A dear friend, great co-worker and outstanding union member, Charlie Nettles, passed away on Wednesday. Please find additional information about visitation byclicking here.
Click on the Going Green image to view news stories, videos and more and the smokestack to see how much we are saving by our 14.1 Kw solar array in CO2 output, the Kw's produced by the system and other information...
Daily Job Line Calls
Welcome
to IBEW Local 725
Job Line - View Updates Instead Of Calling.
Job Line - View Updates Instead Of Calling.
We have established accounts as a courtesy to make it easier for you to know and keep track of the upcoming information that will be placed on the job line daily after 5:00 p.m. EST. (YOU MUST STILL CALL THE JOB LINE AND LEAVE YOUR INFORMATION AS BEFORE IF YOU WANT TO BID A JOB). If you already have a TWITTER, FACEBOOK or TUMBLR. account, just add us to follow using the links in the logos shown above.
If you are new at this, sign up at one or all of these: TWITTERFACEBOOKTUMBLR. You can get text messages from Twitter* (see note below) and Facebook depending on how you set up your account. TUMBLR. allows you to receive feeds to a web site or through an e-mail account such as Outlook Express. Web based e-mail accounts will not work.
Additionally, the identical information will be sent to our web page. (For example, see the feed as shown above this section). When we post information at TUMBLR., the information is automatically fed to Twitter, Facebook, and our website. You can verify you are receiving the proper information from Twitter and Tumblr. Check the Job Line Page and view both feeds simultaneously by clicking here.
We will send the information to these services, but we cannot be responsible if the account is not set-up properly or your particular phone company is having problems receiving and distributing the messages.
Text messaging charges are between you and your phone company and not our responsibility. If there are ever any discrepancies between text messages, feeds, and job line phone information, the information available by calling the Job Line will always be the correct information.
* Note: Twitter messages to your phone are limited to 140 characters. Therefore the messages we send out will have the basic info in the first line. You will have to click on the link in the Twitter message that will take you to the TUMBLR. site for full details. The other option is to view complete information on this web site as detailed above.
Additionally, make sure when you want to receive Twitter texts from us, after you registered your phone, that the green circle is highlighted on the Twitter page.
Job listings will be the same as recorded on the Job Line: Monday listings are for a start day of Wednesday, Tuesday listings are for a start day of Thursday, Wednesday listings are for a start day of Friday, Thursday listings are for a start day of Monday, and so on...
FYI: Occasionally other updates from the local will also be sent out regarding information that we believe would be important to you.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL NEW OFFICERS! At the union meeting Friday, July 9th, the newly elected officers took the oath of office and officially started their three year terms. All officers will be required to go through New Officers Training to be scheduled in the near future. We will have more pictures later and have posted two pictures here.
L to R: Mike McNabb (Exec. Board), Paul Rupska (Pres.) John Hedden (Treasurer), Tracy Cook (Exec. Board), Larry Boyles (VP), Nate Bartlett (Recording Sec.), R. Todd Thacker (Business Mgr./Fin. Sec.)
L to R:Kevin Stewart (Exec. Board), Ron Moore (Exam. Brd.), Jack Lynch (Exec. Board), Brandon Robinson (Exec. Board), Greg Modesitt (Exam. Brd.), Brent McCoy (Exec. Brd.) Eric Biernbaum (Exam. Brd.)
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL NEW OFFICERS! At the union meeting Friday, July 9th, the newly elected officers took the oath of office and officially started their three year terms. All officers will be required to go thr...
No to UI - Yes to Tax Cuts for the Wealthy?
No to UI - Yes to Tax Cuts for the Wealthy?
Dear Building Trades Members:
In a striking example of the hypocrisy and warped thinking that has come to be seen as "conservative thought," Republican U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) insisted on Sunday that Congress should extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans [above $250,000] regardless of their impact on the deficit, even as he and other Republicans are blocking unemployment insurance extensions over deficit concerns.
"[Y]ou should never raise taxes in order to cut taxes," said the Arizona Senator during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. "Surely Congress has the authority, and it would be right to -- if we decide we want to cut taxes to spur the economy, not to have to raise taxes in order to offset those costs. You do need to offset the cost of increased spending, and that's what Republicans object to. But you should never have to offset cost of a deliberate decision to reduce tax rates on Americans."
So...in other words, the Republicans are concerned about deficits when it comes to paying for an unemployment benefits extension for the millions of Americans who are struggling right now thanks to the very same Wall Street cowboys who will benefit from the continuation of the Bush tax cuts.
Unbelievable...cutting taxes for the wealthy and letting the unemployed to fend for themselves. All of this has a familiar ring to it, because it was the unpaid tax cuts for the rich at the expense of working people which was the same backward policy Republicans used to put our nation in this hole, and it's the same policy they promise to return to if put in a position of power again.
For the past few months, congressional Republicans have demanded that any additional spending - like for an extension of unemployment benefits - be offset by budget cuts or revenue increases elsewhere. White House senior adviser David Axelrod has blamed this reasoning for the difficulty in finding a 60th vote in the Senate for unemployment benefits even though, as of Friday, 2.1 million people have not received checks that they were expecting in June.
