The Boston Sunday Herald today published a story in the business section about the completed construction of the Carpenters Center.
Last week furniture was delivered and largely assembled. NERCC staff began moving into the third floor and over the weekend, the remaining boxes from the previously leased space in South Boston were moved to the Carpenters Center. All NERCC staff who worked at the 803 Summer Street office will begin working at the Carpenters Center on Monday.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
More positive news on the economy
Leading up to the State of the Union address last night, there was some good economic news on the economy told by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. No, money for construction projects are not falling from the sky. It will still take some time for an economic recovery to fully reach the construction industry.
But there are some important sings that an economic turnaround has been sharper and quicker than some feared. Talk of a "double-dip" recession or second Great American Depression have disappeared. And economists from both sides of the political spectrum are starting to talk about the success of the Recovery Act (the "Stimulus Bill").
But there are some important sings that an economic turnaround has been sharper and quicker than some feared. Talk of a "double-dip" recession or second Great American Depression have disappeared. And economists from both sides of the political spectrum are starting to talk about the success of the Recovery Act (the "Stimulus Bill").
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Friday, January 22, 2010
About Scott Brown
David Letterman's "Top Ten Surprising Facts about Scott Brown":
10. He's the nephew of godfather of soul James Brown.
9. Climate change is partly the result of his smoldering hunkiness.
8. His response to the health care reform crisis: "Don't blame Conan."
7. Got his start in politics by rounding up illegals to work in Mitt Romney's yard.
6. Once in state senate he cracked a walnut with his ass.
5. Purchased his first car at Harrison Ford.
4. Promised people of Massachusetts he'd bring back witch trials.
3. When his daughter was a finalist on "American Idol," he exchanged beauty tips with Ryan Seacrest.
2. His election helped GOP ratings skyrocket to 17 percent.
1. So cold in Boston today he actually put on pants.
10. He's the nephew of godfather of soul James Brown.
9. Climate change is partly the result of his smoldering hunkiness.
8. His response to the health care reform crisis: "Don't blame Conan."
7. Got his start in politics by rounding up illegals to work in Mitt Romney's yard.
6. Once in state senate he cracked a walnut with his ass.
5. Purchased his first car at Harrison Ford.
4. Promised people of Massachusetts he'd bring back witch trials.
3. When his daughter was a finalist on "American Idol," he exchanged beauty tips with Ryan Seacrest.
2. His election helped GOP ratings skyrocket to 17 percent.
1. So cold in Boston today he actually put on pants.
Enforcement of laws making a comeback?
While the special election and health care suck up all of the headlines locally and nationally, the Obama administration is governing under the radar in a way that will have direct benefit for working people.
Under the Bush Administration, wage and hour enforcement was not a priority and OSHA enforcement was drastically scaled back in favor of "voluntary compliance" by employers. For union carpenters, the enforcement of wage and safety laws could have a significant impact. Lowering the incidence of violations will allow union contractors to compete for more jobs.
"In electronic web chats, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and other officials emphasized the agency would once again go to bat for workers’ interests, not just with the rules proposals but with increased enforcement. OSHA, for example, is hiring 100 more inspectors, she said..."
"...The Wage and Hour Division is hiring 250 new investigators and will concentrate on industries with high violation rates that “employ vulnerable workers,” Deputy Administrator Nancy Leppink said in her on-line chat. They include agriculture, restaurants, janitorial, construction and car washes, “among others,” she said.
Under the Bush Administration, wage and hour enforcement was not a priority and OSHA enforcement was drastically scaled back in favor of "voluntary compliance" by employers. For union carpenters, the enforcement of wage and safety laws could have a significant impact. Lowering the incidence of violations will allow union contractors to compete for more jobs.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Brown Campaign cheating on taxes?
Brown campaign cheating on taxes?
Differences between Massachusetts Senate candidates Martha Coakley and Scott Brown have been pretty stark during the campaign. From demanding Wall Street bailout money be repaid to creating a fair tax code for middle class Americans, their positions are often in direct odds with each other. But a revelation on Saturday about how the two campaigns treat their own staff told union carpenters all they should need to know to make their final decision for the Tuesday special election.
