The United States Department of Labor has developed an online database that allows visitors to search for cases handled by its departments, including OSHA and the Wage and Hour Division.

While the database is not complete—some areas only include cases finished from 2009 forward—it is expected to grow and already contains a significant volume of relevant material.

At a Town Hall meeting in Iowa Tuesday, President Barack Obama was asked a question about supporting unions and responded strongly and clearly:

"I've said this before publicly and I'll say it again, I make no apologies for it. I am a pro-union guy.

"Our unions helped build our middle class. We take for granted so much stuff -- minimum wage laws, 40-hour work week, overtime, child labor laws. Those things wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for unions fighting for those rights. So even if you're not a member of a union, you've got to be appreciative of what unions have done.

"Now, a lot of things that we do don't get a lot of notice. We don't always generate headlines. But a lot of things that we're doing have to do with how is the Department of Labor operating to make sure that workplace safety rules are enforced; to make sure that if the federal government is helping to finance a program, that we've got a project labor agreement in place that assures that people are paid a decent wage and they're getting a fair deal. Who am I appointing to the National Labor Relations Board, so that when a union tries to organize, it doesn't take five years before you can even get a ruling, and then it turns out that the ruling somehow conveniently always is against the union.

"So there are a lot of things that we've been doing administratively to try to make sure that people just get the fair chance to organize.

"Now, look, some people don't want unions, and that's great. If you feel that you can look after your own interests, I respect that. But what we -- but one of the things that we stand for as Americans is the freedom to decide I'm going to join with my brothers and sisters at that workplace to try to get a better deal -- not through force, not through coercion, but just by us agreeing to bargain. And we just want to make sure that there's a level playing field in that process. That's something that I strongly believe in, and it's part of the American tradition.

"And sometimes people say, well, unions are what's making us not competitive. Well, that's just not true. Unions are only, at this point in the private sector, probably less than 10 percent of the economy. So the notion that somehow that's what is creating competition with other countries that pay lower wages, that's not the case. The fact of the matter is that is what's going to help us become competitive is if we've got middle-class workers making middle-class wages with middle-class benefits, who can then go out and shop, and support a family, and buy a new car and pay their mortgage, which will create more business opportunities and maintain America as the greatest market on Earth. And if we do that, then we're going to be successful."

Carpenters Going Green: Point Breakdown Category 3- Energy and Atmosphere
8 Points Attained

1. Optimize Energy Performance Exceed the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE 90.1 Energy Standard by 10.5%
2. Optimize Energy Performance Exceed ASHRAE 90.1 by 14%
3. Optimize Energy Performance Exceed ASHRAE 90.1 by 17.5%
4. Optimize Energy Performance Exceed ASHRAE 90.1 by 21%
5. Optimize Energy Performance Exceed ASHRAE 90.1 by 24.5%
6. Optimize Energy Performance Exceed ASHRAE 90.1 by 28%
7. Optimize Energy Performance Exceed ASHRAE 90.1 by 31.5%



The Carpenters Center was modeled in order to predict how much the design of the building would save money in energy use per year. Comparing it to a typical building using the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 Energy Standard, the project uses 31.5% less energy then a typical building



8. Enhanced Refrigerant Management - all HVAC units for this project are specified to use R-410a refrigerant, and therefore do not use either Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or Hydrofluorocarbons (HCFC) refrigerants.

For more information, click on the links in the right column under the heading "Carpenters Going Green"

As reported last week, Sylvain Michaud, Bill Poulin and their company, All-Pro Construction Management, were issued significant penalties by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for wage and reporting violations in cases referred by Organizers for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. A press release issued today by the MA Attorney General’s office issued today announces the company has been debarred from bidding or contracting public projects for six months.

A total of $25,000 in penalties was issued for four violations including misclassifying its workers as independent contractors on construction projects in Framingham, Newton, Boston, Needham, and UMass/Lowell. Michaud and Poulin of All-Pro Construction, based in Hudson, NH, were also cited for failure to make timely payment of wages, failure to submit true and accurate certified payroll records on public construction projects, and failure to maintain true and accurate general payroll records. The owners and their company have agreed to pay a $25,000 penalty to the Commonwealth for the violations. All-Pro Construction will be debarred from bidding or contracting for any new public projects in the Commonwealth for six months.