And yet, Senator Kyl is now suggesting that the same budget rules shouldn't apply with respect to tax cuts for wealthy Americans making in excess of $250,000, which are set to expire unless Congress acts to renew them.
As Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly notes:
It's quite a message to Americans: Republicans believe $30 billion for unemployment benefits don't even deserve a vote because the money would be added to the deficit, but Republicans also believe that adding the cost of $678 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy to the deficit is just fine.
Kyl is one of the most prominent members of Congress to advance the argument that jobless benefits make people not want to look for work, a position disputed by economists across the political spectrum. Unemployment insurance "doesn't create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work," Kyl said last March on the Senate floor.
It is this type of thinking that makes the upcoming 2010 elections so critically important.
Sincerely and fraternally,
Mark H. Ayers
President
July 12, 2010
Working In These Times - Newsletter 7-9-10
Working In These Times - Newsletter 7-9-10
This week at Working In These Times... Strikes are going the way of the dodo, according to new federal stats. Unions called just five major strikes last year, the lowest number on record. The question is: Why?
Also: Art Levine on how and why organized labor is losing the job creation vs. deficit reduction debate. Akito Yoshikane on how Wal-Mart's recent victory in Chicago may be the beginning of the retail giant's expansion into urban America. And David Moberg wonders what combination of cruelty, stupidity, cowardice and cynicism is causing GOP (and some Democratic) politicians to block renewals of unemployment insurance.
Click here (2010 Info Mtg Handouts) to view the presentation handout distributed at the informational meetings. Contact us at the hall if you have any questions.
At the three meetings last month with Mercer and Smith Barney, it was discussed that the current Supplemental Pension investments would be mapped over to new funds. If you haven't reviewed your account lately...
Class of 2010!
Class of 2010!
Congratulations to the Apprenticeship Class of 2010!
The current firestorm that has erupted as a result of the enactment of the “Show Me Your Papers” law in Arizona has further enflamed the already contentious debate about illegal immigration.
Proponents of the Arizona law flatly state that it was needed because of the federal government’s failure to act on comprehensive immigration reform that would address issues related to border security.
Critics, on the other hand, say the Arizona law is nothing more than a pathway to provide state and local police carte blanc authority to racially profile and harass Hispanics.
Either way, because of this firestorm, there are discussions now underway in Washington, DC relating to the introduction of a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
On April 30, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and several of his fellow Senate Democrats introduced a framework for an overhaul of immigration laws in light of the Arizona law. The Senate Democrats’ approach would impose tougher sanctions on employers who hire illegal immigrants, create new identification cards for immigrant workers, reform temporary worker programs, and provide a sensible pathway for responsible immigrants to become full-fledged U.S. citizens.
For his part, President Barack Obama voiced his support for the plan, saying it is "a very important step in the process of fixing our nation's broken immigration system."
In truth, the entire debate around the issue of immigration never seems to effectively address the real problem - our collective national addiction to cheap labor and low wages. In America today, it’s all about next quarter’s profits and the bottom line. While exploitative businesses and their apologists hide behind empty slogans like “free markets,” we know the only freedom they are fighting for is the freedom to exploit workers, steal wages and cut corners.
It's no secret certain industries, such as construction, rely heavily on illegal labor. In recent years, prior to the economic downturn, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, undocumented workers accounted for as much as 25% of the entire U.S. construction workforce. And in the residential construction sector, that number has been even higher.
In many states, attempts have been made to require employers to check prospective employees on their legal status through the production of a driver’s license, state ID card, or other positive means of identification. But this is hardly a fool-proof method of dealing with the problem, as evidenced by the results of an undercover operation spearheaded by Jobs for Georgians and the North Georgia Building Trades Council, and as reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
“Jose Alvarez first asked about a bricklaying job with M&D Masonry at the Atlanta airport in March, and the foreman assured him that being an illegal immigrant wouldn’t be a problem.
‘Do you have a picture ID?’ said Bob Beaty, hiring foreman for the Americus, GA-based masonry company working on the new $1.4 billion international terminal.
‘But it’s not legal,’ Alvarez told him.
‘I know, I know, none of our guys are, but if you have a picture ID, you can get on here,’ Beaty said. ‘Everybody turns in a Social Security number and we take taxes out for that number. I know none of those numbers are right.’
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the crux of our national immigration problem.
And when states move to address these issues, they are inevitably thwarted by those whose business models are now predicated upon an addiction to cheap, easily exploitable labor.
This was the case in 2006, for example, when the state of Colorado attempted to crack down on employers who hire illegal workers. Governor Bill Owens was initially supportive of the bill, but when business leaders told him the price of a house might go up by 5 percent because some homebuilders could lose their exploitable labor, he backed away.
You can be sure, with talk about immigration reform heating up, that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Home Builders, and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) are all gearing up to engage lawmakers, because their “race to the bottom” business model relies upon the continued exploitation of workers who do not have the same right to join a union or recourse under the law as U.S. workers.
