This Week

UA's Mark McManus Calls for Action to Win Congressional Passage of Multiemployer Pension Reform

Discover How to Manage Your Labor Effectively

Next Green Building Webinar Focuses on Helping an Old Building Learn New Tricks

The Next Industry Challenge is Coming...Are Your Senior Executives Ready?

Help Your Dispatchers Help Your Bottom Line

AIPM Can Help Your Best Senior Project Managers Exceed Your Expectations

Shine a Light on Your Best Management Idea Yet

West Michigan MCA Contributes to MCERF

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MCAA National Update for September 1, 2014

UA's Mark McManus Calls for Action to Win Congressional Passage of Multiemployer Pension Reform

In the UA Journal's August 2014 issue, General Secretary-Treasurer Mark McManus clearly and concisely outlined the rationale for Congressional enactment of legislative reform of the multiemployer pension system. McManus' editorial, "Fighting for Our Basic Right to a Secure Pension" explained the economic conditions that led to the financial instability of some multiemployer pensions and the threats to the viability of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. He noted that the Solutions Not Bailouts proposal developed by the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans, and supported by MCAA and the UA, "does not ask for a bailout from the U.S. government...It charts a course that will lead to the careful and thoughtful reforms that are so direly needed." McManus concluded his editorial with a call for action by UA members to help win passage of multiemployer pension reform this year before the Pension Protection Act of 2006 expires. Please join our UA partners in our effort to win critically needed pension reform this year by pressing your Congressional representatives to support Solutions Not Bailouts. Go to www.mcaa.org/advocacy for a letter that you can email to lawmakers' district offices which explains the issue, asks for their active support and requests an in-person meeting with the lawmaker. Open the "Voter Voice" email system, type in your name and address in the "My Profile" box and the system will generate an email for your lawmakers based on your zip code; use either your home or business address. Go to http://www.mcaa.org/UAJournalAugust2014_McManusEditorialPension.pdf for a complete copy of McManus' editorial. For more information on the issue, go to http://www.solutionsnotbailouts.com or contact John McNerney at jmcnerney@mcaa.org.

Discover How to Manage Your Labor Effectively

MSCA's next Path to Higher Margins is Not Business as Usual Webinar (September 10, 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight time) will help you use your labor force effectively. You will learn about the National Service and Maintenance Agreement as a tool to strategize and grow your labor force. You will also hear how to implement a blended work force to maximize your labor resources and more effectively compete. Understanding how your service technicians can be your best salespeople will also be explored. Leading this webinar are Kip Bagley of EMCOR Services/Mesa Energy (Irvine, CA) and Jim Leslie of Tucker Mechanical (Meriden, CT). This webinar is free to MCAA/MSCA members as a benefit. Please register at https://msca.webex.com.

Next Green Building Webinar Focuses on Helping an Old Building Learn New Tricks
The

challenges involved in renovating an historic building to meet high performance standards are the topic of MCAA's next Green Building Webinar on September 25, 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. The renovation involved the installation of ground source heat pumps, radiant slabs, a DOAS system, and an evaporative cooling server room. The project also had to balance building envelope improvements with the historical renovation. Leading the webinar is Matt Gregg of McKinstry Company (Seattle, WA). This webinar is free to MCAA/MSCA members as a benefit of membership. To register, go to https://mcaa.webex.com. Please contact Sean McGuire at smcguire@mcaa.org for more information.

The NFPA 70E Qualified-Level Arc Flash Safety Training Webinars can help prevent injuries and incidents from exposure to electricity. The content is focused on protecting service technicians or other employees who work with or around electrical equipment. Employees who are potentially exposed to live conductors of 50 volts of electricity or more during their workday, and especially mechanical service technicians who work on units that generate up to 480 volts, will learn safe work practices that will prevent incidents, injuries and worse. The next webinars will take place on September 24, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. If your employees have not participated, please be sure they register for the next webinar. Presented by the Hilgeman Group, the session covers all applicable OSHA and NFPA requirements, best practices, NFPA's most recent changes to the 70E requirements and provides participants with real-world accident information to reinforce the training. Contact the Hilgeman Group (ahilgeman@frontier.com) to register.

The Next Industry Challenge is Coming...Are Your Senior Executives Ready?