A total of $25,000 in penalties was issued for four violations, the largest being for misclassifying employers as independent contractors, which earned them a $19,000 fine. They also were assessed $2,000 each for failure to make timely payment of wages, failure to submit true and accurate certified payroll records and failure to keep true and accurate payroll records.

The violations occurred between January 1, 2008 and January 22, 2010 involving work the company performed at Maintenance Building Repairs in Framingham; Fire Station #4 in Newton; the Fish Pier renovation in Boston; the Administrative Building Construction in Needham; and the Fox Hall Renovations in Lowell.

To read the MA Attorney General’s Press Release click here.

Governor John Baldacci has signed an act to amend the laws governing the misclassification of construction workers, specifically Stop Work Orders.

The amendment authorizes the Executive Director of the Workers' Compensation Board to issue a stop-work order after an administrative hearing if a contractor has (a) failed to provide workers' compensation coverage and (b) there has been at least one previous notice of a non-coverage violation, or the contractor has cancelled or failed to renew a policy. The stop work order will be stayed if the contractor shows that coverage has been obtained and will be maintained for its employees or subcontractors or for independent contractors whose status as employees is in question. It also extends the notice of hearing provision from 48 hours to 3 business days.

Last June, LD 1456 was signed, which was an act to ensure that construction workers are protected by workers’ compensation insurance. At the time, stop work order language was removed from the bill to make certain the bill would pass. The recent signing of the Stop Work Order amendment is the missing piece that is needed to ensure enforcement of the laws.

To view a PDF of the recently signed amendment click here.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) introduced a bill that would make worker misclassification a violation of federal labor laws, increasing penalties for companies found to improperly classify workers as independent contractors.

By misclassifying workers as independent contractors, companies avoid withholding income taxes and paying Social Security and Medicare taxes. Each year, more than $4.7 billion in federal income and employment tax revenue is lost due to misclassification, and billions more are lost at the state level. Companies that misclassify workers save up to an estimated 30 percent on payroll costs, gaining an unfair advantage over their more responsible competitors.

The bill would require employers to classify workers as employees, using a well-defined test that has existed since 1947, and establishes a penalty for failing to do so. It requires that employers tell workers if they have been classified as independent contractors and how they can challenge that classification. The bill also protects workers who do challenge misclassification from retaliation.

The bill is another step forward in the ongoing efforts to protect workers, uphold labor standards, and level playing field for responsible contractors.

Carpenters Going Green: Point Breakdown Category 1- Sustainable Sites
8 Points Attained

1. Site Selection - the site was formerly developed and consists entirely of an existing building and paving.

2. Development Density and Community Connectivity - a dense urban site. Within a .5 mile radius of the building’s main entrance there are at least 2 zones that can be designated as residential zones and many basic services within pedestrian access. Basic services include retail, grocery, banks, restaurants, places of worship, schools and a fire station.

3. Public Transportation Access - located .4 miles from Andrews Station and .3 miles from JFK/UMass. MBTA bus stop in front of building.



4. Bicycle Storage and Changing Rooms -providing covered and secured bicycle storage for a minimum of 5% of the peak building users. The bike racks are located in bike storage room on Level 1 of the garage. One showering facility is required for the 167 occupents - located on level 2 of building.

5. Low-Emission & Fuel Efficient Vehicles - providing preferred parking spaces for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles for 5% of the total parking capacity. Spaces will be signed for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles and will be close to main entrance.

6. Stormwater Design – the project will capture and treat 90% of the average annual rainfall and remove 80% of total suspended solids. There are five 8’ diameter drywells surrounded in crushed stone that will act as a retention system with capacity for infiltration.



7. Heat Island Effect – Non-Roof - 50% of the site hardscape (roads, sidewalks, courtyards and parking lots) have a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of at least 29. 63.9% of the project’s hardscape meets that minimum by using a light grey concrete (parking garage deck).

8. Heat Island Effect – Roof - A white high albedo roof for the entire surface – Carlisle SynTec’s Sure-weld TPO white membrane roofing. The roof has a Solar Reflectance Index of 110, which exceeds minimum requirement of SRI 78.



