New Work
We're currently providing cost estimates for the Veterans Administration on two cemeteries, in Bourne, and Bucks Co., PA., "Washington Crossing."
We're finishing up the Framingham Water Resource Center for Environmental Partners Group, and working on elementary schools in Needham, Norfolk, Rochester and Middleton for Drummey Rosane Anderson Architects, Flansburgh Associates and R.F. Walsh Collaborative Partners.
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| We hope everyone had a great summer. Leaves are already beginning to turn on the trees outside the window. Fall sure comes fast around here, but also brings visitors to New England from the world over, and for good reason. Enjoy the crisp air, the foliage, the pumpkin pie, the cider and...
Mayor Guiliani just said the Yanks will win the World Series. The Sox are 9 games behind with 19 left to play. It ain't over til it's over.
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Who Benefits from the Federal Economic Stimulus Package?
A federal order encourages the use of project labor agreements on large projects. Supporters say they are needed to keep projects on time and on budget. Opponents say they drive up the cost of many projects and allow a 'Big Dig mentality' to proliferate.
Earlier this year, President Obama signed an executive order into law reigniting a debate that has raged for decades.
At the heart of the order is support for use of project labor agreements for large-scale federally funded construction projects. It is expected that there will be many of these in the pipeline over the next several years as a result of the federal economic stimulus package. Under PLAs, those managing large construction projects agree to exclusively use union labor in return for the unions' pledge not to strike.
Opponents claim that PLAs are exclusionary, leaving non-union shops on the outside looking in. They also point to Boston's massive Central Artery project, the 'Big Dig,' built entirely with PLAs, as a prime example of why the 'on-time, on-budget' argument is not valid.
"When the Big Dig was in its planning stage," said Greg Beeman, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts, "and before the project was completed, there was much talk about how this was not just a 'signature project' for unions, but it was going to be seen as the way to build projects, and how the project labor agreement was successfully implemented."
Labor leaders hope for help from the federal government's $787 billion economic stimulus bill, which is expected to result in $500 million to $600 million in road and bridge improvements in Massachusetts. But government work is the only sector that looks promising.
Employment among construction workers is down by 23,000 jobs statewide, a reduction of 16 percent, reflecting massive layoffs as work stops on building projects across the state. Legions of carpenters, ironworkers and electricians are being forced to compete for a dwindling pool of jobs. In the last three months alone, the number of construction jobs dropped by over 10,000 positions statewide. This almost equals job losses at financial firms in the past year, according to state employment data. Overall, employment in the industry stands at 120,400 jobs, the lowest level in a decade. Around 4,600, or 20 percent, of the union's 23,000 carpenters are out of work, the most since the early 1990s, when industry unemployment surged to more than 30 percent during the last prolonged recession.
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Trivia Contest
Last month's answers:
1) How tall is the tallest building in Washington D.C. allowed to be and why?
No building in DC may be taller than 13 floors.
This is so that no matter where in the city you are, you can see the monument to our first President, George Washington.
2) What is the mysterious problem that has plagued the Hancock Tower since it was built?
The 60-story John Hancock Tower is haunted by one or more of the mysterious problems in skyscraper history: its windows, huge 4-by-11-foot planes of glass, pop out unexpectedly and shatter on the street below. The building, completed in 1972, was less than 1 month old when suddenly dozens of its windows began popping for no obvious reason. Determined to remedy the situation, the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Agency replaced ALL 10,334 windows with 400 lb. sections of tempered glass. The windows kept popping out. Today the mystery remains unsolved and windows still occasionally pop. To protect passers-by, John Hancock has hired 2 permanent guards who do nothing but peer up and spot the cracked pains before the tumble to the sidewalk.
This Month's Questions:
1) When were construction hard hats invented and why?
2) This style of architecture, c. 1800-1840 is also referred to as Adamesque.
The first person to answer both correctly will receive a $20 gift card to LL Bean.
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