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Contractor Connector - Save the Date
This
event is designed to aid networking between prime and DBE contractors and
consultants and MBE firms. We will also review opportunities and procedures
for working with the Ohio Turnpike & Infrastructure Commission and the
Ohio Department of Transportation.
Date:
November 6, 2015
Time:
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Where: Youngstown
State University
Williamson College of Business Administration
221 N. Hazel Street
Youngstown, Ohio 44555
Seating will be limited, so sign up today: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ohio-turnpike-commission-contractor-connector-tickets-18963952693
Eastern
Ohio leads the race for Outstanding Chapter of the Year
The
Eastern Ohio Chapter of OCA is currently leading the Chapter of the year
contest followed by North Central Ohio and Columbus.
With a few weeks left until the Nov. 30 deadline there
is still time to change these numbers! The Outstanding Chapter of the Year
will be announced at the OCA Winter Conference in December.
Each
chapter’s score is based on overall attendance, chapter membership growth,
PAC contributions and community service. Bonus points for community service
projects, which are ten percent of the overall chapter percentage points,
have not been tallied as projects are still being completed for the year.
Let us know how we can help you and thanks for
supporting your OCA Chapter!
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2015
Outstanding Chapter of the Year
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Chapter
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Attendance
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Membership
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PAC
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%
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Eastern Ohio
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141
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147
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191
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160
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NCO
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124
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97
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103
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108
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Columbus
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112
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117
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79
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103
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Toledo
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90
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136
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72
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99
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Akron/Canton
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112
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112
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62
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95
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Cleveland
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84
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112
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58
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85
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Southwest
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102
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117
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34
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84
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Youngstown
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100
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100
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36
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79
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Dayton
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97
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95
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11
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68
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Make
Your Voice Heard & Participate in the ARTBA 2016 Survey on the State of
the Transportation Construction Industry
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association
(ARTBA), our national affiliate, is conducting its Annual Survey on the
State of the Transportation Construction Industry to assess current market
conditions and the 2016 outlook, and would appreciate your participation.
ARTBA will use the survey results in its advocacy efforts by showing
elected officials and the media true “on the ground conditions” within the
industry . This survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is
confidential. Take the survey online here.
Transportation Bill
Heads to the House Floor Next Week
Extension Through
Nov. 20
This week saw significant progress in
moving a multi-year highway & transit bill. Following passage of
the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015 (STRRA)
in the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee last week, the full
House is expected to consider the bill next week.
Prior to the bill hitting the floor, the
House Rules Committee will meet to determine the parameters for debate and
what amendments will be considered. It is likely this process will be
completed by Tuesday with consideration of the bill beginning next Wednesday,
Nov. 4. Since the Senate acted first on their reauthorization bill,
the process for passing the House bill is a bit different from previous
authorizations. Ultimately, the House will amend the Senate-passed
DRIVE Act to include the House-passed STRRA, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration title and other transportation related
amendments. What remains to be seen is if the House plans to allow
amendments to the Highway Trust Fund pay-fors that were included in the
DRIVE Act.
AGC is continuing to push for inclusion
of an amendment to expand the mileage limit allowing construction drivers
to reset their hours-of-service after a 24-hour break. In addition,
we are working with Representative Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) to include an amendment
that would initiate a process to ensure the future solvency of the Highway
Trust. We will communicate to AGC chapters and members if the House
will vote on these or other amendments of interest to the construction
industry.
Extension of Highway &
Transit Programs
Also this week, the House and Senate
passed by voice votes an extension of highway & transit programs until
Nov. 20. The legislation also included an extension of the deadline for
railroads to reach full installation of positive train control (PTC)
technology to 2018. The 3-week extension of the highway and transit
programs provides a short timeframe for the House and Senate to work out
the differences of their respective reauthorization bills (assuming House
passage). It is not outside the realm of possibility that a final bill
could be agreed to and signed by the president by Nov. 20. However,
both the House and Senate will be in session very little in November, which
may ultimately lead to another short-term extension into early
December. If needed, the next extension would be passed to simply
give House and Senate negotiators time to finalize their agreement and give
members of Congress time to see the see the final bill before voting on
it.
