In the interest of informing our membership, we’re sharing the latest proposal from UA Local 50.
At the Mechanical Contractors Association of Northwestern Ohio, we continue to work to save our customers money, win back our market share, and better position the union mechanical construction industry in NW Ohio for long-term prosperity. We are hopeful that our upcoming collective bargaining agreement will help us reach these goals.
Are Local 50 signatory contractors and their employees our customers’ providers of choice?
Consider:
- Local 50 members continue to pledge $1.00 per hour in after-tax dollars for target funds, but they still lose more than half the targeted jobs to nonunion companies.
- Customers are selecting alternative providers to do the work our union members used to do.
- Some customers prefer to use in-house staff to perform work we used to.
Compensation: A quick breakdown
Total Package = $58.57
$35.50 Base Pay
$8.02 Actives Health Care Plan and $2.12 Retiree Health Care
$7.10 Local and National Pension (Less than 50% goes to the individual who performed the work.)
$4.50 404c (aka a Defined Contribution)
$.85 Joint Apprenticeship Training and International Training Program
$.20 Piping Industry Professionals and Employers (LMCC)
$.28 MCA NW Ohio
Payroll taxes and insurance = 22% to 30% of base ($7.81 to $10.65)
Social security and Medicare, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, workers compensation, liability insurance.
Truck Expenses = typically $7-$9
Lease, depreciation, gas, oil, insurance, license fees, maintenance and repairs.
Miscellaneous and non-billable expenses = typically $12-$15
Uniforms, tools and gang box, consumables, communications (phone, wireless, laptops), lost time, callbacks, delivery, training, warranty paperwork and sales surveys.
This doesn’t include overhead associated with payroll staff, dispatchers, accounting and other administrative costs.
Working safer is a must
Adherence to all safety measures encourages our customers to continue using L50 signatory contractors and employees. Customers consider direct and indirect costs when selecting a contractor and hiring a workforce. If there’s an accident, the direct costs, such as medical costs and fines, are just the tip of the iceberg.
The indirect costs can include:
- Lost time by the injured worker
- Lost time by fellow workers
- Lost time by the supervisor
- Damaged equipment or jobsite
- Unhappy customers
- Cleanup time
- Schedule delays
- Training replacement staff
- Overhead costs
- Legal fees
- Insurance cost increases
Work safely. Help Local 50 workers and employers remain the provider of choice.
Lunch and Learn session led by Ron King at MCA of NW Ohio
MCAA’s Labor Estimating Committee added the Work Activity Method of labor calculations to its popular Web-Based Labor Estimating Manual (WebLEM). The Work Activity Method will help contractors assign labor hours by each work activity with greater accuracy.
On May 3, area mechanical contractors gathered at MCA of NW Ohio for a lunch and learn education session, led by Ron King, on using this new Work Activity Method.
King, who serves as co-chair of MCAA’s LEM Committee, discussed the advantages of the Work Activity Method compared to the present method of laboring — the Component Method.
According to King, currently contractors establish shop versus field labor hours by the Percentage Method and the Diameter-Inch Method.
In his presentation, King said that contractors have been accounting for back-to-back fittings by applying a correction factor. Also there was no way to break down the components of the joint, some contractors have improvised by determining that a “cap” equals one joint.
Using the Work Activity Method, contractors can:
- break down the hours from their estimate into shop versus field;
- accurately estimate the number of hours required in situations involving many back-to-back fittings;
- break down the components included in work activities such as the pipe cut, weld, hydrotest and others; and
- achieve better cost control of labor activities.
The Component Method will continue to be available in WebLEM for use where a shop versus field percentage multiplier is applied.
Ron King is the mechanical estimating segment manger for Trimble MEP (Toronto, Canada). He is co-chairman of the MCAA LEM Committee, which is responsible for formulating the labor units used for mechanical estimating. He also participates on the Pipe Fabrication Institute (PFI) Engineering Committee. Ron has more than 25 years in the industry and previously served as the mechanical department manager of a large industrial contractor in Walbridge, Ohio.
WebLEM is the next generation of the popular Labor Estimating Manual (LEM), which is considered the industry’s most reliable, authoritative source for comprehensive labor units for typical project tasks. This new, web-based product contains the detailed labor data contractors have come to depend on. With the WebLEM, you can quickly search for and retrieve information. The WebLEM also offers users the capability to export data into Microsoft Excel or CSV format for added flexibility. Data in the WebLEM is reviewed and updated periodically to reflect the latest products and joining methods.
Just because our nation has endured a long, drawn-out economic downturn doesn’t mean that people’s lives have been put on hold.
The Baby Boomers are retiring, new families are being formed, houses and cars still need to be built, and companies soon will need to loosen their purse strings to invest in employees and infrastructure.
