Related Links: Beavers Names 2015 Award Winners Viewpoint: The Coming Revolution in Engineering Education The Beavers, a Los Altos, Calif., heavy-construction group, has received its first funding installment from Caterpillar Inc. as part of a four-year challenge to raise money for engineering education. Since kicking off last year, the campaign has generated more than $750,000.For every $2 the Beavers raise through 2017, the equipment firm will match $1—up to a total of $1 million—according to Lynn Barr, chairman of Beavers Charitable Trust and managing member of the Pendleton Group, Santa Rosa, Calif. This will fund scholarships for students and teaching
Related Links: Homepage of Wasco Masonry Bricklayers union discussion of need for bigger regional local A Tennessee masonry contractor has filed for bankruptcy protection, but the bricklayers' union says the contractor owes more than $6 million to a union pension fund. While the contractor says the amount is the result of a mistake, the union says the contractor is obligated to pay.The management of Nashville-based Wasco Inc. and its Columbia, Tenn., subsidiary, Lovell's Masonry Inc., insists its ongoing business is solid. In a January 8 press release, Wasco chief Executive Officer William A. Sneed Jr. says, "We are sound and
Related Links: FMI While post-recession paychecks for engineering and construction professionals rose about 10% since 2008 in a survey by management consultant FMI released earlier this year, its new report shows that top executives saw their total compensation drop 8% in the same period, mostly fueled by profit impacts and related falloffs in bonuses and stock values that hurt long-term pay."The sharp reduction in CEO, COO and CFO bonuses in 2013 cannot be overlooked," says survey author Mike Rose, although he says executives with cost-control responsibility appeared to fare better.The survey, based on about 75,000 position incumbents, says that since
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics release and data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis The construction industry ended 2014 on a strong note, with a surge of 48,000 jobs in December, driving its unemployment rate down sharply from its year-earlier level, though it was up from November’s mark.The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Jan. 9 that construction’s jobless rate last month was 8.3%, well below its 11.4% December 2013 rate. But the December unemployment rate was higher than November’s 7.5% as the industry’s work volume slowed with
Human-rights groups express concerns over conditions for migrant workers for a planned $27-billion museum and resort complex in Saadiyat, United Arab Emirates. Related Links: Sepp: FIFA 'Not Responsible' for Welfare of Migrant Workers in Qatar UN investigates claims of Gulf state abuse of migrant workers Productivity and safety on construction sites in Asian and Middle Eastern countries that depend on migrant labor have long been issues, but they now also have come under more scrutiny from the United Nations and human rights groups that complain about large scale mistreatment of workers. But Singapore is setting a higher standard by actually
Related Links: Pushback Against Chinese Workers Escalates in Africa Chinese construction companies in Namibia have been hit by a series of worker strikes over poor pay, job discrimination and lack of jobsite health and safety protections.Construction of the $49-million, 231-kilometer Otjinene-Okondjatu trunk road by China Henan International Cooperation Group (Chico) was disrupted in November after more than 80 Namibian workers protested safety conditions.The workers accused Chico of ferrying them in overcrowded and non-roadworthy open trucks and claimed the firm was using an outdated stone crusher that forced them to go inside it "to remove stuck stones,” exposing them to danger.Lack
AP Photo Ex-MWH Global engineer Matthew Huang and his wife, Grace, are suing his former employer related to a troubled deployment to Qatar. Related Links: Construction Industry Learning Goes Borderless: Adjusting Training to Differing Cultures Jan. 6 Practicing Law Institute seminar with Donald Dowling: Developing International Employee Handbooks, Global Codes of Conduct and Cross-Border HR Policies While construction-industry firms that deploy expatriates to far-flung and risky global jobsites have taken notice of the saga of one MWH Global Inc. engineer caught in a two-year legal wrangle in Qatar with new U.S. developments, employment experts say the situation is highly unusual.Matthew
Related Links: BLS employment report for November 2014, with data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's statement, analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's statement, analysis Construction’s November unemployment rate rose from October’s level but was markedly better than the year-earlier figure, as the industry gained 20,000 jobs, the Labor Dept. reported.The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly employment analysis, released on Dec. 5, showed that construction’s jobless rate increased to 7.5% in November, from October’s 6.4%.But last month’s rate improved from the November 2013 mark of 8.6%, and was the industry's lowest November number in seven years, BLS reported.Weather may
President Barack Obama's executive actions on immmigration could complicate audits of the federal eligibility for employment forms, says an immigration attorney.Known as I-9s, the forms are one of the most vexing obligations of employers because while workers fill them out employers must verify their accuracy and produce the forms during an audit.The president’s actions are based on his discretion as president in the way laws are enforced. In this case, the Obama administration will prioritize the deportation of recent arrivals and felons, but other enforcement changes are more ambiguous, says Lori Chesser, a senior shareholder at the Des Moines-based Davis
There is a "perfect storm" brewing in the booming construction market, Elizabeth Sanborn, North American director of consulting firm Independent Project Analysis Inc., told owners and contractors at the Construction Users Roundtable's first labor shortage risk mitigation conference in Houston on Nov. 11-12.Sanborn pointed to a steady increase in the cost of projects—with the typical process plant up 70% since 2003—as well as a decline in engineering quality "and a period of increased capital activity in the U.S. where labor demand may outstrip labor supply.”Daniel Groves, CURT operations director, noted that Texas will see $380.3 billion in commercial construction put
RSS
