(518) 869-9800
September 2004
Inside this Edition: NESCA Enters Into Alliance With OSHA, A New Effort To Raise W.C. Rates Emerges, President’s Message, Massachusetts Court Holds Building Authority Exempt From Bidding Laws, Assembly Overrides Minimum Wage Veto, National Subcontractors Alliance Joins ASC Welcome New Members, Calendar Of Events, Sample Letters, Forms & Other Documents Available To Members Of NESCA, Member Anniversaries
NESCA ENTERS INTO
ALLIANCE WITH OSHA (Go Top)
NESCA
has joined forces with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) and the New York State Department of Labor’s On-Site
Consultation Program (NY Consultation) to further the safety and health of
workers in the construction industry.
NESCA executive director Mike Misenhimer signed the agreement
establishing an alliance with OSHA and NY Consultation on August 10, 2004.
The
purpose of the alliance is to provide members of NESCA with information,
guidance and training resources that will help them protect their workers’
safety and health. The alliance
signatories will work together to ensure the delivery of safety and health
information and training programs that will particularly focus on reducing and
preventing exposure to the four hazards that cause the vast majority of serious
injuries and death: falls; struck-by; caught-in-between; and electrical
hazards. NESCA will also encourage
members to build relationships with OSHA’s Albany Area Office and NY
Consultation and to use the resources of these two agencies.
NESCA
is looking for interested members willing to serve on the Alliance Safety
Committee to participate in the development of the education and outreach
programs with OSHA and NY Consultation.
Members interested in serving on this Committee should contact the NESCA
office.
NESCA Alliance Agreement Signing Ceremony, August 10, 2004
A NEW EFFORT TO RAISE W.C. RATES EMERGES (Go
Top)
Less
than a month after the NYS Insurance Department rejected a proposal to increase
average workers’ compensation premiums by more than 29 percent, the New York
Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB) has issued a new rate filing with
the Insurance Department, this time requesting a 9.5 percent increase. NYCIRB has requested that its proposed rate
hike take effect 75 days from the date of approved by the Insurance Department.
“The
Rating Board has responded to the concerns addressed by the Department in the
Opinion and Decision and has met and discussed with the Department the
possibility of a revision in rates sometime during the upcoming rate period,”
NYCIRB said in an August 6 bulletin.
Even
without an increase in premiums, employers’ overall comp costs are likely to go
up next year because of a 5.6 percent increase in the assessment rate. Assessments support the operational expenses
of New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board and various special funds supported
by the workers’ comp system.
NESCA
Membership Meeting
September
9, 2004
Century
House – 6:00 p.m.
6:00 Open
Bar/Registration
6:30 Dinner: New York Strip Steak
7:10 Business Announcements
7:30 Program: General Contractor Showcase
Featuring
The Pike Company
The Pike Company was established in 1873 and is
headquartered in Rochester, New York.
More recently, the company has made its mark in the Capital District and
throughout the northeast. Join us to
meet The Pike Company’s leadership team and learn more about this company’s
philosophy, market niche and how they run their projects.
Open Bar, Dinner, Tax &
Gratuities - $35
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE (Go Top)
On August 10, 2004, nearly a
year after discussions began with the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, NESCA signed an agreement establishing an Alliance with OSHA
and the New York State Department of Labor’s On-Site Consultation Program. This Alliance will better enable NESCA to
provide our members with information and guidance that will help them to reduce
and prevent employee exposure to construction jobsite hazards. By participating in the Alliance, NESCA will
be able to leverage the resources of OSHA, NYS DOL and the association itself
to maximize the safety and protection of our members’ employees.
This represents new territory
for both NESCA and OSHA. Although OSHA
has established approximately 200 alliances with various businesses and
organizations throughout the country, this appears to be the very first
Alliance Agreement entered into by a construction subcontractors association. OSHA’s Alliance Program is relatively new,
and enables organizations committed to workplace safety to collaborate with
OSHA to prevent injuries and illnesses in the workplace. NESCA’s Board of Directors believes the
association and our members will benefit in many ways by participating in an
Alliance with OSHA, including:
¨ Building a relationship of
trust and cooperation with OSHA and the NY On-Site Consultation Program.
