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April 30, 2015
Serving the Construction Industry Since 1971
Grievances and Arbitrationsi
Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Arbitrations
There were no arbitration requests filed by the Union this month.
Laborers Joint Grievance Committee
The Laborers Joint Grievance Committee heard one grievance at its March 31, 2015 meeting.
The Union filed a grievance alleging the Employer violated the collective bargaining agreement
by failing to assign a steward at a particular jobsite. The Union presented testimony they had an
individual who they wanted to appoint. The grievant did not appear. The contract requires that
the grievant attend the Joint Grievance Committee meeting otherwise the grievance shall be
dismissed. As the grievant was not in attendance at the JGC meeting, the Committee denied the
grievance.
The April Laborers JGC was scheduled to meet on April 28, 2015. A continuance was requested
by the contractor pending a meeting between the parties. The next hearing date is May 26, 2015
at the MARBA office, 2720 River Road, Des Plaines, IL 60018.
Operating Engineers Joint Grievance Committee
The Operating Engineers JGC was scheduled to meet on May 13, 2015 however, the Union
requested a continuation until the next regularly scheduled JGC meeting on July 8, 2015. The
meeting will be at the MARBA office, 2720 River Road, Des Plaines, IL 60018.
Teamsters Joint Grievance Committee
There were no grievances put on the schedule for the April Teamsters JGC Meeting. The next
regularly scheduled JGC meeting is on May 28, 2015 at the MARBA office, 2720 River Road,
Des Plaines, IL 60018.
Collective Bargaining
Automobile Mechanics Local 701
The current agreement between MARBA, Excavators, Inc. and Automobile Mechanics Local 701
expires May 31. The parties are scheduled to meet on May 11, 2015 in an effort to reach a
successor agreement.
Expiring Contracts/Negotiation Updates
Expiring Contracts have been updated and posted to the MARBA website. Negotiation Update
emails started with the April 3, 2015 email. The updates will continue to be sent out on Fridays
until all negotiations have concluded. If there is any information anyone wishes to share with
MID-AMERICA REGIONAL BARGAINING ASSOCIATION
2720 S. River Road, Suite #222 • Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
847.699.1283 • Fax: 847.699.9947 • www.marba.org
2
respect to negotiation updates, please contact Aaron Janik, MARBA Executive Director, at
ajanik@marba.org.
Construction Economics 2015
The Construction Labor Research Council released a report entitled “Union Construction Labor
Cost Trends and Outlook 2015”. The information contained in the report was gathered by CLRC
from various sources throughout the nation. For CLRC purposes, Illinois is considered part of the
East North Central Region. The East North Central Region consists of IN, MI, MN, OH, WI, and
WV. The report contains information regarding wage + fringe benefit rates for a variety of crafts
as well as the percentage increases for those crafts. A portion of the crafts and the wage + fringe
benefits rates listed by the CLRC for the East North Central Region are below:
BRICKLAYERS
Wages + Fringe Benefits
(1/1/2015)
$53.78
2010-2015
% Increase
11.3
2014-2015
% Increase
2.5
CEMENT MASONS
$50.78
11.3
2.5
LABORERS
$46.14
13.2
2.6
OPERATING
ENGINEERS
$52.06
14.5
2.3
TEAMSTERS
$42.06
20.0
1.8
Industry News
Construction Industry Forum
On April 16, 2015, approximately 15 people attended the Construction Industry Forum meeting
the Underground Contractors Association. The attendees discussed a variety of matters relating
to the construction industry including an update on expiring contracts. The guest speaker was
Gayla Hurson from the Construction Safety Council. Mrs. Hurson informed the attendees about
what role the Construction Safety Council plays in the industry. She also updated the group
about the various safety and education classes offered by the CSC. There was a discussion
regarding various seminars offered by various associations throughout the Chicagoland area.
Illinois Legislators Rally for Increase in Federal Transit Spending
Early this month, several elected officials from both parties gathered at Union Station in Chicago
in an effort to get Congress to pass a long term federal spending plan to update the nation’s roads,
bridges, rail system, and bus fleets. The rally coincided with similar events held across the
nation.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Illinois is in line for an increase in federal
highway aid from $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion. Federal aid to Illinois for mass transit would see a
similar increase as well. Of course, this is all dependent on Congress agreeing on a new
transportation spending bill.
