Wrap-up: State of the Union Construction Industry Forum

December 13 2011

TAUC held its annual State of the Union Construction Industry Forum on Dec. 7 in Washington, D.C.

The Forum has become a must-attend event for contractors, owners and building trades representatives, providing up-to-date information on a variety of legislative, regulatory and business topics vital to our industry (not to mention a great opportunity for networking).

This year TAUC was pleased to welcome a number of speakers, including:

Jim Maddux, Director of OSHA’s Directorate of Construction, who updated the audience on a variety of OSHA safety initiatives, including the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). Click here to download Mr. Maddux’s PowerPoint presentation.

Tom Murphy of Penn State and Travis Windle from the Marcellus Shale Coalition, both of whom gave attendees an inside look at the business potential of the huge natural gas discovery in Appalachia — and future opportunities for union contractors. To download Mr. Murphy’s presentation, click here. To download Mr. Windle’s presentation, click here.

NMAPC Co-chairs Brent Booker and Bob Hoover gave an information-packed presentation on the revised National Maintenance Agreement, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. To download their PowerPoint presentation, click here. For more information on the revisions, click here.

Carey Peters, the new Executive Director of the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC), updated the audience on wage and benefits trends in labor agreements in 2011 and what’s in store for 2012 (and beyond). To download Mr. Peters’ presentation, click here.

Patrick Finley, General President of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association, gave a lively keynote presentation to close out the conference, and emphasized the importance of continuing to fight for pension reform and innovation on Capitol Hill.

If you weren’t able to make it to the Forum this year, we hope you’ll mark your calendar for next year’s event, scheduled for early December in Washington, D.C. (details to follow in 2012).