For more information, click on the links in the right column under the heading "Carpenters Going Green"

The Sheet Metal Workers recently filed a jurisdictional dispute under the PLA at Gilmartin School project in Waterbury Connecticut. H Carr & Sons, Inc. was the subcontractor with the exterior siding package on the project, which included composite wood, fiber cement panels, and flat-lock zinc panels.

The Sheet Metal Workers filed the dispute under the PLA, claiming the zinc panels. It went to arbitration under the PLA and the arbitrator ruled that there was no basis for overturning H. Carr’s assignment of the panels to the Carpenters Union.

This is the fifth time in the last several years that the Sheet Metal Workers have filed jurisdictional disputes under the PLA regarding the assignment of exterior metal panels (of various types) to the Carpenters. They have now lost all five of the cases, the last three involving flat-lock zinc panels.

From The Segal Company:

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law. On March 30, 2010, the President signed into law the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, which contains a package of significant amendments to the PPACA.

The centerpieces of health care reform - the individual mandate, subsidies, Health Insurance Exchanges and the employer free rider penalty - are all effective in 2014. However, important changes to plan benefit design rules, certain tax rules and the Medicare program are effective either in the near future or over the next four years.

The Segal Company has put together a Bulletin that contains a brief summary
of the PPACA's key provisions as amended by the HCERA. To read Segal’s Bulletin online, click here . You can download a PDF version by clicking here.

Dependent Coverage
The new health care reform law contains a provision requiring group health plans that provide dependent coverage for children to continue to make such coverage available for an adult child until the child turns 26 years of age.This requirement applies to group health plans in existence when the law was enacted.

Additionally, a separate new tax code provision allows a group health plan to provide health coverage on a tax-free basis to any child of the plan participant through the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 26.

To learn more about the implications of these new provisions, click here.

• Join us to honor our brothers and sisters who were killed, injured or suffered from illness on the job last year
• Demand strong workplace health and safety protections for all workers
• Visit a legislator to voice your support for State Safety and Health legislation

The 2010 Workers’ Memorial Day Report will be released that day. Contact Katie Mae Simpson at (617)825-7233 x14 or katiemae.simpson@masscosh.org for more Workers’ Memorial Day information or other resources about health and safety in the workplace.

Sponsored by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), Massachusetts AFL-CIO, and Greater Boston Labor Council.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives yesterday passed a gaming bill sponsored by Speaker Robert DeLeo that would establish two full casinos and license 750 slot machines for existing racetracks in the state. The vote to pass the legislation was a veto-proof 120-37, significant because some suspect Deval Patrick would consider a veto of any bill that included slot machines.

Union carpenters in Massachusetts have been lobbying hard to pass gaming legislation because of the estimated 10,000 construction jobs that would be created. A few weeks ago, hundreds of carpenters were part of a group numbering over a thousand that participated in a lobby day, flooding the State House to visit their individual elected officials.

The attention now shifts to the Senate, where brand new legislation may be created and passed. The Senate is expected to hold public hears, which members would be encouraged to attend. Any bill passed by the Senate would then go with the House bill to a House-Senate conference committee where a compromise bill would be negotiated before being sent to the Governor.

Sylvain Michaud, Bill Poulin and their company, All-Pro Construction Management, have been issued significant penalties by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for wage and reporting violations in cases referred by Organizers for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.

A total of $25,000 in penalties was issued for four violations, the largest being for misclassifying employers as independent contractors, which earned them a $19,000. They also were assessed $2,000 each for failure to make timely payment of wages, failure to submit true and accurate certified payroll records and failure to keep true and accurate payroll records.

The violations occurred between January 1, 2008 and January 22, 2010 involving work the company performed at Maintenance Building Repairs in Framingham; Fire Station #4 in Newton; the Fish Pier renovation in Boston; the Administrative Building Construction in Needham; and the Fox Hall Renovations in Lowell.