The nation's economic recession may be winding down, but new challenges for our industry are always looming just around the corner. MCAA's premier educational offering - the Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI) - is your best buffer against the next "big thing." Whether it's strategic, technology or market-based, the challenge can wield a major impact on your business if you are not equipped to respond effectively. The ALI is designed for our industry's top executives and management leaders with a curriculum focused on strategic planning and leadership development that addresses today's and tomorrow's toughest business challenges, even those that have yet to surface. We've also added a module on "Branding" and another on "Customer Partnerships" to enhance the value of the program. The branding module will include WebEx-delivered components during the interim period between Week 1 and Week 2. Dates for ALI's Course 15 are: September 27-October 2, 2015 (Week 1) and November 8-13, 2015 (Week 2). To request an application or learn more about the ALI, please contact Dennis Langley (dlangley@mcaa.org).

Help Your Dispatchers Help Your Bottom Line

Service dispatchers are your company's first point of contact with the client, the first source for service scheduling, resource allocation, priority-setting and customer satisfaction - all elements of great customer service. Investing in these team members is crucial to your team's success and your bottom line. Join MSCA in Baltimore, MD, on October 27-28, 2014, for the Dispatcher Professional Development Training Program. New and experienced dispatchers will gain a new understanding of their true role in the company and advance their careers as they significantly enhance their ability to contribute to your company's success. This is the last dispatcher training for the year and class size is limited, so register today at http://www.mcaa.org/education/msca/dispatcher. Contact Sobeida Orantes (saorantes@mcaa.org) with registration questions.

AIPM Can Help Your Best Senior Project Managers Exceed Your Expectations

The practices, procedures and technologies that keep our industry moving are constantly evolving and improving, so it's important that those in charge of projects stay on top of the changes. And, it's especially important that the most experienced project managers keep their knowledge and skills up to date. MCAA's Advanced Institute for Project Management (AIPM) is specially designed for those who've been managing projects for several years, but whose project management skills are ready for significant enhancement. The next AIPM (January 18-23, 2015, University of Texas, Austin, TX) will cover: Advanced Leadership Skills; Keeping Customers forLife; Legal Issues with Difficult Jobs; Risky Business: Insurance & Bonds for Contractors; Staying on Top of Scheduling and Productivity Impacts; Effective Notice: Improve Your Negotiating Position and Avoid Litigation; Operational Management: Tips from the Pros; and Goal Setting: How to Effectively Manage Yourself and Those You Influence. This is an excellent educational program that fills quickly, so don't delay registering your senior project managers. Go to http://www.mcaa.org/education/mcaa/ipm/ipm-advanced for program information and a downloadable registration form. Please contact Beth Miller (bmiller@mcaa.org) with registration questions.

Shine a Light on Your Best Management Idea Yet

Your company may have made its market mark because of a unique approach to solving a management problem. It may have been a novel management practice, technique or method that more than any other helped your business find its path to success. Consider nominating that innovation for the 2014 E. Robert Kent Award for Management Innovation. This distinguished award provides an opportunity for members to showcase their management innovations, receive well-deserved acclaim and publicity and pass on to other industry businesses a way to solve management issues that have proved formidable. Named for an industry leader who believed strongly that the best ideas should be shared, the E. Robert Kent Award brings to light proven ideas that can help companies throughout our industry overcome growth-hindering business obstacles. Nominations are now open for the 2014 E. Robert Kent Award; consider nominating the idea that helped your company succeed. Go to www.mcaa.org/awards/erobertkent for information and the downloadable form.

West Michigan MCA Contributes to MCERF

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) has received a $1,000 contribution from the West Michigan Mechanical Contractors Association, raising its total contributions to $37,250. The MCERF Board of Trustees appreciates the donation which will help the Foundation support education and research programs that keep our industry growing and thriving. Find out more about MCERF and its programs by visiting www.mcerf.org or contacting Dennis Langley at dlangley@mcaa.org.

The MCAA National Update is is a weekly publication of the
Mechanical Contractors Association of America
1385 Piccard Drive, Rockville, MD 20850.
Questions? Contact Ann Mattheis, Editor, Phone: 301-869-5800; Fax: 301-990-9690