Let us examine what this “race to the bottom” approach (predicated upon the exploitation of undocumented workers) has done to the U.S. construction industry, and to U.S. construction workers. For starters, real wages for construction workers were lower in 2006 than they were in 1973! Adjusted for inflation, construction workers in 1973 earned the equivalent of $22.13 an hour in today's dollars. However, actual average hourly pay for construction workers in 2006 was only $18.29 – 17 percent below the 1973 rate, adjusted for inflation.
Additionally, even when contractors are making money, workers are not seeing the gains. According to the federal government's economic census, contractors' profits grew between 1977 and 2002. However, workers did not get their fair share of the gain; instead the proportion of construction receipts spent for payroll and benefits actually declined by almost 14 percent during the same period!
With those types of statistics in mind, it is simply idiotic for us, as a nation, to pass law after law – like the one in Arizona – and arrest someone with brown skin who can't produce an ID; or confiscate their cars; or deport people and break up families; when we don’t have the sense or the courage to address the real issue - companies maximizing profits at the expense of workers, using a business model that relies on the lowering of standards and wages industry-wide by exploiting a workforce without the legal standing to demand justice.
Instead of demagoguery and divisiveness, we need comprehensive immigration reform that stops this exploitation. America’s Building Trades Unions and this great country were built by immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Whether it’s a temporary worker program that denies full rights and wages to those working in this country or the “Show Me Your Papers” law, anytime we treat immigrants like second-class citizens, we undermine our core values as Americans, and undermine the American Dream for all of us.
America's building trades unions will never stop in their quest to expose organizations like the Home Builders and the ABC for what they truly are – defenders and practitioners of an abhorrent business model that is contrary to our American beliefs.
The 800 Pound Gorilla That Sits in the Middle of Arizona
Calendar / April 2010 Newsletter (w/color)
Calendar / April 2010 Newsletter (w/color)
We recently sent out the latest newsletter. In case you missed it or misplaced it, download a copy here and make sure you are up to date on the latest activities and calendar listings. We have Supplemental Pension meetings, the Members Only Cook-Out, the Family Picnic, the 2010 Apprenticeship class and more inside the newsletter.
Additionally, if you log-in, you can view the electronic calendar ("Member Calendar") with the upcoming events.
Click here to view in .pdf (You must be able to log-in).
We recently sent out the latest newsletter. In case you missed it or misplaced it, download a copy here and make sure you are up to date on the latest activities and calendar listi...
Obama Makes Recess Appointments to NLRB!
Obama Makes Recess Appointments to NLRB!
WASHINGTON - Fed up with waiting, President Barack Obama announced Saturday he would bypass a vacationing Senate and name 15 people to key administration jobs, wielding for the first time the blunt political tool known as the recess appointment.
The move immediately deepened the divide between the Democratic president and Republicans in the Senate following a long, bruising fight over health care. Obama revealed his decision by blistering Republicans, accusing them of holding up nominees for months solely to try to score a political advantage on him.
"I simply cannot allow partisan politics to stand in the way of the basic functioning of government," Obama said in a statement. The 15 appointees to boards and agencies include the contentious choice of union lawyer Craig Beckerto the National Labor Relations Board. Republicans had blocked his nomination on grounds he would bring a radical pro-union agenda to the job, and they called on Obama not to appoint Becker over the recess.
Obama went ahead anyway, while also choosing a second member for the labor board so that four of its five slots will be filled. The board, which referees labor-management disputes, has had a majority of its seats vacant for more than two years, slowing its work and raising questions about the legality of its rulings.
Republicans complainOverall, Obama's appointments will take place through next week, allowing people to make the transition to their new jobs, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. The news of Becker's appointment drew the bulk of the ire from Republicans.
"Once again the administration showed that it had little respect for the time honored constitutional roles and procedures of Congress," said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama's foe in the 2008 presidential election. "This is clear payback by the administration to organized labor."
Both Republican and Democratic presidents have made recess appointments, which circumvents the Senate's authority to confirm nominees, when they could not overcome delays. President George W. Bush made more than 170 such appointments in his two-term presidency. President Bill Clinton made nearly 140.
Obama had been on record as warning of recess appointments if the Senate didn't act. He followed through at the end of a week in which his political standing was significantly bolstered by the party-line passage of a historic health care bill, a student loan overhaul and a hard-fought nuclear arms treaty with Russia.
The White House dropped the news in a press release on a quiet Saturday, with Obama at Camp David and lawmakers home in their districts.
The recess appointments mean the 15 people could serve in their jobs through the end of 2011, when the next Senate finishes its term. A recess appointment ends at the completion of the next Senate session or when a person is nominated and confirmed to the job, whichever comes first.
Confirmations held up
Obama filled two posts at the Treasury Department: Jeffrey Goldstein as under secretary for domestic finance and Michael Mundaca as assistant secretary for tax policy. He singled them out: "At a time of economic emergency, two top appointees to the Department of Treasury have been held up for nearly six months."
On Becker, Republicans have held up his confirmation for months, saying they fear he would circumvent Congress to make labor laws more union-friendly.
Democrats had failed to overcome Republican delaying tactics on Becker's nomination, and all 41 GOP senators wrote to Obama on Thursday urging him not to appoint Becker over the break — to no avail.
