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PCCA Journal|1

st

Quarter 2015

9

News Briefs

O

n February 4, the nationwide Coalition for a

Democratic Workplace filed a motion for summary

judgment in its challenge to the National Labor

Relation Board’s new streamlined elections rule. The rule

would shorten time frames for union representation elections

from the median of 38 days to as few as 14 days, depriving

employers their free speech rights and employees the oppor-

tunity to hear from both sides prior to voting and to make a

fully informed choice.

The motion was filed jointly with the Chamber of Com-

merce of the United States of America, the National Associa-

tion of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation, and the

Society for Human Resource Management. The Associated

Builders and Contractors and the National Federation of Inde-

pendent Business are also challenging the rule.

CDW legal strategist Joshua Ulman said, “The NLRB’s ‘am-

bush’ election rule is a flagrant attack on American workers.

The Final Rule violates both the spirit and the letter of the

National Labor Relations Act and other legal requirements,

at the expense of rights that are critical to workplace democ-

racy, such as protected speech and employee free choice.”

Ulman concluded, “The protection of fundamental work-

place rights is a critical issue which CDW will continue to

fight for on the behalf of employees and employers.”

FMI Warns Craft Labor

Shortage May Slow Construction

S

urveying members of the Con-

struction Personnel Executives

Group, FMI recently reported, “24

percent of respondents will be unable

to bid more work and 32 percent will

experience slow growth if their compa-

nies cannot reasonably meet the need

for skilled labor and tradespeople.” Top

executives at the largest contract firms in

the U.S. took part in the survey.

“Overall, there’s an increase needed

in skilled trade workers of more than

10 percent throughout the next three to

ten years,” said Ken Wilson, director for

FMI. One large construction company

commented, “Our current hiring forecast

shows a need for 8,500 additional craft

workers by 2017.”

The top five positions that are ex-

pected to be the most difficult to fill are:

1. Operator (heavy equipment)

2. Welder (boilermaker)

3. Carpenter

4. Pipefitter

5. Ironworker (reinforcing)

FMI noted two significant contribut-

ing factors to the high demand for craft

labor:

1. The shift of the construction work-

force to oil and gas related construc-

tion. FMI estimates that by 2017

nearly 10 percent of the total U.S.

construction workforce will be part

of this burgeoning segment of the

industry.

2. The number of survey respondents

that plan to increase the amount of

work the company self-performs.

Currently, surveyed firms self-

perform less than 40 percent of

construction projects. However, 65

percent either have plans to or are

considering plans to increase self-

performed projects.

This in-depth look into recruiting

and retention of craft labor includes an

analysis of the driving factors behind the

skilled labor shortage, the most effective

recruitment tactics, and how companies

are filling the demand for field manage-

ment of the craft labor force. The report

also provides practical counsel on how

to develop human resource strategies to

improve recruiting and retention rates.

Business Groups Fight

NLRB Ambush Election Rule