MID-AMERICA REGIONAL BARGAINING ASSOCIATION
2720 S. River Road, Suite #222 • Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
847.699.1283 • Fax: 847.699.9947 • www.marba.org
3
The event highlighted the need for a new transportation fund in light of Governor Rauner’s call
for significant cuts across the board for all areas of transportation. Any decrease in funding
provided by the state, absent an increase in federal funding, will call into question the ability of
the transit agencies to provide services or update infrastructure without increasing revenues
through a rate hike or via a decrease in services.
State of the Economy
Warehouse Vacancies Falling
According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the industrial vacancy rate has fallen for seven
consecutive quarters reaching levels not seen since 2001. The rate, at 7.6 in the first quarter
2015, is at its lowest level since third quarter 2001. The demand for goods such as televisions,
furniture, and other goods is rising, and in turn, companies need more room for manufacturing,
storing, shipping, and selling these goods.
The largest deal of the first quarter was for a unit in Romeoville. The 723,291 square foot lease
was signed by a company out of Virginia. They will use the site as a storage, repair, and
distribution center for the U.S. Postal Service.
The only downside to this trend is the lack of available sites to continue to build on along the I-55
corridor.
Economic Indicators
Unemployment Rate
March 2015 = National 5.5%, Illinois 6.0% (36th in U.S.)
CPI (All Urban Consumers)
March 2015 = -0.07
30 Year Fixed Mortgage
3.77% up from 3.71 % last month
15 Year Fixed Mortgage
3.04% up from 3.01% last month
New Housing Building Permits
5.7% decrease over February 2015 (+/- 2.0%)
2.9% increase over March 2014 (+/- 0.9%)
Janik’s J.D. – An Update on Labor/Construction Legal Issues
Submitted by Aaron Janik – Executive Director MARBA
Illinois Tollway Votes to End Multi-Project Labor Agreement
In a 6-3 vote, in what one newspaper is calling “a rare show of disagreement”, the Illinois State
Toll Highway Authority voted to end the Multi-Project Labor Agreement. The PLA, which had
been in place for 20 years, required contractors to use union workers on Tollway projects in
exchange for assurances against strikes, slowdowns, or walkouts.
The vote followed recent comments by Governor Rauner that PLA’s blocked “competitive
bidding” on public projects. Critics of the repeal of the PLA, including Tollway Director James
Sweeny (who also serves as president and business manager of IUOE Local 150), argue by
MID-AMERICA REGIONAL BARGAINING ASSOCIATION
2720 S. River Road, Suite #222 • Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
847.699.1283 • Fax: 847.699.9947 • www.marba.org
4
throwing out the agreement the Tollway is in danger of running into delays due to strikes and/or
shutdowns.
Other Tollway directors have indicated they are not opposed to using PLA’s on a project by
project basis, similar to the policy of the Illinois Department of Transportation. The director’s
terms expire in May and Governor Rauner will appoint the next round of directors.
New Mandatory Commercial Arbitration coming to Cook County
Earlier this year the Circuit Court of Cook County instituted a new Mandatory Arbitration
Program for all cases assigned to the Commercial Calendar Section of the Law Division with
damages under $75,000.
A commercial case is defined as one that pleads cause(s) of action for, among other things, breach
of contract (including breach of loan agreements or guarantees, construction contracts, breach of
warranty), employment disputes, employment discrimination, qui tam claims, civil and/or
commercial fraud and/or conspiracy, interference with business relationships, and/or shareholder
disputes.
Despite the fact the rules for this program cap a claim for damages of $75,000 and under, the
rules also state, “the Court has discretion to refer cases to mandatory arbitration when the
damages exceed $75,000, if the Court finds, after consultation with the parties, that the
complexity of the case is such that it is amenable to arbitration.” In a seminar that discussed the
new program and the rules governing it, Judge Thomas Mulroy indicated cases could be referred
to Arbitration even if the damages were for several hundred thousand dollars, provided that it was
a “relatively straightforward” case.
