Greetings and welcome to the July 2015 edition of the NMUCA Newsletter. There are so many exciting things to report. Our recent NMUCA Night at the Isotopes was a great success (our biggest attendance yet)! The Mid-Year Social held at Seasons on June 18th allowed for a great opportunity to recognize some of our members for their successes. The year is not over as we have several upcoming events that are described below.
As a standalone state organization we have been able to invest more resources into our chapter and events such as the recent legislative session to push for bills that will benefit our industry as a whole. We have created and implemented two new committees, The Human Resources Committee and The Technology Committee. If you or your company are not already participating on a committee please join the movement and get involved. Together we can make a difference.
Thank you for your continued support and you can be sure NMUCA will continue to represent our members in furthering our industry. We hope you enjoy the summer and this edition and, as always, we welcome your feedback!
New Mexico Supreme Court sides with unions in wage case
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated PressPublished: Updated:
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday sided with a group of unions and ordered state labor officials to revamp the way they set prevailing wage and fringe-benefit rates for certain public works projects.
The court said Gov. Susana Martinez's administration has a duty under a 2009 change in state law to set rates based on collective-bargaining agreements rather than on wage surveys and other information.
Justice Petra Jimenez Maes wrote in a 15-page opinion that the failure of the director of the state labor relations division to do that has resulted in stagnant rates for public projects for the last five years. As a result, payments to workers have been anywhere between 5 and 35 percent below what would have otherwise been required.
"The director's delay in setting new rates and his failure to comply with the act is inexcusable," Maes wrote.
The court gave state labor officials 30 days to set new rates. READ MORE
How would City Councilors Isaac Benton and Klarissa Peņa's strangely named "Fair Workweek Act" actually, well, work? And to whom, exactly, would it be fair? As written, the 19-page proposed ordinance would require employers to:
* Post schedules in writing at least three weeks in advance for full- and part-time, seasonal and temporary employees.
* Hold a secret-ballot vote for employees to adopt an alternative schedule, such as four 10-hour shifts or three 12-hour shifts.
* Offer additional work to existing employees before hiring any new ones.
* Allow employees to swap shifts at will.
* Pay idle employees $150 every two weeks to keep them on the payroll when there's no work.
* Allow employees to accrue up to 56 hours of sick time a year.
And it would all be enforced by "the city." READ MORE
Marijuana Legalization: What Does It Mean for You as an Employer?
By Vance O. Knapp, Esq. - Jun 18, 2015
Utility Contractor Magazine
Currently, 23 states including the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use. Colorado Washington, Oregon and Alaska have also legalized the "recreational" use of marijuana. This article will tell you what you as an employer need to know about the issues that marijuana legalization presents for you in managing your employees - how the federal government's response to state marijuana legalization comes into play, how state laws affect your right to restrict marijuana possession and use by your employees and how best to deal with marijuana possession and use by your employees.
The Federal Government's Response In November 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. In response.... READ MORE
The House is today set to pass H.R. 2822, the Interior and Environment Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2016, containing $579 million in cuts to Clean Water State Revolving Fund levels. The fact that Congress is going to take one more step towards enacting these drastically lower SRF levels is terrible news for anyone who cares about safe, accessible, and clean water for all Americans. These cuts not only threaten Americans' access to clean water, but kill jobs and stifle the economic growth that results when desperately needed water infrastructure projects are undertaken. READ MORE
On June 18th, members got together for the Mid-Year-Social where Jason Montoya talked about the success for damage prevention in New Mexico since we work together. NMUCA Safety Awards were also presented.
Congratulations to the Safety Award Winners
For Excellence in Safety in the category of Manhours less than 100 thousand
MWI Inc.
Christina Jimenez
For Excellence in Safety in the category between 100,001 - 250,000 Manhours
Highway Supply LLC Anthony Gutierrez
For Excellence in Safety in the category between 250,001 - 500,000 Manhours
RMCI Inc.
Steve Moore
For Excellence in Safety in the category of More than 500 thousand manhours
AUI Inc.
Charlie Johnson
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On June 23rd, members learned how to correctly fill out an OSHA 300 Log. Often times, the OSHA 300 Log is filled out incorrectly and sometimes over report or under report. Since this log can affect your rates, it's essential to be able to fill them out correctly. Some new rules also went into effect in 2015 that you need to know about to be in compliance.
Click Here to read about the new reporting requirements.
Click Here to view the PowerPoint Presentation from the class.
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NMUCA AT ISOTOPES
On June 20th, members enjoyed NMUCA Night at Isotopes Park along with a Picnic and fireworks display. There were 141 members in attendance and it was a very fun time.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Road Machinery
E2RC
Baker Utility
This was our 4th annual member outing to the park and we'll be going again next year, so don't miss it!
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New Rules OSHA - Confined Space
The new OSHA ConfinedSpace Rule will go into effect on August 3, 2015and you should be familiar and aware of the changes. The following information includes links to the OSHA webpage so that you have the information you need to be in compliance.
There are 5 key differences from the construction rule, and several areas where OSHA has clarified existing requirements. The five new requirements include:
1.More detailed provisions requiring coordinated activities when there are multiple employers at the worksite. This will ensure hazards are not introduced into a confinedspace by workers performing tasks outside the space. An example would be a generator running near the entrance of a confinedspace causing a buildup of carbon monoxide within the space.
2.Requiring a competent person to evaluate the work site and identify confinedspaces, including permit spaces.
4.Requiring continuous monitoring of engulfment hazards. For example, when workers are performing work in a storm sewer, a storm upstream from the workers could cause flash flooding. An electronic sensor or observer posted upstream from the work site could alert workers in the space at the first sign of the hazard, giving the workers time to evacuate thespace safely.
5.Allowing for the suspension of a permit, instead of cancellation, in the event of changes from the entry conditions list on the permit or an unexpected event requiring evacuation of the space. The space must be returned to the entry conditions listed on the permit before re-entry.
In addition, OSHA has added provisions to the new rule that clarifies existing requirements in the General Industry standard. These include:
1.Requiring that employers who direct workers to enter a space without using a complete permit system prevent workers' exposure to physical hazards through elimination of the hazard or isolation methods such as lockout/tagout.
2.Requiring that employers who are relying on local emergency services for emergency services arrange for responders to give the employer advance notice if they will be unable to respond for a period of time (because they are responding to another emergency, attending department-wide training, etc.).
3.Requiring employers to provide training in a language and vocabulary that the worker understands.
Finally, several terms have been added to the definitions for the construction rule, such as "entry employer" to describe the employer who directs workers to enter a space, and "entry rescue", added to clarify the differences in the types of rescue employers can use.
CLICK HERE -- For the "Reader Friendly Version" of Subpart AA including Scope, Definitions, General Requirements, Permit Required ConfinedSpace Entry, Permitting Process, Entry Permit, Training, Duties, Rescue, & Participation.
Yes, it's close! Time to dust off those golf clubs and come out and play at the beautiful Paako Ridge Golf Course on September 18, 2015 with a 9am shotgun start.
Sponsors currently being sought and player registrations open on August 1st.
NMRCGA is multi-stakeholder organization at the forefront of identifying and promoting best practices and sharing knowledge to prevent damage to underground facilities throughout the state of New Mexico.