Bundle those four phenomena together and the result is a crying need for skilled workers to build homes, cars, buildings and infrastructure. And just like Rosie the Riveter of yesteryear, many of these skilled worker jobs will have to be filled by women.
“We’ll need more women to help us upgrade and build what we’ve neglected during this prolonged downturn,” said Mary Gregory, executive vice president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Northwestern Ohio.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, “Labor force participation begins tailing off pretty sharply as people hit their late 50s, and with the average baby boomer turning 58 years old this year, this will be felt in the workplace. Assuming that we have a domestic economy that appears capable of adding 250,000 or more jobs a month for the foreseeable future. At the moment, we are fortunate to have enough slack labor to fill most of these positions, but what happens after a few years of labor absorption when the baby boomer retirement movement really accelerates? Who will replace their skills and institutional knowledge?”
Improved housing and auto sales
In addition, the numbers of retiring Baby Boomers are predicted to shake up the nation’s housing landscape. About 10,000 boomers reach Medicare age every day, and the over-65 crowd is predicted to grow 36 percent by the end of this decade, to 54.8 million. By 2030, the total will top 72 million.
Another nice surprise is the upturn in the housing market. A recent article by Reuters stated that home prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose 8.1 percent in January from a year earlier, the biggest 12-month rise since June 2006. Meanwhile, U.S. homebuilders are breaking ground on more houses this year.
Higher home prices are spurring home construction and a rise in home sales activity – particularly by homebuyers trying to purchase a home while prices are lower. A happy consequence to the uptick in home construction is an increase in sales of sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks, according to major automakers.
In March, new light-vehicle sales rose 3.4 percent and the annual sales pace reached 15.27 million, in line with analyst expectations. This marked the fifth straight month the industry sales rate topped 15 million. With this rate of growth, it’s anticipated that there will a greater need for manufacturing infrastructure.
How women help
Dede Hughes, executive vice president of the Fort Worth, Texas-based National Association of Women in Construction, agreed, saying that if the anticipated 15 percent growth in the construction industry over the next three years is realized, “We’re going to need a skilled workforce,” she said. “If women can go to a trade school or start in an apprenticeship, they’ll be able to get good jobs and later move into management if they so desire.”
There’s certainly room for women to grow in the trades. The Department of Labor Women’s Bureau reports that women constitute 7.9 percent of painters; 5.4 percent of welders, solderers and braziers; 4 percent of sheet metal workers; 3.9 percent of machinists; 2 percent of HVAC specialists; 1.5 percent of pipe layers, pipe fitters and plumbers; 1.4 percent of carpenters; and 1 percent of roofers and electricians.
Get trained
Women who are interested should contact their local apprentice programs. For example, those who aspire to be plumbers, pipefitters and HVAC-R technicians can learn their craft at the Piping Industry Training Center at www.nwopitc.com.
Recognizing a shortage of high-performing welders, a local state-of-the-art training center worked to help meet demand and train workers by providing free, 16-week welding courses for qualified applicants.
The welders took part in this training at the privately funded Piping Industry Training Center located in Northwood, Ohio. They received 40 hours per week welding training at no charge. This training is helping workers to provide for their families and contribute to our local economy.
Funding for the Piping Industry Training Center comes from union signatory contractors. This is not a tax-supported facility. However, the benefits of piping, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, refrigeration, ventilation, geothermal, welding, backflow, boilermaking, steamfitting, medical gas piping training are enjoyed by taxpayers.
All of us are touched by the local industries our contractors support, including food processing, oil and chemical refining, schools, universities and hospitals, nuclear power, electrical power, as well as retail, commercial and office space.
While many of our contractors conduct business throughout the country, our “home” territory includes the northwestern Ohio counties of Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Williams and Wood.
At NW Ohio Mechanical Contractors, we are dedicated to doing the best job possible. We have a simple code of excellence — the UA Standards for Excellence — which govern our conduct on our customers’ jobsites. This is an abbreviated list of job professionalism that our employees abide by:
1.) Members of UA Local 50 arrive on the job ready to work, every day, on time.
2.) Personal cell phones will not be used during the work day with the exception of lunch and break periods.
3.) Zero tolerance for substance abuse.
4.) Keep inactive time to a minimum; be productive, eliminate job disruptions.
5.) Safely work towards on-time completion of projects.
6.) Waste and property destruction will not be tolerated.
7.) Respect customer, contractors and fellow members by dressing in a professional manner.
8.) Respect and obey employer and customer rules.
The contractor / employee team realizes that contractors need to adhere to a policy of excellence as well. Below are few bullet points from their extensive list.
1.) Ensure that all necessary tools and equipment are readily available to employees.
2.) Minimize workers’ downtime by ensuring blueprints, specifications, job layout instructions, and materials are readily available in a timely manner.
3.) Provide proper storage for contractor and employee tools.