OCA Annual
Convention in the Dominican Republic
The deadline for
deposits is less than four weeks away! If you have not received the
invitation or excursion details, contact Rachel Sirca or Emily
Pickens. There are numerous sponsorship opportunities available that
Rachel or Emily can help you with as well.
OCA Winter Conference
– Hilton Deadline Approaching
All
of the rooms in our room block have been taken by OCA members; therefore
there are no rooms left in our room block at the Hilton. The Hilton is otherwise full and there are no other
available rooms to add to our room block. We have some rooms blocked
at the following hotels, both just a five-minute walk across Easton Town
Center to the Hilton where our conference is held. Contact Rachel
Sirca or Emily Pickens with questions. Link to Easton map.
·
Courtyard Columbus at Easton, 3900 Morse
Crossing, Columbus, OH 43219 – 614-416-8000. $199 + tax. Group
Code is Ohio Contractors Association.
·
Residence Inn Marriott, 3999 Easton Loop
West, Columbus, OH 43219 – 614-414-1000. $195 + tax. Group Code
is
OHC.
Teamsters
Central States Pension Fund Implements Rescue Plan
OCA
and its contractor members who are signatory to the Teamsters Statewide
Highway Heavy Agreement, are contributing employers to the Central States,
Southeast and Southwest Area Pension Fund in Chicago. The Fund has
alerted its plan participants on its website that all fund participants
were sent letters describing how the fund's proposed pension reductions
under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 will affect their
benefits.
The fund filed its application with the Treasury
Department on Sept. 25 to allow pension reductions in order to save the
plan, as allowed under the MPRA, the announcement said.
Passed as part of the federal appropriations bill in
December 2014, the MPRA gives distressed multiemployer pension plans the
option to reduce retiree benefits (60 CLR 1127, 12/18/14). Prior to the
MPRA, pension benefit cutbacks were prohibited under the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act.
Central States‘ rescue proposal is a “gut-wrenching
effort by the fund's trustees” to stabilize the fund while being the “most
fair” to participants and retirees, Thomas C. Nyhan, executive director and
general counsel of the fund, said during an Oct. 15 electronic town hall
meeting for active and retired plan participants.
The event was held as the rescue proposal—and the new
law that would allow the cuts, the 2014 Multiemployer Pension Reform
Act—have come under impassioned criticism from retirees and retiree
advocates.
Nyhan sought to reassure retirees that the cuts
proposed to the Treasury Department are merely benefit suspensions and
aren't intended to be permanent cuts. Once the rescue plan is approved, the
fund's trustees will be required each year to determine whether the cuts
are still needed, he said.
He said it was “impossible for me to see a path” for
legislation with Republicans in control of Congress “to appropriate
taxpayer dollars to support union pension plans,” but that “should
something like this ever materialize, I guarantee you that we will be the
first” in line “to try to take advantage of it.”
During the town hall with retirees, Nyhan tried to ease
the mind of retirees who may be considering returning to work, discussing
changes to the re-employment rules if the rescue plan goes through.
According to a Central States guide to the rescue plan,
the proposal would remove all re-employment restrictions for participants
who retired on or before Oct. 1, 2015, whose benefits are reduced. Participants
who retired after that date while they were between age 62 and 65 could
return to work, but with some restrictions, while there would be no
restrictions once retirees reached age 65, the guide says.
The Treasury Department published the Central States
Pension Fund's application for suspension of benefits in the Oct. 23
Federal Register.
The application by Central States, Southeast and
Southwest Areas, Pension Fund features a number of documents, including the
description of the proposed suspension, which would begin on July 1, 2016.
The amount of a participant's suspension would be based
on three factors—the “tier” the person's benefits are associated with; the
amount of contributions made to the plan on the participant's behalf; and
whether the person will be an active participant, terminated participant or
retiree as of July 1, 2016—the application said.
“Participants with at least 20 years of Contributory
Service Credit (and their beneficiaries in pay status) as of July 1, 2016,
will receive lesser suspensions than other participants. Also, the
suspensions are affected by both the age of the participant upon retirement
and whether the participant elected a joint and survivor form of benefit
upon retirement,” the application says.
