Greetings!
Welcome to the November 2010 edition of the Electrical Contractors' Association newsletter LiveWire.
This month's issue features October Membership Meeting highlights, updates regarding the successful 2010 NECA Convention and the ECA Student Committee, as well as other industry-related topics.
As always, please give us some feedback about the ECA LiveWire Newsletter and let us know what information would be helpful to you in future additions. We appreciate your comments.
Best regards,
ECA Chicago
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October Membership Meeting Highlights
The Electrical Contractors' Association of City of Chicago (ECA) held its latest Membership Meeting on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at Rosewood Restaurant and Banquets, Rosemont, Illinois. Attendees were given updates concerning the current Market Recovery efforts, as well as information regarding the recent NECA Convention that was held in Boston, MA. Next month's meeting is to be held at Maggiano's Banquets in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Pictured above is James Gallagher, ECA President, Grand-Kahn Electric
as he began the ECA Membership Meeting held on October 13, 2010.
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NECA 2010 Convention - Boston
The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) held its Annual Convention & Trade Show October 2 - 5, 2010. The event was held at the new state-of-the-art Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC).
Highlights of the Convention include the following: David Hardt, Hardt Electric, Inc. was elected to a second term as NECA District IV Vice President; Steve Diamond was inducted in the Academy of Electrical Contracting; a Special Labor Relations Session opened with a roundtable discussion including NECA President Rex Ferry, NECA CEO John Grau and IBEW President Ed Hill on the competitive issues and changes that are taking place in the industry and that discussion was followed by a presentation featuring four NECA-member contractors from around the country who have put new market recovery programs to work successfully.
Over 50 members and guests from the Chapter were in attendance at the NECA Convention. We hope even more will be able to participate next year as the NECA Convention moves to San Diego, California, October 22 - 25, 2011. Pictured from left to right during the 2010 NECA Convention are: Rex Ferry, NECA President; Nicki and Steve Diamond, Malko Electric Company and David Hardt, Hardt Electric, Inc., NECA District IV Vice President Steve Diamond is pictured above (fourth person from the left side) on stage during the NECA Convention as he and the other Academy inductees were introduced. |
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Electric Association Awards
Two members received awards at the Electric Association (EA) Annual Membership Awards Dinner held on October 14, 2010 at the Carlisle Banquets in Lombard, Illinois. James McGlynn, Sr., McWilliams Electric Company, Inc. received the "Gold Medal" Award. The purpose of the Gold Medal Award is to give recognition to a person serving in the Chicagoland Electrical Industry who has furthered the industry's goals of promotion and education, demonstrated great devotion to purpose and has shown keen insight into the opportunities of the electrical construction industry.
Jack Block, Block Electric Company, Inc. was inducted into the EA's Hall of Fame during the awards event. Jack exemplified the "Hall of Fame" criteria of honoring outstanding individuals who have played a key role in the development and nurturing of the electrical industry and who have played a creative role in Chicagoland. The award recognizes individuals whose innovation, hard work, dedication and vision have fostered industrial growth and social progress. Congratulations, Jim & Jack!
Pictured above from left to right are:
James McGlynn, McWilliams Electric Company, Inc. and
Jack Block, Block Electric Company, Inc. at the
Electric Association Awards Dinner
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ECA Student Committee Update
The ECA Student Committee is working with another Illinois Institute of Technology Interprofessional Program (IIT IPRO). The Fall semester IPRO concerns business development strategies for electrical contractors in a down economy. The IIT IPRO class consists of at least a dozen students with diverse majors tackling this issue. The students are in the process of interviewing various member firms in regard to better understanding business development priorities. We wish the students the best of luck with this project.
Dr. DanTomal, IIT Facilitator (standing) is pictured with the ECA IIT Fall IPRO students
during a recent class session at IIT. |
USGBC Greenbuild 2010 Conference
The Electrical Contractors' Association of City of Chicago (ECA) is now a "Bioregional Partner" for the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo 2010. The Conference is scheduled for November 17 - 19 at Chicago's McCormick Place West. The ECA has agreed to promote the upcoming event as it would be of interest to the membership, as well as the electrical construction industry. As one of the first cities to adopt LEED for public buildings and the city that is home to more LEED-certified buildings than any other, Chicago is truly committed to leadership as a "next-generation" city - the perfect place to celebrate being part of Generation Green.
SEVERAL FREE EXHIBIT HALL PASSES ARE AVAILABLE The ECA has been given several free Exhibit Hall passes. Any ECA members that are interested in obtaining a FREE EXHIBIT HALL PASS for this event, please contact Tim Taylor at: (708) 531-0022 or by e-mail at: ttaylor@ecachicago.com. This is on a first-come, first-served basis. If available, you will be given the FREE PASS CODE for the on-line Registration. About Greenbuild
The U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild International Conference & Expo convenes the industry's largest gathering of representatives from all sectors of the green building movement. Three days of extensive educational programming, workshops, a vast exhibition floor and ample networking events provide unrivaled opportunities to learn about the latest technological innovations, explore new products, and exchange ideas with other professionals. Greenbuild 2010's educational and workshop programming, which includes a Residential Summit, International Forum and USGBC LEED workshops, embodies its central theme of Generation Green-a moment in time that will redefine the future for cities and towns around the world. Greenbuild 2010 will also feature exciting speakers, including current U.S. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, environmentalist, entrepreneur and journalist Paul Hawken and former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros. USGBC will soon announce Greenbuild 2010's keynote speaker; previous keynote speakers have included President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Greenbuild is the three-time recipient of IMEX Green Meetings Award and has been named among Tradeshow Week's Top 200 shows, received TreeHugger.com's Readers' Choice Award for Best Green Event and earned Meeting Professionals International's RISE Award for Organizational Achievement. The 2010 show will be held Nov. 17-19, 2010, in Chicago, Ill. This past year's conference in Phoenix, Ariz., drew more than 27,000 attendees and featured more than 1,800 exhibit booths and Greenbuild 2010 is expected to be even bigger. To register for Greenbuild 2010, go to http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/register.aspx. To view last year's Greenbuild show, go to http://2009.greenbuildexpo.org. Visit www.greenbuildexpo.org for more information.
