The ECA Research and Education Committee is active year round.  Educational programming for the coming year is being defined.  However, several seminars are already in place, including the following:

February 2012:  "Building High Performance Teams"  

March 2012:    "Communicating Effectively with Challenging and Difficult Personalities"

April 2012:      "Comprehensive Practices for Effective Project Management"  

May 2012:      "Financial Principles and Tools"  

The ECA Research and Education Committee will be considering future programming that will include the following: additional MEI courses, Electrical Estimating Workshop, EPS Fast Track Series, Pre-Membership Meeting programs, ECA Spring Conference Business session, as well as specialty programs that come up on an as needed basis during the year.  Registration information for these seminars will be forthcoming.  

The 3% repeal legislation was introduced with record-breaking bipartisan support. The co-sponsors of H.R. 674 are Reps. Wally Herger (R-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), both strong NECA allies. The legislation garnered over 260 bipartisan co-sponsors as it moved through the House Ways and Means Committee. In the Senate, companion legislation S. 89 was introduced by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and S.164 was introduced by Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA). The Senate passed the repeal legislation in early November.

President Obama indicated his support for the repeal of 3% withholding and has referred to these ill-conceived rules that are set to take effect on January 1, 2013, as "burdensome withholding requirements that keep capital out of the hands of job creators." NECA was correct as it believed the President would follow by signing the bill into law. President Barack Obama signed into law on November 22, 2011 the "VOW to Hire Heroes Act," or H.R. 674, legislation to repeal of the imposition of 3 percent withholding on payments made to vendors by government entities, while also extending incentives for employers hiring veterans.  The President signing H.R. 674 ends a 6-year effort to repeal this withholding tax that would have been detrimental to NECA contractors.  NECA's Executive Director of Government Affairs, Lake Coulson and NECA's Director of Legislative Affairs, Kristen McDonough have been working together with our contractors to assist in the repeal efforts. Thank you to NECA members for their efforts in support of legislation that would repeal the tax. Contacting Congressional members, advocating for repeal, and participation at NECA legislative conferences have greatly influenced the bill's passing and signing into law.   

Portions of this article were taken from recent NECA Legislative Alerts.  

The NECA Midwest Regional District 4 & 7 Conference will be held March 18 - 21, 2012 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, Arizona.  If you would like to attend the conference, you can either utilize the "paper process" or the on-line registration process at: www.necanet.org  for this event. If you utilize the paper  Registration Form, please make a copy to be retained for your records. Please send the original to the: Electrical Contractors' Association of City of Chicago (ECA), Five Westbrook Corporate Center, Suite 940, Westchester, Illinois 60154 on or before February 3rd, as the form needs to be recorded then forwarded to the Midwest Regional Office NECA on or before February 10, 2012. Details of golf and recreation, spa services, dining and entertainment, area attractions and additional hotel amenities can be reached at the resort's website at: www.loewshotels.com/en/Ventana-Canyon-Resort.   Registration officially began on November 28th on the NECA website at www.necanet.org.