If you
have any questions or concerns, please contact Mark Potnick, OCA’s Director
of Labor Relations, or visit the Central States Pension Plan’s website for
additional information: www.CSPensionRescue.com
2015
OCA Safety Awards
OCA’s annual safety award program is a great opportunity for our contractor
members to showcase their safety programs and be recognized for their
achievements. All OCA members are encouraged to participate!
Awards are presented in several size divisions, based on total hours
worked. Recognition is also given to any contractors who worked
accident and injury free during the year!
This year’s winners will be announced during the Winter Conference Awards
luncheon on December 8th at the Hilton Easton in Columbus. Please
click here to access the application form. The deadline date
for submission is Friday, November 20, 2015. Please return the completed
form at your earliest convenience so that your company will be in the
running for OCA’s coveted safety award!
If you have any questions about the Safety Awards Program, please contact
Emily Pickens or Mark Potnick in the OCA office. Please continue to
keep worker safety and health at the forefront of all you do! We’ll
be looking for your application, and good luck!
Opportunities in Transportation
Safety
The Ohio Chapter of
the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) is hosting Opportunities in Transportation
Safety in conjunction with ODOT on March 3, 2016.
For more details about the
conference or to submit questions for ODOT officials to address in the Ask the Owner Q&A
session, please visit www.ohioatssa.com.
OCA's
Board of Directors Has Taken Positions On Two Ballot Issues That Will Be On
The November 3rd Statewise Ballot
OCA SUPPORTS THE PASSAGE OF ISSUE 2:
The goal of Issue 2 is to create a constitutional amendment that would prohibit
the creation of monopolies in the Ohio Constitution. The “Ohio Initiated
Monopolies Amendment” would require voters in the future to approve two questions pertaining
to citizen initiatives establishing economic monopolies. Ohio’s legislators
developed the Ohio Initiative Monopolies amendment in response to Issue 3
(see below)
Issue 2 would work by requiring the Ohio Ballot Board to determine if an
initiative would create an economic monopoly or special privilege for any
nonpublic entity, including individuals, corporations and organizations. If
the Ohio Ballot Board determines an initiative would create an economic
monopoly, then the board would be required to create two separate ballot
questions. The first question would ask, "Shall the petitioner, in
violation of division (B)(1) of Section 1e of Article II of the Ohio
Constitution, be authorized to initiate a constitutional amendment that
grants or creates a monopoly, oligopoly, or cartel, specifies or determines
a tax rate, or confers a commercial interest, commercial right, or
commercial license that is not available to other similarly situated
persons?" The second question would be the ballot initiative. If both
questions are approved, then the amendment would take effect. If only one
question is approved, then the amendment would be defeated.
If voters approve the amendment, it could potentially
invalidate any initiatives voters approved on the November 3 ballot that
establish economic monopolies - specifically, it may invalidate the
Marijuana Legalization Initiative. However, it is likely that if
Issue 2 and Issue 3 both pass, the final decision of which one rules
supreme would be fought out in the courts.
OCA OPPOSES ISSUE 3. Issue 3 is a proposed
constitutional amendment that was submitted by a group of wealthy investors
to create a monopoly that would give them, and only them, the ability to
commercially cultivate marijuana on 10 predetermined sites around Ohio.
The marijuana grown at those sites would be available for sale for
recreational and medical marijuana usage. The amendment would allow
over 1100 retail marijuana stores, more than three times the number of
liquor stores currently in Ohio. In addition, adults would be able to grow
marijuana for their own recreational use.
The use of the Ohio constitution to create a monopoly
for a few wealthy individuals is a threat to our free market system that is
built upon economic competitiveness. The fact that Issue 3 would also
create many uncertainties and problems for Ohio’s employers, however, is
even more troubling. Does state or federal law regarding marijuana
use, possession and cultivation take precedence? How would
drug-testing and the ensuing results be handled? How would safety standards
be maintained in our hazardous profession? Would union contracts have
to be amended for this new contingency? How would this impact our
ability to attract and retain employees? To view more facts on issue 3,
please click here.
We know
that Ohio’s contractors value predictability, safety, and a reliable and
drug-free workforce, all of which will be jeopardized if Issue 3
passes. For that reason, we urge you to vote no on Issue 3.
Please click here for more information.
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