¨ Being able to utilize the
resources of these two agencies to provide information, outreach and education to
NESCA members.
¨ Providing a forum for
members to network with others committed to workplace safety.
In
the coming weeks, NESCA will be reaching out to members to serve on an Alliance
Safety Committee to begin the process of implementing the Alliance Agreement. If you or someone else within your company
(perhaps the person responsible for safety and OSHA compliance) would like to
participate on this Committee, please contact the NESCA office.
Regarding another matter, as of
the writing of this message over 70 percent of NESCA’s members have paid their
annual membership dues for our fiscal year that began on July 1st. I sincerely thank all members who have
already remitted your dues payment, and encourage the rest of you to send your
dues in as soon as possible. It’s very
important that NESCA continue to grow as an organization so that we can
maintain, and even increase, the level of member service and advocacy (and for
a very reasonable cost) that our members have come to expect. We can only do this through a combination of
recruiting new members and retaining our existing members. Let’s face it, membership in NESCA is a
bargain. Just compare it to what other
construction associations charge for membership and you’ll have to agree. In fact, NESCA dues are less than the dues
paid by the average union construction worker!
That’s right, if you’re a union contractor, it costs your employees more
to belong to their organization than it costs for your company to be a member
of NESCA. Please take the time to think
about NESCA’s 30 years of accomplishments on your behalf in the legislature,
with state agencies, and in the courts and I think you’ll agree that your dues
payment is well worth it.
Kevin J.
Garrity, President
MASSACHUSETTS COURT HOLDS BUILDING AUTHORITY
EXEMPT FROM BIDDING LAWS (Go Top)
The Supreme Judicial Court of
Massachusetts on July 7, 2004 decided the Associated
Subcontractors of Massachusetts, Inc., et al v. University of Massachusetts Building
Authority. In this case, the court
held that a certain dormitory construction project undertaken by the University
of Massachusetts Building Authority was exempt from the state statutory
competitive bidding process as it was financed with funds from non-governmental
sources.
The Plaintiffs, subcontractors
and an Association of Subcontractors brought a declaratory judgment action
against the Building Authority contending that the University’s construction
project violated the competitive bidding statute of the State of Massachusetts.
The court in exploring the
financing arrangement employed by the Building Authority found that the payment
of the principal and interest on the bonds issued by the Authority to provide
the financing for the project was secured by student room and board fees, which
were non-governmental funds and therefore fell within an exception to the
competitive bidding law.
The court further pointed out
that notwithstanding that the state had guaranteed the Building Authority’s
obligation on the bonds, none of the funds for the project was raised by state,
local or federal taxation. Consequently, no governmental appropriation was made
for the project. The court then concluded that the student room and board fees
at issue are funds from nongovernmental sources, thereby exempting the
dormitory construction project from the competitive bidding statute.
Terence J. Burke, Esq.
NESCA Legal Counsel
ASSEMBLY OVERRIDES MINIMUM WAGE VETO (Go Top)
On August 11th, the
NYS Assembly voted to override Governor Pataki’s recent veto of legislation
that would increase the minimum wage in New York State. The legislation would raise the minimum wage
to $6.00 per hour on January 1, 2005; to $6.75 per hour on January 1, 2006; and
to $7.15 per hour on January 1, 2007.
The Senate has not yet taken any action to override the Governor’s veto.
NATIONAL SUBCONTRACTORS ALLIANCE JOINS ASC (Go Top)
The
National Subcontractors Alliance (NSA), an affiliation of local subcontractors’
associations from Chicago, Boston, Florida, Akron, Tucson, Albany and New York
City has been accepted as a new member of the Associated Specialty Contractors
(ASC).
ASC
is an umbrella organization of national specialty contractors associations
whose combined membership totals more than 25,000 firms. Its members include: Mechanical Contractors’
Association of America; Ceiling and Interior Systems Construction Association;
Finishing Contractors Association; National Electrical Contractors Association;
National Insulation Association; National Roofing Contractors of America;
Painting and Decorating Contractors of America; Plumbing-Heating-Cooling
Contractors’ Association; and Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’
National Association.