Becker is a top lawyer at the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO.
Labor unions were especially keen on getting Becker installed on the board that is responsible for certifying union elections and addressing unfair labor practices. Under a Democratic majority, the labor board could decide cases or make new rules that would make it easier for unions to organize workers. The board could allow speeded-up union elections that give employers less time to counter organizing drives.
The other pro-union lawyer Obama named to the board, Mark Pearce, has not faced opposition from Republicans.
The White House says its appointees have been awaiting a vote for an average of seven months.
Obama named three people to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, which has also been operating without a quorum.
More obstructionThe Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid, welcomed Obama's move. "Regrettably, Senate Republicans have dedicated themselves to a failed strategy to cripple President Obama's economic initiatives by stalling key administration nominees at every turn," said Reid, the majority leader from Nevada.
Obama and Democratic leaders say he faces more obstruction, in terms of the number of pending nominees and the length of their delay in getting a vote, than Bush did. The hyper-partisan atmosphere in Washington began long before Obama's presidency but remains as entrenched as ever, if not worse, during his term.
Already in a struggle with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over a financial overhaul, Obama now has another one over Becker. "The business community should be on red alert for radical changes that could significantly impair the ability of America's job creators to compete," the chamber said in a statement.
In February, Democrats fell far short of the 60 votes they needed to push through Becker's nomination. Two Democrats joined Republicans to halt Becker.
WASHINGTON - Fed up with waiting, President Barack Obama announced Saturday he would bypass a vacati...
2010 Primaries in Indiana/Illinois Elections
2010 Primaries in Indiana/Illinois Elections
2010 Indiana Primary Election: Are you registered to vote?
The 2010 Primary Elections will be held on Tuesday, May 4th. In order to vote in the May 4th Primary Election, you must be registered by Monday, April 5th.
TERRE HAUTE — The Terre Haute City Council voted narrowly Thursday night in favor of an ordinance imposing new standards on contractors seeking city construction projects.
In a 5-4 vote, the council approved General Ordinance 2, 2010, better known as the “responsible bidder” ordinance. Supporters of the ordinance, mostly organized labor, said the ordinance will prevent low-quality contractors from winning city contracts.
“I’m very happy,” said Todd Thacker, business manager and financial secretary of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 725. “Five people [on the council] understood that when we raise the tide, we raise all boats.”
*** Voting in favor of the ordinance, which received some last-minute revisions Thursday, were councilmen Jim Chalos, D-at large, Norm Loudermilk, D-3rd, John Mullican, D-6th, Todd Nation, D-4th, and Turk Roman, D-2nd.
Opposing the ordinance were councilmen George Azar, D-at large, Rich Dunkin, D-1st, Don Morris, D-at large and Neil Garrison, D-5th.
Approximately 135 people – nearly all supporters of the ordinance – crowded into the council chamber for Thursday night’s meeting. Statements in favor of the ordinance, which applies to city contracts of more than $150,000, were often followed by enthusiastic applause.
David Wulf, a volunteer representative of the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, spoke to the council in opposition to the ordinance prior to the vote.
The key sticking point was a paragraph in the ordinance that would require any apprentices on a city construction job to be certified through the U.S. Department of Labor.
Wulf stated that this requirement would effectively limit city contracts to contractors using union labor. As a result, it will reduce the number of bidders and likely raise the city’s construction costs, he said.
Supporters of the ordinance, however, disagreed, saying the ordinance will require better-quality work and provide a better value for taxpayers.
“The responsible bidder ordinance is going to benefit the taxpayer,” said Tom Szymanski, business representative of the IBEW Local 725. Supporters of the ordinance also said it will prevent contractors who violate state labor laws from winning local contracts.
“This ordinance will prohibit contractors from paying illegal aliens with our tax dollars,” said Ed Ping, a member of the Vigo County Council, who spoke in favor of the ordinance.
Also at Thursday night’s three-hour meeting, the council voted to give preliminary approval for tax-exempt bonds to be used to build a new Holiday Inn Express hotel near Interstate 70 and Indiana 46. The bonds, which total $3.5 million, were made available to Indiana counties through the 2009 federal stimulus bill. Final approval of use of the bonds for the project will come before the council next month.
The bonds, which are known as economic recovery zone bonds, are not backed by tax dollars, but do allow borrowers to save 1 to 2 percent in interest payments.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
The way the city of Terre Haute hires contractors will change.
After weeks of heated debate and in a packed city hall room, Terre Haute City Council members voted yes on the Responsible Bidder Ordinance.
The ordinance specifies certain criteria a contractor must have in order to work.
The Chamber of Commerce was against the ordinance. They say many of the items in it are already required by state law.
But supporters from local unions say current laws aren't enforced. They feel by having the ordinance-- the requirement rules are clear to everyone and it levels the playing field for bidding.
Plus, they say it benefits our community because more work can stay local and prevents contractors from using illegal workers.
"It's a great victory for the citizens of Terre Haute. It's going to allow them to have some responsible contractors doing their work safely, with trained and skilled works, I mean it's something the taxpayers should expect from anyone doing their public works jobs,” Tom Szymanski of the IBEW Local 725 says.