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FASB Proposal Analysis
NECA is responding to several proposals from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Key among the response strategies has been to attempt to have FASB recognize the construction-specific withdrawal liability rules as they pertain to multiemployer defined benefit plans and prevent them from issuing a "one-size-fits-all" rule that would ignore current law. Key among NECA response strategies has been to meet with key Congressional offices to educate them about FASB's proposals. Other efforts include participating in several coalitions and submitting comments in conjunction with our alliance with the Campaign for Quality Construction Coalition on the "Loss Contingencies" (Topic 450) proposal. NECA will continue to advocate for Congress to play a role in FASB's proposals; admittedly, it is unclear whether Congress will have any ability to exercise oversight over an independent agency such as FASB. Certainly, banks, financial institutions, and bonding agencies play a key role in FASB's proposals, after all, FASB is defending these rule changes "...to provide end users with sufficient information to make informed decisions about the potential liabilities of the companies in which they are considering investing." Those with contacts in the financial sector that might be in a position to "weigh in" on the FASB's proposals are encouraged to contact Lake Coulson or Kristen McDonough at the NECA Legislative Affairs office. NECA will be commenting on the 715-80 "Multiemployer Pension Plans" proposal. Both the 715-80 and 450 proposals have serious, even catastrophic implications for those participating in multiemployer defined benefit pension plans. NECA encourages all of its members to comment to FASB. The deadline for commenting on FASB 715-80 is November 1 so the need for NECA members to comment is immediate. Form letters will likely be ignored, you may click here on a link to "talking points" for your convenience. Comments should be submitted by email to director@fasb.org, File Reference No. 1860-100. Those unable to submit by email should address those comments to Technical Director, File Reference No. 1860-100, FASB, 401 Merritt 7, P.O. Box 5116, Norwalk, CT 06856-5116. You may also contact Lake Coulson, NECA Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
at: (301) 215-4522 with your questions. |
Legislative Update
Members of the Electrical Contractors' Association of City of Chicago (ECA) Legislative Committee were on hand to visit Congresswoman Melissa Bean, Democrat, 8th Congressional District of Illinois on October 26, 2010. The group discussed various business taxes and small business issues, including the following: Multi-employer Pension Plan parameters, unemployment issues, 3% Withholding issue, FASB withdrawal liability proposal, 'green' technology and Estate tax reform.
The ECA supports those in office who promote business issues that are positive to the contractor. Congresswoman Bean has been an advocate regarding small business issues. We wish to thank our Legislative Committee members, as well as our ECA at-large members who have volunteered their time and resources on a number of these types of visits to help bolster the industry. We also wish to thank all those who have participated their time and talent, as well as their economic resources with the overall ECA Legislative activities.
Pictured above from left to right are: Brad Weir, NECA Governor, Kelso-Burnett Co.
as he discusses an issue with Congresswoman Melissa Bean.  Pictured from left to right are: Bruce Creen, NEIL NECA and Thomas Morton, LLD ELectric; Brad Weir, NECA Governor, Kelso-Burnett Co., Congresswoman Melissa Bean and Mark Nemshick, ECA Exec. VP |
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August 2010 Industry Statistics |
| 2009 | 2010 | Number of Contractors
| 818 | 738 | | Journeymen & Apprentices Employed | 9,290 |
9,064
| | Monthly Hours Worked | 1,040,041 | 1,000,242 | | Cumulative Hours Worked for Period | 8,544,822 | 7,012,635 |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
November 2, 2010 Election Day Please remember to exercise your right to vote. November 10, 2010 ECA Regular Membership Meeting Maggiano's Banquets Oak Brook, IL November 17 - 19, 2010 USGBC Greenbuild 2010 Conference Chicago, IL December 3, 2010 ECA Presidential Ball & Holiday Party Butterfield C.C. Oak Brook, IL
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We Need Your Comments
The Association urges all members to utilize the many resources that are available on-line at the ECA website. We hope that the information provided will help you better run your business, by helping you become aware of what's new in the marketplace not only in the Chicago area, but nationwide.
Available in the On-Line Resources section of the ECA Website is the Equipment & Material Member Exchange. Visit the "Member's Only" section and unlock all the features provided to ECA members.
The Events area of the site is constantly being updated. Please view the calendar for upcoming educational programming, as this dynamic is ever-changing. We hope that you will take advantage of the on-line surveys, polls, etc. Your participation will assist in the development of future programs offered by the Association.
Please let us know how we're doing and send your comments via e-mail. Visit the "Contact Us" portion of the website.
We look forward to your visit to: www.ecachicago.com.
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