At a campaign stop on Saturday morning, Coakley noted that far from supporting expanding access to health care for workers, Brown didn’t even offer it to his own campaign staff. Brown has promised to be the “41st vote” to kill health care reform should he get elected, so not offering his staff health care coverage—as the Coakley campaign does—was not shocking. The Brown campaign's response still brought a surprise, though.
A spokesman for the Brown campaign tried to justify not offering health care to the staff by saying: “We have a small staff and they are paid as independent contractors.”
But that’s even worse: a gimmick straight out of the worst non-union contractors' playbook.
As union carpenters know, classifying workers as “independent contractors” is an all too common scheme by contractors to avoid legally required insurance and payroll taxes. It gives them a significant bidding advantage and cheats the Commonwealth of hundreds of millions of dollars of owed tax revenue. In this case, it seems simply a money saving scheme by the Brown campaign. Campaign “staff” are anything but independent. They work in the campaign office, at the specific direction of campaign management and with little or no control over their budgets or hours.
“Any union carpenter or citizen of the Commonwealth that works hard and pays their taxes in compliance with the law should be appalled,” said Mark Erlich, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. “If Scott Brown has such a poor understanding of the law that he thinks his campaign staff are all independent contractors, he is certainly not fit to be a United States Senator.”
Attorney General Martha Coakley has made a consistent commitment to heading off misclassification of employees as independent contractors since taking office. Her office has worked with the task force established by Governor Deval Patrick and brought cases against employers who misclassify workers to avoid tax and insurance obligations.
Differences between Massachusetts Senate candidates Martha Coakley and Scott Brown have been pretty stark during the campaign. From demanding Wall Street bailout money be repaid to creating a fair tax code for middle class Americans, their positions are often in direct odds with each other. But a revelation on Saturday about how the two campaigns treat their own staff told union carpenters all they should need to know to make their final decision for the Tuesday special election.
At a campaign stop on Saturday morning, Coakley noted that far from supporting expanding access to health care for workers, Brown didn’t even offer it to his own campaign staff. Brown has promised to be the “41st vote” to kill health care reform should he get elected, so not offering his staff health care coverage—as the Coakley campaign does—was not shocking. The Brown campaign's response still brought a surprise, though.
A spokesman for the Brown campaign tried to justify not offering health care to the staff by saying: “We have a small staff and they are paid as independent contractors.”
But that’s even worse: a gimmick straight out of the worst non-union contractors' playbook.
As union carpenters know, classifying workers as “independent contractors” is an all too common scheme by contractors to avoid legally required insurance and payroll taxes. It gives them a significant bidding advantage and cheats the Commonwealth of hundreds of millions of dollars of owed tax revenue. In this case, it seems simply a money saving scheme by the Brown campaign. Campaign “staff” are anything but independent. They work in the campaign office, at the specific direction of campaign management and with little or no control over their budgets or hours.
“Any union carpenter or citizen of the Commonwealth that works hard and pays their taxes in compliance with the law should be appalled,” said Mark Erlich, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. “If Scott Brown has such a poor understanding of the law that he thinks his campaign staff are all independent contractors, he is certainly not fit to be a United States Senator.”
Attorney General Martha Coakley has made a consistent commitment to heading off misclassification of employees as independent contractors since taking office. Her office has worked with the task force established by Governor Deval Patrick and brought cases against employers who misclassify workers to avoid tax and insurance obligations.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
2010 NERCC Scholarship Opportunity
The Scholarship Sub-Committee of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters has established the guidelines for the eligibility, application, and awarding of scholarships for 2010.
Please read the following guidelines before submitting your application:
2010 NERCC Scholarship Guidelines
2010 NERCC Scholarship Application
Applicants should submit the completed essay, application form and most recent transcript of grades by 5:00 p.m. on April 16, 2010 to NERCC Scholarship, ATTN: Malerie Anderson, 750 Dorchester Ave., Boston, MA 02125.
Applications received after April 16, 2010 will not be eligible.