"We think it'll restrict the number of bidders that will be available for public contracts and fewer bidders-- the less competition, the hire our price will be. It'll be passed on to our tax payers,” David Wulf says. Wulf represented the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce.
The official vote count was 5 to 4. Pending a signature from Mayor Duke Bennett, the ordinance should go into effect in the next two weeks.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A controversial ordinance passes at Thursday's Terre Haute City Council meeting.
Council members passed the Responsible Bidder ordinance.
This means contractors will now have to meet certain requirements for projects in the city.
Supporters say this will help local contractors by putting everyone on the same playing field.
Opponents of the ordinance say it will restrict the number of bidders available for public contracts.
"It's a win-win situation for taxpayers and the people who live in the city," Charlie Toth with the Laborers Union Local 204.
"The fewer the bidders, the less competition, the higher the price will be," said David Wulf, Terre Haute Chamber volunteer.
The council approved the ordinance with a vote of five to four.
IBEW 725 Members Rally with Whirlpool Workers!
IBEW 725 Members Rally with Whirlpool Workers!
(view pictures) Over 5,000 people turned out for the Whirlpool rally in Evansville, Indiana, on February 26, 2010. We thank our members who found time to show their solidarity with fellow workers!
(view pictures) Over 5,000 people turned out for the Whirlpool rally in Evansville, Indiana, on February 26, 2010. We thank our members who found...
IBEW 725 Awarded APE Solar Grant!
IBEW 725 Awarded APE Solar Grant!
Indiana Awards Twelve Grants for Alternative Energy
For Immediate ReleaseContact:Eric Burch 317-232-8944eburch@oed.in.gov
(Indianapolis)—Lt. Governor Becky Skillman has announced 12 Alternative Power and Energy Grant awards totaling $388,955.The money, part of a federal grant program administered by the Indiana Office of Energy Development, will partially fund the purchase and installation of six solar power arrays and one wind turbine. The awards are the result of a competitive grant program that opened in November 2009.
“The local governments and small businesses that are receiving these grants are looking to the future,” said Lt. Governor Becky Skillman.“They realize that alternative power sources need to be included as part of our energy portfolio in Indiana. All Hoosiers can learn from their experience.”
Grantees include:
Name
Technology
Purpose
Bloomington Cooperative Services
(Monroe County)
Solar panels
Solar array for Bloomingfoods Market & Deli
Curt Silvey, Kokomo
(Howard)
Solar panels
To power grain dryer
Evansville-Vanderburgh Public
Library
(Vanderburgh)
Solar panels
Solar array for Central Library
FCC Mfg., Portland
Solar water heating
Heat water used to clean manufactured parts
Haubstadt Community School, Fort Branch
(Gibson)
2.4 kW wind turbine
Installing a wind turbine at the school was proposed by 3rd graders.
IBEW Local 725,
Terre Haute (Vigo)
Solar panels
Installation will also be used to train electrical workers
Indiana Municipal Power Agency, Carmel
(Hamilton)
28 solar panels and solar hot water system
Demonstration/education project forpower agency members
Jay County
Solar water heating
Jay County Highway Dept.
Name
Technology
Purpose
Lake County Electricians JATC
Solar panels
Joint project of the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, IBEW Local 697, and Nat. Electrical Contractors Association for training
City of Portland
(Jay)
Solar water heating
Hot water for community resource center and waste water treatment facility
City of Scottsburg
(Scott)
Solar panels and Solar water heating
To be used at non-profit Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center
City of Winchester
(Randolph)
Solar water heating
Hot water for Street Department facility
The Alternative Power and Energy grant is a competitive grant program funded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program. It’s designed to increase awareness and utilization of alternative energy resources as well as to create vocational opportunities for Hoosiers interested in renewable energy.
Public entities, small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Indiana were eligible to apply for the program. Grants for 50% of an alternative energy project up to $100,000 were made available. Approved technologies include Solar, Wind, Microhydroelectric, and biomass.
Each award must pass through a federal review, and the first to be cleared focused on solar and wind technologies.A total of $879,000 is available for this program.Additional awards are expected later this year.
###
The Office of Energy Development (OED) was created in December 2005 as an extension of the Indiana energy office. Under the leadership of Lt. Governor Becky Skillman, OED is responsible for the state’s energy policy. For more information visit www.energy.in.gov. or follow OED on twitter, IndianaEnergy.
For updates from the Lt. Governor and the agencies she oversees, please sign up at www.in.gov/lg/
Indiana Awards Twelve Grants for Alternative Energy
Latest Labor News from the AFL-CIO.
Latest Labor News from the AFL-CIO.
Find out what current events are happening in the labor movement.
Find out what current events are happening in the labor mo...
IBEW 725 Disputes Retailer's Contractor.
IBEW 725 Disputes Retailer's Contractor.
SHAME! ON SPENCER GIFTS FOR ALLOWING A CONTRACTOR WHO IS IN DISPUTE WITH IBEW LOCAL 725 TO DO THEIR WORK.
IBEW Local 725 made the public aware on Thursday and Friday that Bay's Company (Electric) has been identified to do work at Spencer Gifts' new location.
