PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

IFCA is in the process of negotiating agreements with the Metropolitan Regional Council of Philadelphia Carpenters & Vicinity, the International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 21 and the Laborers’ District Council of Philadelphia.  All of our agreements expire April 30, 2006.

IFCA’s committees have met with each of the three unions, and as part of the collective bargaining process, additional meetings will continue to take place until we reach an agreement with each trade.  We have made some progress but there is still a long way to go.  Negotiations are extremely important to IFCA because the union construction business is our business and we need to protect it.  As signatory contractors to IFCA’s agreements, you have assigned to us your collective bargaining rights and we take this responsibility very seriously.  As we’ve communicated to you previously by e-mail and at our monthly General Membership meetings, we welcome your suggestions about language and/or procedures contained in our agreements and encourage you to contact the association office with questions about the negotiation process. 

IFCA’s Board of Directors has instructed our committees to negotiate a contract with language and wages that will help keep us competitive.  With the continuing problem we all have concerning the competition of non-union contractors, it is the hope of this organization that all parties will be prudent in their decisions, after all, the results of these negotiations impact not only today’s business but the future of our businesses as well.

On behalf of all the members, I would like to thank the negotiating committee members for their tireless efforts to date and for their support going forward.

By the time you receive the June newsletter we should have new agreements in place — hopefully agreements all parties can live with. I welcome your questions and/or comments about the negotiations, feel free to call me any time.

—Tony Iannucci, President of IFCA, Aimm Philadelphia Installations, Inc. (856-546-1212)

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WHAT'S NEWS WITH THE UNIONS?

METROPOLITAN REGIONAL COUNCIL

• Bonds:  All employers are required to have a bond.  You should know that the association provides bond reimbursement to our members.  If you have questions about bonding, please contact Kim Clerkin or refer to page 32 of our agreement.
  
• Job Starts:  All employers must fax (215-569-0263) a Job Start Form at the beginning of each job.  Language about this provision appears on page 46 of our agreement.
  
• JAC Open House & Contest:  The carpenters’ annual JAC Open House & Contest is Friday May 12.  Kim Clerkin will be there distributing IFCA tee shirts (while supplies last) and will be available to discuss with any industry contributor the many benefits of belonging to IFCA.  Apprentices should stop by to inquire about tuition reimbursement.
  
• Carpenters’ Graduation:  The annual graduation is scheduled to take place on May 25 at the Wyndham.  This event is by invitation only.

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INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PAINTERS & ALLIED TRADES DISTRICT COUNCIL 21 ("DC 21")

• Bonds:  All employers are required to have a bond.  You should know that the association provides bond reimbursement to our members.  If you have questions about bonding, please contact Kim Clerkin or refer to page 16 of our agreement.
  
• Job Starts:  All employers must fax (215-677-3877) a Job Start Form at the beginning of each job.  Language about this provision can be found on page 63 of our agreement.
  
• New Training Center:  After an extensive real estate search, DC 21 found the perfect space for the Training Center — it’s located on 2190 Hornig Road, Philadelphia, PA.  There’s now sufficient office space plus 6 new classrooms, a computer lab, a blueprint classroom and a lunchroom.  The 100 seat auditorium will be completed at a later date.  To start out, each craft has 20,000 square feet of space.  In addition, 10,000 square feet has been allocated to Health & Safety.  The Drywall Finishing Space features over 1,000 sheets of sheetrock for the apprentices and journeymen upgrading classes.  The enclosed photographs show off the computer lab, classrooms, training space for drywall finishing, a spectacular floor, the conference room glass wall with the IUPAT logo as well as the lunchroom.
  
• Tapers Graduation:  The tapers graduation is May 25 @ the IUPAT Catering Hall.

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LABORERS' DISTRICT COUNCIL ("LDC")

• Bonds:  IFCA wishes to remind members to secure a proper bond — you should know that bond reimbursement is offered to  ALL members.  If you have questions concerning bonding, please contact the association office or refer to page 17 of our agreement.
  
• Remittance Forms:  If you have questions about these forms, contact Kim Clerkin.
  
• If you are interested in meeting with Wade Stevens to discuss county work, call IFCA.

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GET THE SCOOP

Marino/Ware Plant Tour/Golf:  On May 10, Marino/Ware and IFCA will host a plant tour of the Marino/Ware facility in South Plainfield, New Jersey.  All attendees have to pre-register with Kim — look for your printed invitation early April.  You must arrive to the plant by 8:30 a.m. to tour the facility and to participate in a question/answer session with the engineering department.  Afterwards all attendees will receive a boxed lunch before heading off to Metedeconk for golf — compliments of Marino/Ware.  Following golf, IFCA will provide everyone with refreshments and beverages.  This event is for IFCA members only.  All questions about this affair should be directed to the association office (610-225-1050).