Upon receiving an order referring the case to arbitration the Arbitration Administrator will assign
an arbitrator to the matter. Arbitrators will be appointed to hear cases if they meet certain
requirements, such as having been an attorney for at least seven (7) years and having commercial
litigation experience. Arbitrators may be appointed by the Court if it determines they have other
particular qualifications and if they completed a commercial arbitration training seminar.
Once the case is referred to arbitration it will remain before the Court and proceed there until 30
days prior to the date set for arbitration hearing, when discovery will be stayed. The arbitrations
will take place at 222 N. LaSalle St. on the 13th Floor. The arbitration must proceed to hearing
within 150 days of the order being entered (90 days for expedited arbitration).
Fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the arbitration, the parties will engage in a sharing of
certain documents with the arbitrator, including all relevant pleadings in the underlying court
case, a statement of the case, and expected witnesses and documents to be utilized at the hearing,
among other materials.
The hearing, which will last no more than four (4) hours, will be presided over by the arbitrator
who has discretion to relax the Illinois Rules of Evidence. At the conclusion of the hearing the
parties must provide the arbitrator with a summary of reasonable legal fees incurred in connection
with the arbitration. An arbitrator will submit an award which will contain a brief finding, with
no written opinion.
Either party may reject the award by submitting the appropriate paperwork and paying a fee of
$750.00. If the party rejecting the award fails to obtain a better result at trial (as the case would
MID-AMERICA REGIONAL BARGAINING ASSOCIATION
2720 S. River Road, Suite #222 • Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
847.699.1283 • Fax: 847.699.9947 • www.marba.org
5
be put back in front of the presiding judge), the party rejecting the award must pay the other
party’s reasonable legal fees incurred in connection with the arbitration (as described in the
preceding paragraph).
Since this program has started there has been one arbitration hearing. However, the Court
anticipates having a pool of 100 arbitrators who will handle 3-4 arbitrations a year. It remains to
be seen exactly how this program will operate and ultimately how effective it will be. As with
any new program, there are sure to be hiccups. It is important to be aware of this new program as
many parties are not aware it exists. No one likes to wind up in court but the more that is known
about the processes to resolve disputes the better.
Right to Work Zones Coming to Illinois?
Since coming into office, and more so in the past few weeks, Governor Rauner has been
advocating letting Illinois voters decide whether to enact local right to work zones. Right to work
zones are areas where union membership and union dues would be voluntary. The idea of right to
work zones is not necessarily new, with some counties in Kentucky passing ordinances creating
these areas. However, despite the emergence of these areas in our neighbors to the South, Illinois
Attorney General Lisa Madigan has issued an opinion declaring right to work zones in Illinois as
violating federal labor laws as well as state laws. Her opinion can be found here:
http://dig.abclocal.go.com/wls/documents/2015/032015-wls-madigan-opinion1.pdf
Governor Rauner’s plan for local creation of a right to work zone has found support in two
communities outside of Chicago. Oswego and East Dundee both discussed right to work zone in
their communities. In fact, the East Dundee Village Board approved by a 6-0, vote a non-binding
resolution supporting Governor Rauner’s proposal for allowing the creation of right to work
zones at the local level as well as other economic ideas (including changes to PLA’s and
Prevailing Wages) put forth by his office. The Oswego Village Board, however, tabled the matter
for the time being.
If any municipality passes an ordinance creating a right to work zone, it is sure to find itself in
court as have the counties in Kentucky that created RTW zones. Over the course of the next few
weeks, several municipalities have Governor Rauner’s resolution on their agendas, including
some larger units of government, most notably Naperville, Vernon Hills, and Elk Grove Village.
This is certainly a topic that deserves to be followed over the next few months.
Chicago Panel to Study Requirement that Employers offer Paid Leave for New Parents
A new panel appointed by Mayor Emanuel has been tasked to study whether businesses in
Chicago should be required to provide paid leave for new parents. This new leave would be in
addition to any paid sick leave an employer may provide employees. According to an Emanuel
spokesperson, the panel will also consider expanding paid sick leave requirements.
The panel looks to work off an ordinance proposed in 2014 by Alderman Joe Moreno. Ald.