Thanks to the following members who helped out their local. More will be forthcoming.
Tracy Cook, Norm Cheesman, and Brian Wood assist with the public notice.
Apprentices Josh Anderson and Alex Kyle helped out.
Norm Cheesman and Tom Szymanski of IBEW 725
Handbilling was part of the action on Friday.
SHAME! ON SPENCER GIFTS FOR ALLOWING A CONTRACTOR WHO IS IN DISPUTE WITH IBEW LOCAL 725 TO DO THEIR WORK.
IBEW Local 725 made the public aware on Thursday and Frid...
U.S. Addresses Misclassification of Workers
U.S. Addresses Misclassification of Workers
U.S. Cracks Down on ‘Contractors’ as a Tax Dodge
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
New York Times - February 18, 2010
Companies that pass off employees as independent contractors avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers. Companies do not withhold income taxes from contractors’ paychecks, and several studies have indicated that, on average, misclassified independent workers do not report 30 percent of their income.
One federal study concluded that employers illegally passed off 3.4 million regular workers as contractors, while the Labor Department estimates that up to 30 percent of companies misclassify employees. Ohio’s attorney general estimates that his state has 92,500 misclassified workers, which has cost the state up to $35 million a year in unemployment insurance taxes, up to $103 million in workers’ compensation premiums and up to $223 million in income tax revenue.
“It’s a very significant problem,” said the attorney general, Richard Cordray. “Misclassification is bad for business, government and labor. Law-abiding businesses are in many ways the biggest fans of increased enforcement. Misclassifying can mean a 20 or 30 percent cost difference per worker.”
Employers deny misclassifying workers deliberately. The businesses say the lines are unclear between employee and independent contractor.
Workers are generally considered employees when someone else controls how and when they perform their work. In contrast, independent contractors are generally in business for themselves, obtain customers on their own and control how they perform services.
Among the most often misclassified workers are truck drivers, construction workers, home health aides and high-tech engineers.
Portraying regular workers as contractors allows companies to circumvent minimum wage, overtime and antidiscrimination laws. Workers classified as contractors do not receive unemployment insurance if laid off or workers’ compensation if injured, and they rarely receive the health insurance or other fringe benefits regular employees do.
“This denies many workers their basic rights and protections and means less revenues to the Treasury and a competitive advantage for employers who misclassify,” said Jared Bernstein, who as executive director of Vice President Joseph A. Biden’s Middle Class Task Force has helped orchestrate the administration’s campaign against misclassification. “The last thing you want is to give a competitive advantage to employers who are breaking the rules.”
California’s attorney general, Jerry Brown, is seeking $4.3 million from a construction firm he accused of misclassifying employees. Last April, he won a $13 million judgment when a court ruled that two companies had misclassified 300 janitors, cheated the state out of payroll taxes and not paid minimum wage and overtime.
Last November, the Illinois Department of Labor imposed $328,500 in penalties on a home improvement company for misclassifying 18 workers, saying it had pressed them to incorporate as separate business entities.
The Obama administration plans to expand investigations by hiring 100 more enforcement personnel. The I.R.S. has begun auditing 6,000 companies to see whether they are in compliance with the law.
The administration also plans to rewrite a three-decade-old I.R.S. rule that lets companies indefinitely classify employees as independent contractors — even when the government knows they are misclassified — so long as the company once had a reasonable belief that the workers were contractors.
One worker who welcomes stricter enforcement is Fritz Elienberg, who spent five years installing cable and Internet service for RCN in Boston.
Mr. Elienberg said he and a dozen other installers reported to an RCN office six mornings a week, shortly after 6:30, where they received their daily assignments and the equipment to do installations. He said he typically worked 10 to 14 hours a day and never received time-and-a-half pay for overtime.
“I didn’t feel like an independent contractor. I didn’t feel like my own boss,” Mr. Elienberg said. “I always believed I was an employee. It’s a win-win situation for them and a lose-lose for us. We didn’t get overtime, sick days, vacations, health insurance or pensions.”
Mr. Elienberg said his foot was seriously injured when a ladder fell on it, but workers’ compensation did not cover his medical bills because he was considered a contractor. He is suing RCN for overtime pay and the value of lost benefits.
Michele Murphy, an RCN spokeswoman, said the company often contracted with outside service providers but did not misclassify workers.
A Harvard study found that 4.5 percent of Massachusetts workers were misclassified, while a Cornell study concluded that 10 percent of New York’s private-sector workers were.
One factor in the push for more aggressive enforcement is the Labor Department’s new top law enforcement official, M. Patricia Smith. As New York’s labor commissioner the past three years, she was known for cracking down on misclassification.
Ms. Smith oversaw a task force comprising various state agencies that conducted 2,413 misclassification investigations and 65 joint sweeps in which teams descended on companies’ offices to examine payroll records.
In a Feb. 1 report to New York’s governor, Ms. Smith noted that since late 2007, the task force had identified more than 31,000 instances of misclassification and assessed $11 million in unpaid unemployment taxes and $14.5 million in unpaid wages.
Federal and state officials, many facing record budget deficits, are starting to aggressively pursue companies that try to pass off regular employees as independent contractors.