To eliminate bias, the scholarship committee is blind to the identity of the applicant. Essays are numerically coded to prevent any reader from having knowledge of the writer. Winners of the top two prizes will be asked to read their essays at the June 2010 delegate meeting. Persons awarded first or second place in a prior year are ineligible for first or second place in subsequent years.
Please read the following guidelines before submitting your application:
2010 NERCC Scholarship Guidelines
2010 NERCC Scholarship Application
Applicants should submit the completed essay, application form and most recent transcript of grades by 5:00 p.m. on April 16, 2010 to NERCC Scholarship, ATTN: Malerie Anderson, 750 Dorchester Ave., Boston, MA 02125.
Applications received after April 16, 2010 will not be eligible.
To eliminate bias, the scholarship committee is blind to the identity of the applicant. Essays are numerically coded to prevent any reader from having knowledge of the writer. Winners of the top two prizes will be asked to read their essays at the June 2010 delegate meeting. Persons awarded first or second place in a prior year are ineligible for first or second place in subsequent years.
Looking for positive news on the economy?
Jon Chesto, Business Editor for the Quincy Patriot-Ledger, offers a bit in a blog post yesterday. His post is in reference to the "Beige Book," a publication regularly put out by the Federal Reserve Bank.
Even commercial real estate, the big downer in these reports lately, showed some hopeful signs. Yes, it’s slow out there, both in terms of leasing and property sales. But one Boston contact reported an increase in leasing activity in recent weeks, and another reported an increase in sales from earlier in the year. Sure, many other commercial real estate contacts are still reporting dreadful conditions. But this is the first time that we’ve seen anything resembling positive news in this sector in quite some time.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Construction site theft on the rise in Boston, B-2
Boston Police are warning of an increase in theft on construction sites. Reports of stolen tools, materials and copper pipes have been on the rise in District B-2, the Roxbury area.
For more information, see the Citizen Observer site.
For more information, see the Citizen Observer site.
Inside the Coakely campaign
As the campaign for a special election to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy nears it's end, there are a dizzying array of polling results showing the race to be deadlocked, close or not so close.
The varied poll numbers have led to questions about how the candidates have run their campaigns and what, if any, indicator they may be for the national political landscape.
All of that may come into clearer view after voters actually have their say on January 19. Until then, candidates, campaigns and citizens are still hard at work trying to convince and pull voters to the polls.
Today's Boston Globe takes an insider's look at the Coakley campaign and some of those involved with it. Featured in the article are some quotes from Carpenters Local 108 Business Manager Jason Garand, one of a host of union members who view Coakley as the only reasonable choice for construction workers and union members.
The varied poll numbers have led to questions about how the candidates have run their campaigns and what, if any, indicator they may be for the national political landscape.
All of that may come into clearer view after voters actually have their say on January 19. Until then, candidates, campaigns and citizens are still hard at work trying to convince and pull voters to the polls.
Today's Boston Globe takes an insider's look at the Coakley campaign and some of those involved with it. Featured in the article are some quotes from Carpenters Local 108 Business Manager Jason Garand, one of a host of union members who view Coakley as the only reasonable choice for construction workers and union members.
“No candidate is going to have the energy Kennedy had,’’ says Jason Garand, business manager of Local 108 of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. “We would rather have a person who talks quietly and carries a big stick than someone who talks a good game but doesn’t remember your name.’’
The carpenters cite the attorney general’s investigation into the underground economy in the construction business, a phenomenon Garand says costs builders jobs and the state millions in unpaid taxes.
“Martha really is a breath of fresh air for labor,’’ he says. “She does what she says she will do.’’
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Carpenters for Coakely
Union Carpenters turned out to show their support for Senate Candidate Martha Coakely last night. The visibility was in front of the University of Massachusetts, Boston campus leading up to Coakley participation in the final debate before the January 19 special election.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Unique training opportunites featured in The Daily Millbury
The Daily Millbury featured a story about the unique training opportunities that apprentices from the New England Carpenter Training Center have taken part in at the Carpenters Center.
