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Bob Miodonski talked about how this year may be a turning point for local builders, who could actually see more profits after the miserable last few years of dwindling projects.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
OAK BROOK — It’s been awhile since the local construction industry has had good news, but an encouraging report was delivered at the PAMCANI luncheon in Oak Brook on Feb. 3. Yes, the industry is slowly recovering, and construction is forecast to go up in 2012.
“Well, there is some good news here,” said Bob Miodonski, who spoke to the crowd. Miodonski is the group publisher of BNP Media and editor of Plumbing and Mechanical Magazine.
Miodonski reported that the construction industry is expected to grow six percent in 2012. He delivered a report detailing each individual industry and what to expect.
“This is still a people business, and relationships with customers still matter. Fortunately, we didn’t see a double dip recession last summer as we had feared, but we are not going to see the strong numbers of 2005-2008 for a long time.”
He said in order to survive, contractors will have to operate leaner and much more efficiently, implementing practices like using pre-fab materials, integrated project deliveries, more training for employees, and more wholesale material buying.
“These are changing times. This is the ‘new normal,’” he said.
Residential growth should bounce back somewhat strong in 2012, with growth of 15 percent in the Midwest region. Commercial construction should be up three percent, with open air shopping centers and renovations of big box stores leading the charge. Green buildings that are more energy efficient and tenant friendly are trends to look out for.
“These numbers sound good, but remember, this is coming off the bottom, so it’s still not great,” he said.
Surprisingly, amusement and recreation construction should be up three percent, with stadium construction buoying that category. Miodonski said the funding is tricky with the municipal stadiums because taxpayer money has to be balanced with creating jobs. Casino construction has been a hard hit category, with numbers way down in the recession.
Education building is forecast to be up by four percent, with greener schools, pre-fab and modular buildings for schools a trend to watch. Manufacturing looks to be down three percent in the region in this year.
“Manufacturing was actually one of the hardest hit categories, with a 33 percent drop in 2010,” said Miodonski. Religious construction will also be down, with fewer people donating to the church.
Still, Miodonski was optimistic that the worst may be over, and better times are on the horizon for local builders.
“There will be work out there for contractors who are progressive,” he said.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
It was a hard won fight, but union membership is up slightly in Illinois and across the nation. This comes after unions lost almost 1.4 million members over the previous two years.
According to new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Illinois gained 32,000 new union members over the course of 2011. Overall, union membership increased by 49,000 from 2010 to 2011, including 15,000 new 16- to 24-year-old members. The state’s total number of union members increased to 876,000, or 16.2 percent of the workforce.
The largest increases in union membership were in construction, health care services, retail trade, primary metals and fabricated metal products, hospitals, transportation and warehousing.
Nationally, an increase of 110,000 workers in the private sector was partially offset by a decline of 61,000 in the public sector, making the rate of union membership essentially unchanged at 11.8 percent, with some 14.8 million U.S. workers active in unions. Public sector employees faced dramatic layoffs across the country as state and local governments trimmed their workforce to help cope with budget deficits.
This is the lowest amount of national union membership since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
However, union membership in Illinois and across the country ticked up slightly despite a rash of attacks on working people and collective bargaining rights, including the fights in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other parts of the country.
“Despite an unprecedented volley of partisan political attacks on workers’ rights and the continuing insecurity of our economic crisis, union membership increased slightly last year,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. “Working men and women want to come together and improve their lives. It is telling that as our country begins to recover the jobs lost during the Great Recession, good union jobs are beginning to come back.”
Union membership has steadily declined since the 1950s, when roughly a third of all workers were unionized. The loss has been attributed to the loss of manufacturing jobs which are typically filled by union workers.
Future union growth could slow down even further as states and municipalities lay off tens of thousand of workers due to budget cuts during the recession.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Florida has the biggest increase in union members in 2011, up 68,000. Michigan was next, bumped up 44,000 members by a recovering auto industry. New York lost the most members with a decrease of 53,000 people.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn delivered his annual State of the State address Feb.1, covering the bases on jobs, taxes, returning veterans, education and exports. The address received mixed reviews from lawmakers and industry leaders.