President Obama’s 2010 budget assumes that the federal crackdown will yield at least $7 billion over 10 years. More than two dozen states also have stepped up enforcement, often by enacting stricter penalties for misclassifying workers.
Many workplace experts say a growing number of companies have maneuvered to cut costs by wrongly classifying regular employees as independent contractors, though they often are given desks, phone lines and assignments just like regular employees. Moreover, the experts say, workers have become more reluctant to challenge such practices, given the tough job market.
U.S. Cracks Down on ‘Contractors’ as a Tax Dodge
BM Thacker Receives Recognition.
BM Thacker Receives Recognition.
Business Manager, R. Todd Thacker, was recently appointed and seated to the 26 member Indiana AFL-CIO Executive Council to replace retired IBEW 481 Business Manager Tom O'Donnell. At the last IBEW Construction Conference, it was voted by the IBEW representatives to have Thacker represent the Indiana IBEW locals at the Indiana AFL-CIO. Ken Zeller is the current President and Joe Breedlove is the Secretary-Treasurer. This is in addition to Thacker receiving the Leo Perlis Community Service award from the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council at the 2009 Labor Day banquet held September 7, 2009. See the Terre Haute Tribune Star article below:
252 help cap off TH’s salute to labor with banquet
TERRE HAUTE —Two-hundred and fifty-two union members and their supporters packed the Holiday Inn banquet room Monday evening as Terre Haute’s salute to labor capped off with an awards banquet.
Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett gave a nod to Terre Haute’s “unique history” in the union movement, noting the impact local laborers have not only at their job, but in community roles as well.
“I’m very proud of our working people and what they do every day,” he said at the onset of the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council’s awards banquet, adding that volunteerism and community spirit are particularly high amongst the area’s union members.
Bill Treash, president of the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council, emcee’d the banquet, although he would later be slipped into the recipient category while receiving the Pete Culver Labor Day Award.
Much of the evening was dominated by applause and support for Workers United Local 1426, which launched what would become a 40-day strike at Bemis Co. on July 21. The workers of Local 1426 were awarded Local Union of the Year.
Bruce Raynor, president of Workers United International and executive vice-president with SEIU, paid tribute to Terre Haute as a “great labor town” and the home of union pioneer Eugene V. Debs.
But the strike at Bemis, he said, which was launched in a manufacturing plant in 2009, during one of the worst economic periods in America took a lot of courage and was an effort to be commended.
“They stood up and fought and you should be proud of them,” he said.
One of the highlights of the parade and bean dinner earlier that day was the attendance of Hollywood actor Danny Glover, who came out of support for the local, and “nobody paid him a nickel,” Raynor said.
On Labor Day 2009, 15 million Americans were out of work, 7 million facing mortgage foreclosure and 50 million uninsured, Raynor said. All of which, he said, need to be addressed by the solid, united front of organized labor.
Tom Szymanski, an organizer with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 725, stressed the importance of the Employee Free Choice Act, as well as universal health care coverage and domestic-friendly trade policy.
“If free trade can’t make life better for workers, then we don’t need more trade,” he said, citing statistics which show 40 percent of American consumer goods are now made in China, with a disproportionately high percentage of recalls. Meanwhile, the U.S. has lost 40,000 factories and millions of jobs during the last decade, he said, noting “we all know about the bailouts.”
But federal bailouts which helped corporate officials did nothing for the working class, and that’s the group needing it most, he said.
More jobs, less out-sourcing, more stimulus, less bailouts, more education and less debt were all fixes he espoused in citing the needs of labor.
Participation in this year’s event was at a high, Treash said, echoing the comments of many when he said Terre Haute is a good home for organized labor.
Wabash Valley Central Labor Council Labor Day Awards 2009
• Local Union Member of the Year: Don Seprodi, Firefighters No. 758
• Local Union of the Year: Workers United No. 1426
• Local Retiree of the Year: Harold Foster
• Local Media Worker of the Year: Brian Boyce, Terre Haute Tribune-Star
• Public Servant of the Year: Ed Ping, Vigo County Councilman-At-Large
• Leo Perlis Award: R. Todd Thacker, IBEW No. 725
• Pete Culver Labor Day Award: Bill Treash, Plumbers and Steamfitters No. 157
Terre Haute Labor Day Parade Awards
• Participation Award: Workers United Local 1426
• Theme: Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 157
• Best Float: Transit Union Local 1064
-By Brian M. Boyce- The Tribune-Star
Business Manager, R. Todd Thacker, was recently appointed and seated to the 26 member Indiana AFL-CIO Executive Council to replace retired IBEW 481 Business Manager Tom O'Donnell. At the last IBEW Construction Confer...
Bloomington Responsible Bidder Ordinance Passes!
Bloomington Responsible Bidder Ordinance Passes!
After a long wait and many, many meetings, the Bloomington City Council passed the first Responsible Bidder Ordinance (RBO) within our jurisdiction, and this being only the fourth one enacted across the state of Indiana. The other three are in effect in northern Indiana: Newton County, Crown Point, and Schneider.