The line-up for Guest Speaks at our monthly General Membership meetings is as follows:

• April:  Keith Williams will attend to demonstrate AWCI’s Safety Software—each IFCA member will receive the latest version of it for FREE @ the meeting and/or by mail if not in attendance.
  
• May:  IFCA’s negotiation teams will provide our membership with a complete update as it relates to the new Collective Bargaining Agreements.
  
• There will NOT be a meeting of the General Membership in June or July.
  
• August:  Robin, Kramer & Green will talk with the IFCA members about proper Succession Planning.

Membership Appreciation/Recruitment Party:  IFCA’s annual Membership Appreciation/Recruitment Party is scheduled to take place on June 21.  This event is intended to thank our current members for their support as well as to attract new association members.  Invitations will be mailed out early May.  While IFCA’s database is fairly large and contains many of the addresses of our industry contributors, if you are a contributor and want to make sure that your company receives an invitation to this event, please do not hesitate to contact the association office (610-225-1050).   

Computer Training:  IFCA can arrange for computer training for any IFCA member for FREE.  Training is available in Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point & the Internet  — at any level.  The classes will be offered at the JAC Computer Lab or at the IUPAT Training Center.  NOTE:  If you want to schedule computer classes exclusively for your company with everyone taking the same class we require a minimum of 8 participants — these private classes would occur @ the JAC Computer Lab.  For scheduling or more information, contact IFCA (610-225-1050).

“The road to success is always under construction.” L. Tomlin

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SAFETY SEGMENT

posting of the osha form 300a

For those who forgot, we are well into the required timeframe OSHA sets for posting the OSHA Form 300A, properly completed, signed and dated. The only items allowed to be blank are the “Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)” and/or “North American Industrial Classification (NAICS)”. Other than those two pieces of information, everything must be answered/filled in.

All data to the left half is comprised of numbers recorded through the reporting year, 2005 currently, on the OSHA 300 Log; “zero” is a required entry for the categories where none were recorded. Other than entering at least a zero, the other tricky part of the left side of the form is entering each injury only once and by its most severe consequence.

For example, an injured employee is directed by a medical professional to take prescription medications, spend three (3) days at home and then return to work but with some restriction on his routine work activity for another week. The treatment meets the criteria requiring an entry as lost time with days away, lost time with restriction and other recordable. The proper entry of one (1) would be made in “(H) Total number of cases with days away from work”, because, for this injury, that is the most severe consequence.

When you move to the next line on the left half of the form, though, the proper entries for days away (K) and days restricted (L) need to be made based on actual recording, not just one or the other. Once you get through understanding how the information recorded on the 300 Log is to be entered, and where, the rest of the form is straightforward and relatively simple.

Using the equation, IR = N x (200,000/Actual work hours), one can look at any 300A and calculate the incidence rate (IR) for fatalities and lost time and recordable injuries using as “N” the actual number of whichever recorded, multiplying by 200,000 and then dividing by the actual worker hours entered in the middle of the right half of the form. This is a quick check, and only a partial one, to use to measure a company. It must be combined with other information for a complete picture.

Lastly, if your Safety Program still refers to the OSHA 200 Log, it is well past the time to do an edit. But don’t stop there; blow off the dust and see if your Program has kept pace with your growth and performance since the 200 Log used to be posted. And when you distribute the 300A for posting where all your employees will have access to it, remember it must stay up to and including 04/30/06.

John H. Young
EHS Director, Skanska USA Building Inc.

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ROBIN KRAMER SAYS…

Are your beneficiary designations up to date?

Who have you designated as beneficiaries for your insurance policies and retirement accounts?  If you can’t remember, you’re not alone.  But it’s worth checking.  If you make the wrong decision, it could affect who inherits those assets.  In some cases, it could also change the taxes your beneficiaries will pay on the value they’ll receive.  Here are some key facts about beneficiary designations.

What are they?

• When you designate a beneficiary for an account, you are naming the person you want to inherit that account.
• Your designation determines who will inherit the assets in the account, regardless of what your Will might say.  Generally, the assets will bypass probate and go straight to the person or institution you named.
• You can designate a person or group of persons, a charity, a trust, or your estate.  You may also want to designate a secondary or backup beneficiary in case the primary is no longer living.

Why are they important?

• It’s important to keep beneficiary designations up to date because they determine who will inherit the assets in your account.  Changing your Will won’t change the beneficiaries.
• There can be tax implications too.  With a traditional IRA, your choice of beneficiary can affect how quickly withdrawals must be made and taxes paid.  That can change the value of the IRA to your beneficiary.

How do I update them?

• First, find copies of all of your current designations.  Contact your insurance company and plan trustees if you can’t locate the documents.
• Review them and decide what changes you’d like to make.  Make an appointment to go over the changes with your tax or estate planning advisor.
• Send your updated designations to the account trustees.  Make sure you receive confirmations and keep copies in your records.

