Related Links: Text (portions redacted) of M.C. Dean agreement with DOL M.C. Dean statement Dept. of Labor press release M.C. Dean Inc., a major electrical contractor, has agreed to pay 381 job applicants $875,000 in back wages and interest to settle Dept. of Labor allegations that the company's hiring processes did not provide them with "equal employment opportunity" for apprenticeship and electrician positions, DOL said.In announcing the agreement on Oct. 30, DOL's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) said the payments will go to 272 African Americans, 98 Hispanics and 11 Asian Americans who had unsuccessfuly sought electrician and
Construction was among the industries that reported increased employment levels in September, according to the latest employment statistics from the Dept. of Labor.The Labor Dept.’s monthly employment report for September, released Oct. 22, found that overall, total non-farm payroll employment rose by 148,000 in September, and the unemployment rate was virtually unchanged at 7.2 %.Construction, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing all saw employment increases.The construction sector added 20,000 new jobs in September, after showing little change in the prior six months. Moreover, the unemployment rate in the construction industry fell to a six-year low of 8.5%.Construction employment totaled 5,826,000
Courtesy of Unite the Union Frank Morris, an electrician and shop steward, returned to work at the CrossRail project after a year in which he and Unite the Union sought his reinstatement. At first the story that broke in 2009 seemed implausible: Dozens of U.K. contractors supported a craftworker blacklist since the late 1990s and used it to idle those deemed troublesome.Then on Oct. 10, eight of the U.K.’s largest construction companies announced a settlement that could be valued in many millions of dollars. Under the settlement, the contractors will compensate as many as 3,200 workers who said they were
Related Links: McCarron Brothers Are at Center of Carpenters' Union Leadership Fight With Easy Reelection, Carpenters' McCarron Looks Ahead A public fight between carpenters' union President Douglas J. McCarron and his younger brother, Southwest regional council chief Mike McCarron, spilled into federal court in Los Angeles on Oct. 4.In the lawsuit, Mike McCarron claimed the international carpenters' union, Douglas McCarron and other union leaders improperly placed the six-state, 31-local council under emergency trusteeship.The trusteeship violates union and federal laws, the lawsuit claims, and was part of a "family feud" between the brothers precipitated by a fight over the $2-million estate
Bad schedule example: Descriptions that are too vague can cause confusion, such as repeated activities with no distinction. Good schedule example: Project activities are given details that help the user scan it quickly and distinguish activities from one another. Related Links: Dearth of Scheduling Software Expertise Still Bedevils Many Legal Cases From the Archives: Critics Can't Find the Logic in Many of Today's CPM Schedules How To Make CPM Tools Human-Friendly, Truthful Project Management Institute Home Page Construction project schedules have come a long way since the 1950s, when the critical path method of graphing milestones, activities and logic ties
Related Links: Blacklist Support Group website U.K. Information Commissioner's Office-About The Consulting Association Labour Bans U.K. Contractor Carillion from Conference Over Blacklisting Eight of the U.K.’s largest construction companies said Oct. 10 that they would compensate construction industry workers who were damaged by an unlawful “blacklist” that allegedly operated since the mid-1990s and included more than 3,200 names.Workers were added to the list for reasons that included health and safety issues, employment history, trade union activity and personal relationships, says Justin Bowden, national officer of GMB, a leading U.K. construction trade union, and media reports.Bowden, who adds that some workers
Dodge Momentum Index increases 2.9% in SeptemberThe Dodge Momentum Index, compiled by McGraw Hill Construction, increased 2.9% in September and is up 31% since the end of 2012. The index is a monthly measure of the first, or initial, reports for non-residential building projects in planning, which is a proven leading indicator of construction activity by a full year. "The acceleration of the index suggests that, as of September, owners and developers viewed the environment for construction as improving," says MHC. But all the gain comes from private commercial building, which was up 8.5%. Institutional building was down 2.5%.CH2M Hill
Construction Starts Up 1% Over 2012Through August, the total dollar value of new construction starts was estimated at $329.4 billion, which was just 1% higher than the same period a year ago, according to the Dodge division of McGraw Hill Construction. The increase all came from a 27% hike in the value of residential construction. The non-residential building market was down 3% from the first eight months of 2012, while non-building work was down 21% for the same period. "A more solid expansion requires a greater contribution from non-residential building," says Robert Murray, MHC's chief economist. Colorado DOT Waits for
Image courtesy of City of Sacramento The arena is intended to boost redevelopment of Sacramento's blighted downtown. Image courtesy of City of Sacramento/AECOM AECOM produced this early concept drawing of the arena prior to the firm's selection as architect. Related Links: PLA Deal for New York's Tappan Zee Bridge Construction 49ers Use 'Integrated Bridging Design-Build' To Speed Stadium Construction In an effort to expedite the construction of a new $448-million sports-and-entertainment arena in downtown Sacramento, the California Legislature late last week overwhelmingly passed a bill to prevent potential litigation over environmental concerns.The bill's passage came on the heels of a
Related Links: Get Ready for Work Force Shortages Industry Struggles To Find Qualified Crane Workers Construction firms, once starved for work during the downturn, now say they cannot find enough qualified talent to take on new projects. The problem is likely to get worse, firms say."Everyone is afraid that we are going to get to a point where we were in 2006-7, where we had a shortage of skilled workers," explains Brian Turmail, spokesman for the Associated General Contractors of America. The trade group on Sept. 4 released the results of a survey it performed this summer on worker shortages.
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