IBEW Local 725 took the lead to initiate and coordinate its movement from the Mayor's office to the final vote at the City Council. A sincere thank you goes to Mayor Mark Kruzan, his attorney Kevin Robling and assistant Mike Rouker, and Council members and co-sponsors Andy Ruff and Isabel Piedmont-Smith for their support and commitment to seeing it pass.
After attending all three evening council meetings on 10-7, 10-14, and 10-21, from the first reading through the final vote, the RBO passed unanimously 7-0 (two members were absent) with public remarks from the following in its support: IBEW representative Joe Kerr, Jackie Yenna (White River CLC president), Joe Varga (IU Labor Studies professor), Roger Woods (Woods Electric), and IBEW member Don Woods. I thank them for their support and the whole city council for its unanimous approval.
Tom Szymanski
NEWS FEATURE - RBO Passes in Bloomington, Indiana.
"It took the Bloomington city council less than twenty minutes last night to make our town one of only two Indiana cities to enact responsible bidder laws. After extensive discussion at last week’s session, the council voted unanimously to amend city code with new provisions to make sure taxpayer-funded projects are done by ethical contractors and not just the cheapest ones. Assistant city attorney Mike Rouker helps the council more clearly define what it means to be a responsible contractor and create transparency in the bidding process for both contractors and city officials. We’ll also hear public support from local labor leader Tom Szymanski, and city councilman Andy Ruff explains why he voted yes, after Rouker runs us through the details of Bloomington’s new Responsible Bidder Ordinance in a compilation of highlights from both last night’s vote and last week’s discussion".
After a long wait and many, many meetings, the Bloomington City Council passed the first Responsible Bidder Ordinance (RBO) within our jurisdiction, and this being only the fourth one enacted across the state of Indiana. The ot...
TERRE HAUTE —Some union representatives Tuesday encouraged the Vigo County Board of Commissioners to consider allocating federal stimulus bonds for projects that use county construction workers and that create higher paying jobs.
At issue is the possible allocation of federal stimulus bonding capacity to build a new Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel on Terre Haute’s east side.
“My concern is when they come in and build something like this, what will the community get out of it? Will we use local contractors to build this structure and will we have employees making house-cleaning minimum wage or would it be better to utilize this [bonding capacity] for better-paying jobs?” said R. Todd Thacker, business manager and financial secretary for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 725.
“We would like to see the community get something back for it,” Thacker said.
Commissioner Judith Anderson said a construction project has to be ready to go to receive the bond allocation.
“We always ask to use local contractors as much as possible. We know that type of project does hire a certain type of people, but we also know there are lot of people out there in that range that need jobs,” Anderson said.
Commissioner Paul Mason said a new hotel would “have people stopping in Vigo County and spending money and that is a plus.”
Commissioners this month awarded $3.54 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds, part of a program under the federal Stimulus Act passed in February, to help finance and construct a 153,600-square-foot warehouse/distribution center at 4780 E. Margaret Ave. for Clabber Girl, a producer of baking powder and other food goods.
That allocation was half of the amount the county can issue to private businesses under the federal Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds program. The bonds are issued to private businesses and do not affect the bonding capacity of the county. A private business that receives the bonds must pay them off.
Thacker said the bond allocation to Clabber Girl Inc. would generate jobs at a higher pay scale than a new hotel.
Timothy J. Dora, co-owner of Dora Brothers Hospitality Corp., told commissioners last week he planned to request a bond allocation to build the hotel. Dora said the bond would reduce costs, enabling the project to move forward.
The hotel would be owned by Sycamore Hotel Partners LLC, of which Dora is a member. Plans are to construct a four-story, 83-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites near the junction of Interstate 70 and Indiana 46 in the Sycamore Terrace Shopping Center, near the new Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau. The project would cost at least $10 million, Dora said last week.
Dora could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
County Attorney Michael Wright said commissioners expect there to be a request for a bond allocation for the hotel, but are not yet sure of an amount. “We have no documentation ready to support that allocation at this point, but it is in the process of being put together and will be presented at a later date,” Wright said.
County Auditor Tim Seprodi told commissioners all bond allocations must be made by the end of this year, with bonds issued by the end of 2010, before Jan. 1, 2011.
“This will not bring one job for us,” said Mike Jones, business representative for the Sheet Metal Workers Local 20 in Terre Haute, told commissioners.
Jones said the project had 26 bid packages, based on information from FW Dodge/McGraw Hill Construction, a provider of project news, plans, specifications and analysis services for construction professionals.
Jones said mechanical and plumbing work has been awarded to BRS Mechanical of Tipton; electrical work to PW Gollmer Electric Co. of Fishers; while brick work will be done by Biancofiori Masonry of Lafayette and tile work by McCammack Title of Indianapolis.
After the meeting, Jones said the only Terre Haute contract is for site work and concrete work by Dennis Trucking Co. of Terre Haute. The general contractor is Vision Building Co. LLC of Fishers. Dora is a principal owner in that company.
“It makes no sense to me. Give the [bond allocation] to someone else. I don’t see where this will help us one little bit, except bring some maid jobs, some $7 an hour jobs to clean rooms,” Jones said after the meeting.
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