Robin Kramer & Green, LLP
425 Commerce Dr.
Ft. Washington, PA

215-641-8300 (O)
215-641-8335 (F)
info@rkgcpa.com

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TAKE IT FROM KIM

Finish First Awards:  Yes — all of the winners have been picked for each of the 6 categories!  I accompanied the judges this year to view each semi-finalist site and was extremely impressed by the workmanship of our craftpersons.  At IFCA all of our work is 100% union and each winning project was completed by a trained union workforce!!!  I can’t wait for you to see what I saw.  It took the judges two days to complete their work — these guys are very serious about the judging process.  Let’s thank Joe Durkin, Joe Flanigan, Steve Freeman (chairman), Jim McGuckin and Chuck Murtha for doing another excellent job.  We will also recognize the 2006 Member of Distinction.  Lafarge North America is our Title Sponsor — SIX YEARS RUNNING and ALL of our elevated sponsors have made the commitment to support this affair again.  Look for your invitation in April.  We will host the event at the Ritz Carlton and will secure a block of rooms for those folks who wish to spend the night.  Save the Date — it’s June 2 — you won’t want to miss this 5-star event.

Workers’ Compensation:  The association has created a new member benefit effective January 1, 2006.  Here’s how it works: 

• Each IFCA member may consult with our Workers’ Compensation counsel from Stevens & Lee for a total of one hour per year FREE of charge.
   
• If your use of this benefit exceeds one hour per year, you will be notified by IFCA that future Workers’ Compensation charges and/or anything over 1 hour, will be billed to your company direct.
   
• Legal Counsel is available to answer any questions you may have, including whether to litigate a claim, strategies to reduce the cost of a settlement, settling claims, terminating an employee with a compensation claim and issues arising with your insurance carrier.
  
• Kirk Wolgemuth is the expert.  Contact him direct @ 610-478-2240 or by e-mail @ klw@stevenslee.com.

IFCA’s Web Site:  The make-over is complete!!! The site looks great — take a look (www.ifcassociation.com).  If you wish to be included in our Industry Links page, please send IFCA your company information.  Our site will be monitored frequently — whenever it’s necessary, updates will be made.   

IFCA Membership  IFCA is in negotiations with all of our union trades.  We started the process back in November by first talking with our membership about their ideas for each contract.  If you are not a member of IFCA, please contact Kim Clerkin to discuss the many membership opportunities offered to you as an IFCA member.  For example, our contractor members have been in business a long time and have plenty of experience in contract interpretation, enjoy long-standing relationships with our unions and have working friendships with all of the suppliers  — they can help you and your business — give us a call!!!

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LEGAL NOTES FROM STEVENS AND LEE

Proposed Amendments to HB 1637

On February 8, 2006, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 1637 (191-0).  HB 1637 amends the Mechanics’ Lien Law of 1963, further providing for definitions, waiver of liens, effect of waiver of liens, rescission of contracts between contractors and subcontractors and priority of liens.  To date, HB 1637 has not been scheduled to a vote before the Pennsylvania Senate. 

For a long time, contractors complained that Pennsylvania’s mechanics’ lien law was not workable.  The main problem for contractors with the existing Mechanics’ Lien Law was that it allowed contractors to waive their lien rights, and this has become the standard operating procedure for construction in Pennsylvania.  However, with HB 1637, this standard operating procedure may change since HB 1637 amends the Mechanics’ Lien Law by eliminating the waiver provision of the law except in residential projects.  Thus, a contractor’s lien rights could not be waived unless it was for work performed on a residential property.

HB 1637 amends the Mechanics’ Lien Law by adding “residential building” to the definition section.  Under the amendments, “Residential Building” is defined as:

any of the following, including accessory structures: (A) A detached one-family dwelling; (B) A detached two-family dwelling; or (C) a multiple single-family dwelling which is not more than three stories in height and which has a separate means of egress.

HB 1637.

HB 1637 also permits a contractor/subcontractor to waive his right to file a claim against property on which there is a residential building by executing a written document or by his conduct which operates equitably estop such contractor or subcontractor from filing a claim.

Finally, HB 1637 provides for priority of liens.  The amendments add a new provision which explains that a lien obtained in the case of the erection or construction of an improvement or in the case of an alteration or repair of an improvement, shall be subordinate to (1) a purchase money mortgage; and (2) an open-end mortgage. 

If the bill is passed by the Senate, it will move to the Senate where it will be examined in committee, in caucus and before members on the Senate Floor.  If the Senate passes the bill without amendments, it will move to the Governor’s desk where the Governor signs it into law.  Currently, if passed unchanged, HB 1637 is set to take effect on January 1, 2007.

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CALENDAR

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PICTURES

IUPAT District Council 21 Training Center
2190 Hornig Rd., Phila. PA

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IFCA

Kimberly A. Clerkin, Executive Director
Valley Forge Office Center
676 E. Swedesford Rd., Ste. 300
Wayne, PA 19087
Phone: 610-225-1050
Fax: 610-225-1052
Email: kimclerkin@attglobal.net

We're on the web at www.ifcaassociation.com