From the Executive Director
Messages from MCA-KC Executive Director Bob Looman.
A Growing Resource for Our Contractor Companies
Just a few short months ago, MCA-KC launched a new version of its website with a focus of achieving three primary goals:
- Provide more valuable industry resources for our contractors
- Improve communications with our contractors
- Continue to grow a strong union plumbing and pipe fitting industry in Kansas City
Since that time, the website has grown in both content and value – and will continue to do so. If you have not visited the site regularly, here’s what you are missing:
- An interactive Calendar featuring upcoming educational opportunities, industry events, and other activities – locally, nationally, and virtually.
- The latest news regarding the MCA-KC, including current and past articles from the Association’s weekly electronic newsletter.
- A daily “Business Intelligence Briefing” from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce on issues facing local businesses.
- The latest monthly “Garrison Construction Report” from nationally-recognized construction expert Ted Garrison that explores strategies for improving your business performance & profitability.
- The latest “Breslin Strategies Report” from Mark Breslin, who is recognized as the number one speaker in the nation on construction leadership, strategy, and labor-management relations.
- Current contact information regarding all of our contractor Members and other contractors Signatory to Local 8 & Local 533, Board Member profiles, Associate Members, etc.
- A “Jobs Now” section to increase communications between our contractors and our local union teammates, including opportunities to Take Action through a “Job Tracker” page and a “Report Violations” page.
- You can also find information regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreements, the Substance Abuse Testing Program, complying with FASB’s new Standard, and much, much more…
This is only the beginning. As promised, we will continue to work to develop a site that delivers our membership the resources they need to effectively run their businesses.
Having said that, we need your input. This website will only be as valuable to our contractors as the feedback we receive from you. Please visit our website regularly and contact the MCA-KC staff at any time with your comments or questions.
Sincerely,
Bob Looman
MCA-KC Executive Director
Re-Taking the Residential & Light Commercial Markets
It’s no secret that the mechanical contractors are facing a major uphill climb against the economy and non-union competition. We’ve been talking about it for years.
We’re not sitting still and giving in. Instead, we’ve been working with our union teammates to find solutions to the challenges. We will explore every option to get union contractors new projects and our union workers new jobs and more hours. That’s what it’s all about.
To that end, MCA-KC has been meeting with Local 8 to explore how we can get back the residential and light commercial markets from the non-union shops.
We’ve identified the strengths and issues we must overcome to take back that market. We know, for example, that we must get back in front of general contractors in that space and let them know about the advantages of union workmanship. We must also be competitive in price with the nonunion shops.
The good news is that we have the tools through the UA National Residential and Light Commercial Plumbing Agreement (PDF). However, it is also clear that not all contractors are familiar with how to take advantage of this agreement. In addition, we recognize that there is a risk to contractors in taking on this type of work. It’s a new approach and essentially a new workforce.
MCA-KC and Local 8 are committed to working these challenges out. We will keep you posted on the progress. In the short term, I encourage you to review the National Agreement Schedule A’s, which define the scope of work covered by the residential and light commercial agreement and the associated residential plumbing wage grids (PDF). MCA-KC staff is prepared to help you walk through the agreement and help apply it to your business. Please email or call me directly to discuss.
We will continue to work with our union teammates to put you in a position to succeed. We will also use our new tools on the website to keep you informed. Keep an eye out for special “did you know” highlights on the website that provide key information from the contracts to help make your product more competitive.
Tightening Local Regulations
We are working with Local 8 to tighten up local regulations that will strengthen union plumbing. Local 8 and MCA-KC met with Greg Franzen, KCMO Codes Official, to discuss enforcement of current plumbing licensing and ordinance enforcement concerns. Mr. Franzen reported that his group only performs permit inspections and quite often, there are no plumbers on the job during their inspections. He said the only way to increase enforcement is to call the codes office with a complaint. Complaints have to be followed up by the codes department.
There is a separate group of inspectors whose sole job is to respond to complaints from the public. If a contractor or union member believes that a project is being done without a licensed journeyman on site, that is a codes violation. If someone believes a contractor is using independent contractors to perform plumbing work, the independent contractor has to file a permit for their scope of the plumbing work; otherwise, it is a violation of the ordinance.
This is a way for us to work together with our union teammates. We need contractors and plumbers to issue real complaints to the city to put a spotlight on non-compliant contractors doing our work. Please send your complaints to the MCA-KC office, so we can track them at mcakc.org/complaints.
Rewards for Participating in MCA-KC Educational Programs & Events
MCA-KC provides high quality educational programming and activities that help our contractors improve the productivity and profitability of their businesses.
Whether it’s for owners, principals, project managers, or others within your companies, the objective is to help you and your employees reach your organization’s goals and strengthen union contracting.
There’s a lot of value in these programs – the learning…the networking…the sharing of ideas. However, we’ve also sweetened the deal for you.
It’s called the MCA-KC Education Stipend program. It rewards contractor companies that actively participate in the local MCA-KC organization and activities by granting stipends that help them defer the costs of attending the national MCAA educational events.
With this Education Stipend program, companies earn participation points by attending MCA-KC events and activities throughout the year, and by doing so may receive up to two $2,500 stipends in a calendar year.
Each stipend, which is valid for a full year from the date that the award is issued, may be used to defer the costs (e.g., transportation, lodging, registration, etc.) for any single MCAA, MSCA, PCA, or NCPWB event.
For a complete description of the stipend program and to view your company’s point totals so far in 2012, as well as your outstanding stipend awards, please visit the MCA-KC website.
Important Safety Notice
DeWalt Power Tools has identified a potential safety hazard with certain large angle grinder side handles. The company is concerned that under certain circumstances a small number of side handles could exhibit a condition where the handle could break, causing the user to lose full control of the unit. Click here for a copy of the notice.
MCAA President Mark Rogers Visits with MCA-KC Contractors
MCAA President Mark Rogers Visits with MCA-KC Contractors
MCAA President Mark Rogers
Before MCA-KC’s Kansas City Night on January 20, MCAA President Mark Rogers spent the morning visiting with over a dozen MCA-KC contractor members at the January Service Managers Meeting.
In addition to conducting an “open discussion” with the contractors regarding the significant impact that mechanical service has delivered in sustaining contractors during this tough economy, Mark also provided an overview of MCAA’s educational program that is currently being presented across the country to UA Business Members titled, “The REAL Cost of an Hour of Labor”.
The purpose of the program is to acquaint our labor teammates with the real-life challenges and scenarios that our contractors face each day in trying to bid and win projects against non-union shops. Through hands-on exercises, UA members break into teams to bid a project and are given a time limit to submit their sealed bid in an effort to be the winning bidder.
Mark Rogers with MCA-KC contractors
In Mark’s words, “It’s an eye-opening experience for many of these participants to see how our contractors have to cost out unforeseen situations that impact a job with additional man-hours that were not part of their bid.” This exercise is all about education, understanding the realities of the business, and working together to get back market share.
The goal is to have this training delivered in all areas across the country.
The New Breslin Strategies Report…
A perfect “tie-in” to Mark Rogers’ “The REAL Cost of an Hour of Labor” (described in the above article) is the latest “Breslin Strategies Report”. Mark Breslin, who speaks to tens of thousands of field craftsmen and apprentices annually across the United States and Canada, surveyed these individuals for their response to the question, “How much money do you think a contractor makes on a one million dollar job?” You can read his report here.
