Monday, June 29, 2015


Good Monday Morning. Read up on the latest CE/CW wage rate update and sign up for NECA trainings and events, then on to the next Holiday...Take precautions this year to be safe. Happy Independence Day!
 

 

 



"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule." 

 
Samuel Adams
This Week

SUN-TUE
28-30th
All Day
BOMA International Conference, Los Angeles
MON
29th


TUE
30th
5:00 PM
595 Family Medical Care Plan Meeting, Training Center, Stockton
WED
1st


THU
2nd
8:00 AM
Dublin Chamber Economic Development Committee, Dublin




FRI
3rd
All Day
Independence Day Observed, Holiday for All Agreements

 

A1
Affordable Care Act Ruling  
How NECA is taking Action  
The Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 2015 that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may provide nationwide tax subsidies to people buying health insurance. The  6-3 ruling in favor of the administration said that nearly 7 million Healthcare.gov enrollees in 34 states can keep their health insurance premium subsidies under the law as it is written and puts to an end several years of court challenges on the constitutionality of the law.

NECA has responded to the Supreme Court's ruling upholding the ACA, calling on Congress to craft a package of reforms to include repeal of the 40 percent excise tax on employer-sponsored health care. NECA has also called for the elimination of the so-called "belly button tax" for 2015 and 2016. The transitional reinsurance fee, as it's formally called, imposes on insurance providers a levy for each recipient of health care coverage.


A2
CE/CW Wage Rate Update 
Cost of Living Adjustment Finalized 
The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for the Construction Electrician/Construction Worker (CE/CW), effective June 1, 2015, has been finalized. The COLA increase for the Bay Area Agreement - Local 595W Alameda and Local 180 Solano/Napa - is 2.6%, which brings the wage rate to $32.43 for the Level 2 Lead/Foreman. Click here to see the updated Cost Data Sheet for the Bay Area Agreement.

The COLA increase for the Northern Nevada, Sacramento, and Central Valley Agreement - Local Union  595E Stockton, Local Union 684 Modesto, and Local Union 180 Solano/Napa - is 1.8%, which brings the wage rate to $28.56 for the Level 2 Lead/Foreman. Click here to find the updated Cost Data Sheet for the Northern Nevada, Sacramento, and Central Valley Agreement.  

Also, please note that effective January 1, 2016, the Health & Welfare rate will be increased from $5.01 to $5.21.

Please contact Scot VanBuskirk at the Chapter Office if you have any questions.

A3
Regional Drug Free Workforce Program  
Meeting Update 
Last week, Greg Armstrong, Pete Halver, and Scot VanBuskirk met with other NECA and IBEW representatives to discuss the Drug Free Workforce Program. Currently, each local area has their own drug program which can create issues and redundancies when employees are traveling to different jurisdictions. The goal of this meeting was to regionalize the Drug Free Workforce Program, by utilizing a single third-party administrator (Bensinger, Dupont, & Associates), creating a reciprocal agreement between the jurisdictions that will save time and money for the employers. It will also reduce lost time for the employees as they will not have to take multiple tests when traveling. Initial steps have been taken, and the NorCal NECA Chapter Office will update our membership once this reciprocal or portability agreement is put into place.  

a4
Firework Safety Reminder 
Brought To You By The IBEW/NECA Joint Safety Committee 
As we approach Independence Day, practice safety as you enjoy celebrating the holiday. See the attached safety article or visit the NFPA website for more fire safety information.  Courtesy of the IBEW/NECA Joint Safety Committee.

 a5
Are You A Project Manager Or A Project Witness 
Wednesday, June 24 
On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 the Solano/Napa ECT Sponsored a Project Management class at the JATC in Napa; Are You a Project Manager or a Project Witness, presented by Norb Slowikowski, of Slowikowski & Associates. The course covered phases of the management process, and how to manage the cost of a project as well as uncovering real productivity and explaining effective management and leadership techniques.

Thirteen participants from various jurisdictions were in attendance; John Caldwell with Cal Coast Telecom in San Jose, Craig Dyas, Todd Crawford and Chuck Musso of Central Valley Electric in Modesto, Jim Hoak, Erik Niewald and Terry Herzog of Con J. Franke Electric in Stockton, Joey Fong of Del Monte Electric in Dublin, Heather Lent of Intrepid Electronics Systems in Oakland, Tom Long, Mike Ryan, and Autumn Gonsalves of Long Electric in Napa and Dennis Ortega of Schetter Electric, Sacramento.

a6
Governor's Budget Funds Apprenticeship 
Plan Reverses Recession-era Cuts, Renews Apprenticeship Commitment  
Due in part to advocacy efforts in recent days, Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a budget that will fund apprenticeship programs by restoring the previous cuts and providing additional funding for existing and new programs throughout the state of California.

For years, we've known that apprenticeship is one of the most cost-effective investments California can make in job training, yet funding for these valuable programs remained hindered by cuts made during the days of the Great Recession. Today's budget reverses those cuts and provides an increase of $29.1 million for expansion of apprenticeship programs. This includes $14.1 million to grow existing apprenticeship programs and $15 million to create innovative apprenticeship demonstration projects that focus on new and emerging industries with unmet labor market demand.
Source: California Apprenticeship Council

a7
NECA Convention, San Francisco
October 3-6, 2015
Registration is open for the NECA 2015 Convention and Trade Show at Moscone Center South in San Francisco on October 3-6, 2015. The schedule will be packed with Educational Workshops, in-depth Forums, interesting General Sessions and Lifestyle Programs, all designed for your industry.   

Visit www.necaconvention.org for convention details and schedules. Our NorCal NECA room block is located steps away from the Convention Center at the Marriot Marquis in the SOMA District. The hotel is also near Yerba Buena Gardens, Union Square, and the Powell Street BART station.

Early bird rates for registration and the NorCal NECA room block expire August 13, 2015. Complete and return the attached registration and hotel forms to Julie Russell as soon as possible. 
 
a8
LEED Exam Training Workshop  
Thursday, July 23, 2015 
The Solano & Napa Counties Electrical Contractors Trust is hosting a LEED Green Associate Exam Training Workshop on July 23rd, at the Napa Training Center, 720 Technology Way. GreenStep will present a full-day workshop of instruction related to training for the LEED Green Associate Exam, focusing on key information necessary to pass the exam. Materials and equipment will be provided. The class will start at 8AM with registration and a continental breakfast; the workshop will begin promptly at 8:30AM, and end at 4:30PM. Lunch will be provided at noon.
 
Contractors (and their employees) who work in the Local Union 180 jurisdiction and contribute to the Trust may attend at no charge. Non-contributors may attend at $250 per person.
 
Contact Darlene Besst to register.

Archives

Copyright � 2015. All Rights Reserved.