The wheels of justice continue to turn for John McGrail of the Mayo Group. McGrail and JM Realty are under a grand jury indictment for numerous charges relating to their removal, handling and disposal of asbestos at properties in Boston, Worcester and Lynn, Massachusetts. They are also charged with multiple counts of evading unemployment payments, failure to provide payroll records and failure to withhold payroll taxes.

McGrail, owner and president of JM Realty and founder of the Mayo Group, was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court and will be due back in court in May or a pre-trial conference. JM Realty will be arraigned at that time.

From a press released issued by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office:

Authorities allege that, for three years between 2005 and 2007, McGrail, the principal of JM Realty and the founder of a group of businesses known as the Mayo Group, instructed his employees to perform demolition and renovation services at three different Mayo Group properties in Lynn, Boston, and Worcester, that had asbestos containing materials, including insulation, tiles, mastic, glazing and other building components. Authorities allege that asbestos containing materials were transferred to a warehouse at 177 Old Colony Avenue in South Boston, and thereafter distributed in dumpsters at various Mayo Group properties around Boston to be picked up with the regular trash. According to authorities, construction debris containing asbestos was also dumped at a vacant lot on Bubier Street in Lynn. None of these locations was permitted for the disposal of asbestos waste.

Authorities allege that the Mayo Group used its own employees to demolish parts of Worcester Commons, a ten-story building located at 50 Franklin Street, and failed to conduct a full asbestos survey of the building and properly remove asbestos from the site before it began demolition or renovation work. Authorities also allege that residents were living in the building while workers were demolishing structural elements that contained asbestos, a known carcinogen.

Investigators allege that in February 2007, MassDEP employees observed demolition debris being thrown out of a window at Worcester Commons. A subsequent inspection conducted by authorities resulted in the discovery of impacted asbestos containing material within the building and in a waste pile and disposal trailer on the property’s premises. Authorities also allege asbestos from the site was scheduled for disposal at a landfill that was not a designated site for the disposal of asbestos waste.

Carpenters Going Green - Category 5 - Indoor Enviornmental Quality

Prerequisite - Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control – the entire building has been designated as non-smoking. Any exterior smoking must be 25 feet away from entries, outdoor air intakes and operable windows.

1. Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring – the building is designed with a permanent CO2 monitoring system in all higher occupancy spaces

2. Increased Ventilation - designed to comply by allowing the mechanical system to provide breathing zone outdoor air ventilation rates and at least 30% above the minimum rates

3. Construction IAQ Management Plan – During Construction Suffolk Construction is committed to implementing a construction IAQ management plan in accordance with LEED requirements

4. Low-Emitting Materials – Adhesives and Sealants (VOC limits) Specified adhesives and sealants that comply with the South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule #1168 and Green Seal Standard

5. Low-Emitting Materials – Paints and Coatings (VOC limits) Project uses paints and coatings inside the building envelope that complies with the Green Seal Standard GS-11 for paints and primers Standard GS-03 for anti-corrosive paints and the South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1113 for finishes, stains, and sealer



6. Low-Emitting Materials – Carpet Systems (CRI Green label program and VOC limits). The project uses carpets and carpet cushions that meet the testing and product requirements of the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label Plus Program. All of the carpet’s adhesives will meet VOC limits.



7. Low-Emitting Materials – Composite Wood and Agrifiber Products - Will not use composite wood and agrifiber products that contain urea-formaldehyde resins inside the building’s envelope.

8. Lighting – individual controls for 90% of occupants. There are lighting controls for every regularly occupied space. Private and shared offices have two-level occupancy sensors, individual workstations have flexible, integrally-switched task lights, and classroom/conference spaces have multiple levels of switch controls to allow for adjustment of lighting levels in accordance with the activity.



9. Thermal Comfort Design - targets to maintain 75 degrees and 50% relative humidity in the summer and 72 degrees in the winter.

For more information, click on the links in the right column under the heading "Carpenters Going Green"

The Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters has developed a website to spread the word about problems connected to Kohls department stores. All members are encouraged to visit KohlsFacts.com regularly for updated information and to share a link for the site with fellow members, family and friends.

The national retail giant has run into numerous problems in the construction of its stores in multiple areas of the country, including New England. Click here for more information.