Moreno’s ordinance sought to increase the amount of paid sick leave an employer is required to
provide, regardless of size. Under his proposed ordinance, employees would earn one hour of
sick time for every 30 hours worked. If an employer employed less than 10 workers that amount
would be capped at 40 hours. Larger employers would be capped at 72 hours.
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce opposes his ordinance. According to their vicepresident of government relations, “the labor marker should determine employee benefits.” The
MID-AMERICA REGIONAL BARGAINING ASSOCIATION
2720 S. River Road, Suite #222 • Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
847.699.1283 • Fax: 847.699.9947 • www.marba.org
6
Illinois Retail Merchants Association noted the ordinance targets smaller businesses as many
larger businesses already offer paid leave.
The full composition of the panel and when it will be empanelled has not yet been announced.
Central States Pension Fund Working Through Changes
Earlier this month participants in the Central States Pension Fund received a letter from the Fund
Trustees indicating the Fund was contemplating “significant and painful” reductions in retirement
benefits for both active workers and retirees.
Central States are contemplating the reductions under the auspices of the Multiemployer Pension
Reform Act of 2014 (“MPRA”). This Act amended the law to allow pension funds to cut benefits
in order to stay afloat. While it is not certain what type of changes are going to be made any
reduction in benefits will not occur until summer of 2016. One aspect to keep in mind is that
under the MPRA, employers will not be able to take advantage of any withdrawal liability as a
result of the reduction in benefits for 10 years.
The Central States Pension Fund has approximately 400,000 participants in the plan.
Upcoming Seminars/Events
Contractors Association of Will & Grundy Counties Meet and Greet Expo 2015
Networking Event, no dress code required come after work or from a jobsite.
Date:
Time:
Location:
Cost:
Contact:
Thursday, May 7, 2015
3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Stone City VFW
124 Stone City Drive
Joliet, IL 60436
General Admission $20 in advance, $25 at door
Exhibitor Fees $75 members, $90 non-members
815-741-1455
OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
This event looks to raise awareness of preventing fall hazards in construction
Date:
Time:
Location:
Cost:
Contact:
Friday, May 15, 2015
12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Construction Safety Council
4415 W. Harrison St. Suite 404
Hillside, IL 60162
Free of charge but a non-perishable food item is being requested for donation
708-449-8600
MID-AMERICA REGIONAL BARGAINING ASSOCIATION
2720 S. River Road, Suite #222 • Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
847.699.1283 • Fax: 847.699.9947 • www.marba.org
7
Right to Work & Prevailing Wage Seminar
Frank Manzo IV, MPP; Robert Bruno, Marc Poulos, and Stephen Burton will discuss the two
topics.
Date:
Time:
Location:
Cost:
Contact:
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The Westin Hotel, Lombard
$35.00 (includes continental breakfast)
630-264-7880 or www.fcaofillinois.org/events
Lake County Labor Relation Reception
Networking event for the industry participants include union leaders and management
representatives.
Date:
Time:
Location:
Cost:
Contact:
Thursday, May 21, 2015
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Fatman Sports Lounge and Lanes
Free
ckazimier@lcca-il.org or call 847-623-2345
Calendar
May 1
May 6
May 12
May 12
May 19
May 26
May 28
8:30 a.m.
7:30 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
12:00 p.m.
8:30 a.m.
8:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
Introduction to Public Private Partnerships Seminar (Chicago)
FVAGC Board Meeting (FVAGC, St. Charles)
MARBA Industry Advancement Fund Meeting (MARBA)
MARBA Board Meeting (MARBA)
Right-to-Work/Prevailing Wage Seminar (Westin Hotel, Lombard)
Laborers Joint Grievance Committee Meeting (MARBA)
Teamsters Joint Grievance Committee Meeting (MARBA)
Baseball Season is upon us…….who is your team Cubs/Sox?????
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Information for MARBA Matters was obtained from the following sources: BNA Construction Labor
Reports, Crain’s Chicago Business, Northwest Times of Indiana, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times,
and Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as various websites and publications.
MID-AMERICA REGIONAL BARGAINING ASSOCIATION
2720 S. River Road, Suite #222 • Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
847.699.1283 • Fax: 847.699.9947 • www.marba.org