4.) Provide the necessary leadership and problem-solving skills to jobsite supervision.
5.) Create and maintain a safe work environment.
6.) Promote and support continued education and training.
7.) Employ an adequate number of properly trained employees to efficiently perform the work in a safe manner.
These are just a few of the Standards by which our contractors and their employees conduct themselves to ensure that customers receive value on every project. How do these Standards translate into customer value? Customers will realize superior quality and productivity resulting in lower costs during the project, as well as for the life of the materials and equipment. When something is constructed, installed or serviced by trained and experience experts who want to to their best every day, liablity and maintenance expenses are greatly diminished.
Mechanical Contractors who use a well trained workforce can deliver the quality, productivity and value that savvy customers seek. What does such value mean for customers? Consider the following.
- Customer will have reduced exposure to accidents, liability and lawsuits.
- Work will be done in a productive manner and with quality, which results in value both during install, and for the entire service life.
- Customer won’t have to worry about the system failing after the workforce left.
- Customer won’t have to worry about tearing up the structure to fix a faulty system.
- Customer won’t have to worry about warranty claims, insurance hassles.
- Customer won’t have to worry about missing the deadline or overshooting the budget.
- Less supervision needed, which reduces project costs.
- No on the job training at customer expense; our professionals have the skills to conduct work upon their arrival.
- Hundreds of specialized, thoroughly trained mechanics and technicians can handle any size and type of project.
- Professional conduct means a neat, safe jobsite, and no hassles or interference with customer personnel or processes.
- Predictable projects; highly skilled and experience professionals minimize the need for change orders and costly, unexpected additions in manpower and other resources.
- Less waste of resources, less damage to customer equipment.
How are contractors able to provide such value? Simply Stated:
- Highly trained workforce
- Consistent delivery of quality + productivity
- Superior value
- Professional conduct
Here are the Metrics:
- Less than 10% of applicants have the capabilities and aptitude to earn a spot in the apprentice program. Those who get in spend 5 years in the apprentice program before graduating.
- 90% of apprentices graduate.
- Over 400 professionals with specialized certifications and licenses.
- 360 certified welders.
- 16 and 30 hours OSHA trained.
- Annual OSHA refresher course.
- Annual drug free workplace training and drug testing.
- 1,000 highly trained, certified local professionals.
- Access to nationwide network of 300,000+ professionals.
- Labor/Mgmt funded training in advanced systems, processes and the latest technology.
- Laser focus on craftsmanship, jobsite safety, total cost of ownership.
- More time on tools; our professionals are prequalified, trained and ready for duty.
- Knowledge and expertise to extend the life of customer equipment, reduce/eliminate down time, reduce / eliminate energy costs, reduce warranty claims.
- Adherence to Standards for Excellence, which guides and governs jobsite performance and conduct.
- Multi-million dollar training center provides year round skills enhancement education.
Good Idea:
Contact one of the members of the Mechanical Contractors Association of NW Ohio to learn more about saving money, saving resources, reducing headaches and reducing liability associated with mechanical construction and maintenance projects.
Piping Industry Training Center
What does the Piping Industry Training Center do? How is it funded? Why should the local community and champions of economic development have an interest in this facility? Below are some quick highlights to consider.
WHAT DOES THE PIPING INDUSTRY TRAINING CENTER DO?
1.) Trains individuals to become experts in building or servicing HVACR and fluid and gas systems.
2.) Trains individuals to conduct work in a safe manner. (None of us can afford injury, not the individual worker, his/her family, nor the community and tax base.)
3.) Trains individuals to correctly service and maintain complex systems that provide us with electricity, heating and cooling, proper ventilation, fluids, gases, and refrigeration.
4.) Teaches effective troubleshooting and diagnostic techniques.
HOW IS THE PIPING INDUSTRY TRAINING CENTER FUNDED?
For every man-hour a contractor’s employee works, the contractor contributes to the local training fund. This facility and its training programs are privately funded, not tax dollar funded.
WHY SHOULD OUR COMMUNITY, BUSINESS LEADERS AND LEGISLATORS BE INTERESTED IN THIS TRAINING CENTER?
1.) In order to function as a competitive region, we need properly piped/plumbed medical and school facilities, reliable refrigeration, water quality, water efficiency, energy efficiency, and proper air quality both outdoors and indoors.
2.) In order to function as a competitive region, we need highly trained experts building, modifying or servicing air, fluids, gas and refrigeration systems.
3.) Our contracting employers need experts to provide the services quality conscientious customers demand.
4.) Our training and education program enables local men and women to provide this expertise for our community, their employers and our region.
For a list of contractors who use individuals trained at this state-of-the-art training facility, visit www.mcanwo.org. The Piping Industry Training Center is located at 7560 Caple Boulevard, Northwood, Ohio 43619.
Mechanical Contractors Association of NW Ohio 