In addition to construction issues, the company seems to have a problem with inaccurate pricing in its stores, an issue that has also popped up in too many areas over too long a period of time to be considered an innocent mistake. Visit KohlsFacts.com for more information.

MassINC, a nonpartisan think-tank based in Boston, will be hosting Steve Greenhouse, New York Times labor reporter and author of the book “The Big Squeeze; Tough Times for the American Worker” on April 7. The session, co-sponsored by the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, will focus on the book, which details how the culture and conditions of the American workplace have changed over the years and the significant impact those changes are having on both white- and blue-collar workers.

Greenhouse will be introduced by NERCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Mark Erlich. The lunch meeting will take place at noon at the UMass club at the UMass Club, 225 Franklin Street, 33rd Floor in Boston. To register for the free event, please visit this link.

If you think the Obama administration isn’t doing enough for unions and workers in the United States, you might want to take a look at The Nation. Esther Kaplan has an informative piece on Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and the work she and her team are doing to reinvigorate the department.

“During the Bush years, the Department of Labor became a cautionary tale about what happens when foxes are asked to guard the henhouse. But since California Congresswoman Hilda Solis became labor secretary last winter, she has brought on board a team of lifelong advocates for working people--some of whom come from the ranks of organized labor--and has hired hundreds of new investigators and enforcers.

President Obama calls Solis part of his economic team, but the truth is she's not part of the daily huddle at the White House with Summers and Geithner and Orszag. She's tapped instead as a lead voice in the "jobs, jobs, jobs" choir, advocating for Obama's latest stimulus package. She has tiptoed into the realm of financial regulation, organizing a joint hearing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the abysmal performance of target date retirement funds during the market crash, and she doles out hundreds of millions of dollars in job training funds, a decent chunk of which she has used to shape policy by channeling it to green industries. But Solis understands that her real influence lies in her power to enforce the nation's labor laws--the primary mission of the DoL. It's a role she embraced with relish at her swearing-in, where she announced with a grin, "To those who have for too long abused workers, put them in harm's way, denied them fair pay, let me be clear: there is a new sheriff in town."

Solis and her team are using techniques and personell that have been tested and succeeded on state levels, such as the crackdown on employee misclassification that was wildly successful in New York. The piece is an interesting look at the difference with a change of attitude.

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.

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. After reading the guidelines, you can download the application by clicking on the link below.

2010 NERCC Scholarship Guidelines
2010 NERCC Scholarship Application

Click here for photos taken at the event.

And here are some video highlights.

Massachusetts Woodframe Carpenters Local 723 has reached a tentative agreement with signatory contractors on a new collective bargaining agreement. A ratification vote will be taken among members on April 13.

The one year agreement provides a total package increase of $0.91 with $0.46 being added April 1 and $0.45 being added on October 1. Of the $0.46 being added April 1, $0.30 is expected to be added to hourly contributions to health benefits and $0.16 is expected to be added to hourly pension contributions. In October, $0.29 will be added to hourly health fund contributions and $0.16 will be added to hourly pension contributions.

John Kirk of National Carpentry will be in a Connecticut court April 5, his latest appearance related to personal or business charges. He faces a charge of violating wage payment laws and 20 counts of defrauding an alien worker of wages.

Kirk faces a separate outstanding felony charge of violating wage payments in excess of $2000. He has also been charged and is facing a jury trial for disorderly conduct, a second degree threatening charge and illegal use of a facsimile firearm, in relation to an incident in June 2008.

National Carpentry has become infamous in New England. They were part of a team of subcontractors working for AvalonBay who were busted for misclassifying workers as independent contractors.

It was about the same time that workers sued in Connecticut over the 20 wage violates listed above. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal held a press conference in support of the workers and Gary Pechie, the director of the state labor department’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division called Kirk “the poster child of how not to do business in the state of Connecticut."

It was also National Carpentry which was involved with Oscar Pintado, who fell 45 feet to his death on an AvalonBay job in Woburn, Massachusetts when an elevator shaft was not properly protected.

Though many of the problems Kirk and National Carpentry are facing have been of their own doing, it has been the efforts of NERCC staff and members in multiple states who have worked together and with victims and enforcement agencies to bring them to justice.