McGhee, Chuck Davis, Corey Powell, Brent Grosdidier, and Local 533 Business Manager Pat Julo. Not pictured: Apprentices Pat O’Hara and Joe Abbbott.

Last month, MCA-KC announced in its weekly electronic newsletter that Local 533 would be holding an Apprentice competition on March 29-30 in three separate categories – HVAC, Pipefitter, and Welder.

The competition was held at the Training Center and included both written tests and practical tests, requiring each contestant to demonstrate the skills they have learned at the school and working in the trade. More than a dozen retired Pipefitters volunteered to assist with the judging.

After a rugged two days of competition, the final results for the three categories are as follows:

HVAC
1st Place – Josh McGhee
2nd Place – Joe Abbott
3rd Place – Chuck Davis

Pipefitter
1st Place – Corey Powell
2nd Place – Brent Grosdidier
3rd Place – Pat O’Hara

Welder
1st Place – Anthony Widhalm
2nd Place – Joe Noel
3rd Place – Jimmy Novich

Congratulations to all of these Apprentices and best wishes to Josh McGhee and Anthony Widhalm, who will be representing Local 533 by competing in the District 4 Apprentice Contest the last week in June at the UA Local 597 Pipefitters Training Center in Mokena, IL. Winners of the District 4 Contest will advance to the International Competition to be held in Ann Arbor, MI, the second week of August.

The cost of the competition was equally shared by MCA-KC, Local 533, and the Local 533 Training Center.

Please visit www.mcakc.org for the latest in news, information, and upcoming events regarding your Association.

Sincerely,

Bob Looman, MCA-KC Executive Director

MCA-KC does the leg work for union contractors. The Association supports two separate Student Chapter organizations – Kansas State University and Pittsburg State University – with the purpose of exposing students to the mechanical contracting industry and connecting them with our contractor members.

We do this in many different ways throughout the year.

• Giving contractors opportunities to speak at Student Chapter membership meetings (e.g., photo above shows MCA-KC and its contractors presenting at one of KSU’s Construction Science Seminars attended by hundreds of students).
• Coordinating semester field trips to job sites where our contractors have provided the mechanical work.
• Encouraging students to attend and participate in MCAA’s Annual Convention and Annual Student Chapter Summit.
• Promoting opportunities for our contractors to utilize the grants offered by the MCAA to help defer costs associated with paying student interns.

As contractors, all you need to do is find time to get in front of these potential candidates and determine if they might be the future leaders you need in your company.

You can learn more about both Chapters by visiting the Student Chapter section of our website. You can also see what Chapter events are scheduled and many other Association activities by clicking on the Upcoming Events section.

Sincerely,

Bob Looman, MCA-KC Executive Director

These programs focus on modern, professional construction technologies such as computer estimating and scheduling, digital layout using laser/GPS/robotic equipment through the use of real-world construction laboratories.

Officers

Anthony Van Hoecke – Vice President

Travis Aikins – Treasurer

Kirsten Henry – Secretary

William Brummett – Competition Chair

Faculty Advisor

Shannon Nicklaus

Student Resumes

PSU’s Student Chapter of the Year Entry

MCA/PSU Activities

Its mission is to provide a learning environment of value to students and of benefit to the industry. It is committed to focusing individual attention and resources to achieve the highest standard of excellence in undergraduate education for Architectural Engineers and Constructors while preparing its students for successfull careers and to provide leadership in the industry.

The combination of these two programs in one department is unique and prepares the students to work effectively as a professional member of an integrated Architecture-Engineering-Constructor (AEC) team to produce quality design and construction of the built environment.

Officers

Bart Eck – President

Chyann Ebert – Vice President

Paul Bird – Treasurer

Taylor Frazier – Secretary

Noe Turrebiartes – Activities

Miles Smith – Activities

Jared Hanson – Activities

Faculty Advisor

Tom Logan

Student Resumes

MCA/KSU Activities