NSA
was formed several years ago by six local subcontractor associations (including
NESCA) that were formerly affiliated with the American Subcontractors
Association. The purpose of NSA is to
provide a formal structure for former ASA chapters to loosely affiliate and
meet, network and trade information on a regular basis, and to foster
opportunities for representation at the national level on industry issues. By joining ASC, NSA will now have such an
opportunity for representation at the national level.
ASC’s
goals are to promote efficient management and productivity; to improve
contracting forms and practices; to coordinate the work of specialized branches
of the industry in management information, research, public information,
government relations and construction relations; and to serve as a liaison
among specialty trade associations in the areas of public relations, government
relations and with other organizations.
ASC and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) continue to
work together on major industry issues including risk allocation, payment
issues, safety, contract language and general contractor–specialty contractor
relations. ASC and AGC have signed
partnering agreements that seek to “identify, develop, and promote best
practices and procedures that result in fair and equitable relationships among
parties to the construction process.”
NSA’s application was
approved by ASC in July making NSA the tenth association to affiliate with
ASC.
WELCOME
NEW MEMBERS (Go Top)
119 Sheridan Avenue
Albany, NY 12210
(518) 378-5069; FAX (518)
427-7445
Contact: Lorne Brown
420 Caverns Road
Howes Cave, NY 12092
(518) 296-8488; FAX (518)
296-8443
Contact: Philippe Stuart
CALENDAR OF
EVENTS (Go Top)
September 9, 2004
Board of
Directors Meeting
Century House,
Latham, 5 pm
September 9, 2004
NESCA
Membership Meeting
Century House,
Latham, 6 pm
September 20,
2004
20th
Annual NESCA Golf Outing
Wolferts Roost
CC, 10:30 am
September 21,
2004
NESCA/GBC/ECA
Seminar
Fair Labor
Standards Act
Building Industry
Center, 6 pm
September 30,
2004
ESSA Board of
Directors Meeting
Building Industry
Center, 10:30 am
October 7,
2004
Board of
Directors Meeting
Century House,
Latham, 6 pm
October 14,
2004
24th
Annual Trade Show
Century House,
Latham, 4 pm
Sample Letters, Forms
& Other Documents Available to Members of NESCA! (Go
Top)
There are many advantages that come with being a
member of NESCA, one of which is access to the hundreds of sample letters,
forms and other documents we make available to all members. Over 30 years of assisting NESCA members
covering a wide range of subjects has resulted in the development of many types
of documents that can be extremely useful to subcontractors and suppliers in
their day-to-day business operations.
Such documents include:
Pre-Bid Letter Defining
Scope and Terms of Job * Letter to G.C. Requesting Contract Documents * Request
of Copy of Payment Bond from G.C. * Extra Work Under Protest Letter * Notice of
Work Stoppage for Non-Payment * Contested Backcharge Letter Request for Delay
Damages Letter * Notice of Payment Bond Claim * Financial Questionnaire for
G.C. * Pre-Contract Information Form * Addendum to Subcontract Request of
Notification of Project Acceptance * Disclaimer Against Pay-if-Paid Clause
Joint Check Agreement * Employee Appraisal Form * EEO Policy * HazCom Program
Company Safety Policy * Construction Sales Tax Requirements * Guide to
Apprenticeship Training * Small Claims Procedures * And many more!
DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE!!!
To
Have an Exhibit at
NESCA’s 24th
ANNUAL TRADE SHOW
October
14, 2004 – Century House, Latham – 4:00-8:30 pm
Exhibit Space Still Available
Among
those invited to come see YOUR Products and Services are:
General
Contractors * Subcontractors * Architects * Engineers * Contracting Agencies *
Building Owner Representatives
Call the
NESCA Office for an Exhibitor Registration Form
MEMBER ANNIVERSARIES
(Go Top)
In
September, the following members have reached milestone anniversaries as members
of NESCA. Thank you very much for your
continued support!
Five Years
The Safety Warehouse, LLC
Ten Years
C & C Welding Co., Inc.
Amsure Associates,
Inc.