The New England Regional Council of Carpenters bought the building at 750 Dorchester Ave. in Boston almost three years ago. Once the site for the Dirigo Spice Corporation as well as a laundry for the Archdiocese, Council has spent the past few years converting it into the Carpenters Center. Ultimately serving as its headquarters, it will also be the home to the Boston Carpenters Apprenticeship Program and other entities affiliated with the group.The entire story can be read here.
This past Monday, L-shaped reception desks for the third and first floor arrived at the site, shipped from the New England Carpenters Training Center located in Millbury.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
NPR highlights misclassficiation investigation at Stowe.
Vermont Public Radio broadcast a story Tuesday about the problems the Stowe Mountain Lodge is facing as the state Department of Labor investigates the misclassification of workers building a new luxury year-round retreat.
Union carpenters, including Council Representative Matt Durocher, are heard speaking in the piece as they banner and talk to visitors. They have been trying to raise awareness of the business practices of Kal-Vin Construction, who is performing drywall work. Pizzigalli Construction is the General Contractor on the project.
Kal-Vin, out of Hudson, New Hampshire, operates under several different names, that seem to share a common interest in misclassifying workers to lower their cost. Unfortunately, the scheme puts workers at risk and gives them an unfair--and illegal--advantage against honest union and nonunion contractors.
Union carpenters, including Council Representative Matt Durocher, are heard speaking in the piece as they banner and talk to visitors. They have been trying to raise awareness of the business practices of Kal-Vin Construction, who is performing drywall work. Pizzigalli Construction is the General Contractor on the project.
Kal-Vin, out of Hudson, New Hampshire, operates under several different names, that seem to share a common interest in misclassifying workers to lower their cost. Unfortunately, the scheme puts workers at risk and gives them an unfair--and illegal--advantage against honest union and nonunion contractors.
Labor to lose another Senate champion
Connecticut’s Christopher Dodd is expected to announce his retirement today from the United States Senate, ending 34 years of representation of the state in Washington. Dodd, who has been trailing in recent polls for re-election in November became a Congressman in 1974 and moved to the Senate in 1981.
Though he has faced troubled times and challenges, Dodd has been a consistent supporter of Democratic principles, particularly when it comes to union workers, holding a career 91% voting record with the AFL-CIO.
“In Washington there are different levels of influence and effectiveness. Senator Chris Dodd was a widely respected and highly effective representative of working people,” said Mark Erlich. “He not only supported us, he had the stature and commitment to lead the charge on the floor of the Senate, in the committee meetings and in the halls of the Capitol. We appreciate his long career of dedicated service. We will miss him and we wish him well.”
Dodd’s retirement is expected to draw Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal into the November election. Former Congressman Rob Simmons and World Wrestling Entertainment Executive Linda McMahon are battling for the Republican nomination.
NERCC Political Director Tom Flynn said Dodd’s retirement signals a call for union carpenters to ramp up political action once again.
“The recent loss of Ted Kennedy and now Chris Dodd’s retirement present another challenge to our members in New England and all working people in the country,” said NERCC Political Director Tom Flynn. “It is a reminder that we need to be vigilant and dedicated to making sure our voices are heard, in our districts and in Washington.”
Though he has faced troubled times and challenges, Dodd has been a consistent supporter of Democratic principles, particularly when it comes to union workers, holding a career 91% voting record with the AFL-CIO.
“In Washington there are different levels of influence and effectiveness. Senator Chris Dodd was a widely respected and highly effective representative of working people,” said Mark Erlich. “He not only supported us, he had the stature and commitment to lead the charge on the floor of the Senate, in the committee meetings and in the halls of the Capitol. We appreciate his long career of dedicated service. We will miss him and we wish him well.”
Dodd’s retirement is expected to draw Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal into the November election. Former Congressman Rob Simmons and World Wrestling Entertainment Executive Linda McMahon are battling for the Republican nomination.
NERCC Political Director Tom Flynn said Dodd’s retirement signals a call for union carpenters to ramp up political action once again.
“The recent loss of Ted Kennedy and now Chris Dodd’s retirement present another challenge to our members in New England and all working people in the country,” said NERCC Political Director Tom Flynn. “It is a reminder that we need to be vigilant and dedicated to making sure our voices are heard, in our districts and in Washington.”
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