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| MCAA National Update for September 29, 2014 |
More Than 1,000 Have Decided to Discover Maui Anew at MCAA 2015
Although the registration doors just opened a few weeks ago for MCAA 2015 (March 8-12 in Wailea, Maui, HI), members are quickly selecting their accommodations. Therefore, we encourage you to make your selection while we still have good availability. With three great hotels from which to choose -the Andaz by Hyatt, the Grand Wailea and Marriott's Wailea Beach Resort & Spa - and an excellent choice of room options, the time is now to finalize your plans with our convenient online registration at www.mcaa.org/mcaa2015. Once you've registered for MCAA 2015, then lock in your travel arrangements with United Airlines at www.united.com and receive a 5% discount when you enter MCAA's meeting offer code: ZT29516400. Complete convention program details will be available October 6. So, don't just sit there - start registering!
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MSCA 2014 is in Full Swing
 Service contractors are in Huntington Beach, CA, this week to achieve their Endless Summer at MSCA's 29th Annual Educational Conference. Industry experts taught service sales leaders how to drive revenue growth and enhance profitability through the skill sets needed for recruiting, hiring, onboarding, coaching and training sales professionals. The Opening Celebration followed with world-class guitarist Mike Rayburn who entertained and inspired attendees to access their unrealized potential. Still to come to help attendees keep their Endless Summer in sight are an exhilarating Afterburner Day, a captivating General Session with MCAA President Chuck Fell and Doc Hendley, the first-ever MSCA Everyday Hero Award presentation, an array of education sessions and roundtable discussions, and an intriguing Closing Session with Dewitt Jones. There will also be time for fun and networking at MSCA Central, the popular Exhibitor Display, fun optional recreational events, and the Closing Party.
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Act Now for Pension Reform!
 The next month will tell the tale on pension reform. If labor and management in the construction industry can marshal a widespread grassroots campaign with lawmakers in their state and Congressional district offices, the chances for passage of substantial multiemployer pension plan reforms after the November elections will be substantially improved. If not, the Congressional predisposition to delay action until the crisis occurs will take hold and reform may be put off for two more years, virtually ensuring a Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) crisis. Contact your Senators and Representative back home this week - usingtheVoter Voice email system at www.mcaa.org - to request a meeting before the election in your lawmakers' home state/district office. Ask your UA labor counterparts to contact lawmakers and accompany you to the meeting. Key Senate committees include Finance, Labor and Government Affairs. States where Senate outreach will have the most cross-over effect are Oregon, New York, Michigan, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Washington and Missouri. Please have MCAA company principals and their executive and administrative personnel send Voter Voice emails to lawmakers in those states. Other key leadership states are Illinois, Ohio, and California. The Solutions Not Bailouts (SNB) proposal is going to move in the House. The message to lawmakers is simple: SNB saves pension plan beneficiaries from massive cuts; SNB helps avert the otherwise inevitable insolvency of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; SNB doesn't require taxpayer funding; and, SNB doesn't mandate any particular reforms but instead permits plan trustees to choose from among various options to preserve their plans and benefits into the indefinite future. We can't wait! With even a one-year delay, some plans that could be saved will become insolvent, weakening the overall insurance structure. Go to www.solutionsnotbailouts.com for further details. Contact John McNernery at [email protected] for assistance. |
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2014 Industry Improvement Funds Conference Registration Opens
 Now is the time to start making your plans for the 2014 Industry Improvement Funds Conference (December 3-5, Longboat Key Club, Longboat Key, FL). The program will open with an update by MCAA President Chuck Fell on the latest MCAA programs, issues developments and activities. Dick Sawhill of ARCA/MCA of Southern California will report on the implications of an investigation of associations' Industry Funds requirements in collective bargaining agreements. Another session, led by Elizabeth Manzo with Lindabury, McCormick Estabrook & Cooper, will cover recent legal challenges to Industry Funds and options for protecting associations' funding structure. She'll also lead an optional session focusing on association bylaws administration. Steve Lamb of MCA of Chicago will lead a discussion on challenges faced by industry about technology, labor and globalization. Other discussions will address investment strategies, insurance best practices, legislative developments and a report on the association's political action committee and new National Education Initiative offerings. This is an excellent conference packed full of valuable information, so be sure to register early. Go to http://www.mcaa.org/education/mcaa/industryfunds/ for the complete brochure and convenient online registration. Questions? Please contact Sean McGuire at [email protected]. |
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Register Now for Next Green Building Webinar
 MCAA's next Green Building Webinar (October 30, 1:00 p.m. Eastern time) will address the challenges involved in renovating an historic building to meet high performance standards. The renovation involved the installation of ground source heat pumps, radiant slabs, a DOAS system, and an evaporative cooling server room. Because the building has historic significance, the project had to balance the SIERR improvements with the historical renovation. Matt Gregg of McKinstry Company (Seattle, WA) will lead this interesting and informative webinar. This webinar is free to MCAA/MSCA members as a benefit of membership. To register, go to mcaa.webex.com/mw0401l/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=mcaa. Please contact Sean McGuire at [email protected] for more information.
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MCA of Northwest Pennsylvania Contributes to MCERF
 The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) received a $2,500 contribution last week from the MCA of Northwest Pennsylvania, raising its total contribution to $116,500. And, the association designated 50% of its donation to the MCERF Scholarship Fund. The MCERF Board of Trustees greatly appreciates the support - and the commitment to MCERF Scholarships - which enables the Foundation to continue its support of education and research programs and activities that keep our industry growing and thriving. Find out more about current MCERF activities by visiting www.mcerf.org.
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