“The consensus is the speech was not good,” said Louie Giordano, executive vice president of the Illinois Mechanical & Specialty Contractors Association. “The governor has his head in the sand.”
Giordano said there was no recognition by the governor of Illinois’ real problems, like a lowered credit rating, the huge debt the state faces in paying off retirement services, and the increase in Medicaid costs.
Indeed, Quinn took a vague approach to summarizing his leadership, saying he has worked over the past three years to “to strengthen our economy and make Illinois a better place to do business.”
The jobless rate in Illinois when Quinn took office in January 2009 was 8.1 percent, rising to 11.2 percent in 2010, then settling to 9.8 percent in December 2011. This compares to the national rate of 7.8 percent in January 2009, and 8.5 percent in December.
Among the major points Quinn made in his address:
Education — He set a goal of higher education for 60 percent of Illinois adults by 2025. Right now the number is at 43 percent.
Utility taxes — He proposed eliminating a natural gas utility tax.
Technology — He announced a new technology center in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart for digital start ups.
Taxes — A proposal of a Child Tax Credit that would allow for a $100 tax credit for a family of four.
Veterans — A proposal of a Hiring Veterans Tax Credit to employ returning veterans.
Business — Navistar CEO Dan Ustian will lead a new Export Advisory Council. The goal is to double Illinois exports by 2014.
State Sen. Michael Noland of the 22nd district said he is in agreement with all of the proposed programs, but is unsure of where the funding will come from.
“It [the speech] was well delivered, it was on point, I think he shows he’s moved from being a consumer advocate to being a real steward of our state’s economy. I think he’s got great ideas, the question will be how to pay for these,” said Noland. “All great ideas, we have to understand how they’re going to affect the overall budget. I think that he’s hitting the mark when he’s talking about growing the economy. All of these ideas are designed to put people to work and to get money circulating in our communities, which is ultimately going to grow our economy.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

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William Strauss delivers his economic prediction for 2012. The economic adviser said it’s going to get better, just very slowly.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
As it turns out, the economy is not as terrible as everyone thinks it is. Clearing up current misconceptions and delivering his economic forecast for 2012, William Strauss spoke at Pipers Banquets last Wednesday at an Aurora Chamber of Commerce event. And his predictions weren’t all that bad.
Strauss is the Senior Economist and Economic Advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He predicts manufacturing output, vehicle sales and employment will rise in 2012, but at a disappointing rate.
There are many complex factors at play that are hampering the recovery.
“The great recession ended in 2009, but still, we’ve had a growth rate of just 1.6 percent in the past year,” he said. “The Arab Spring has contributed to more instability in the Middle East and higher oil prices, as well as the major calamity in Japan in March 2011. Japan is a major supplier to the auto industry. The floods in Thailand also choked electronics supplies.”
Strauss said after things bottom out, they have nowhere to go but up, and that’s what is happening now. But it takes a long time for consumer confidence to come back.
“There’s an excess supply of housing right now,” he said.
It’s this excess that is hindering recovery. Strauss said people are thinking of homes as just a place to live now, not an investment.
“Part of the reason the recovery is so slow is that the housing side of things has checked out. No one wants to make the biggest purchase of their life during this time, and you can’t imagine there’s going to be a lot of motivation for lending institutions to fund the building of new homes when there’s an excess supply,” he said. “Believe it or not, those companies want their money back when they secure a loan.”
Strauss said lending standards have begun to loosen, but mortgage loans remain relatively tight. Personal savings rates went up, but have begun to come down, indicating a stronger consumer confidence rating.
“The $64 trillion dollar (America’s GDP) question is, where is the personal savings rate going? My personal belief is, it could very likely go higher,” he said.
Although Mother Nature devastated Asia with earthquakes, tsunamis and flooding, she also helped with the mild winter in North America this season. Natural gas prices are way down, and gasoline prices are lower than people think.
“Gas is lower than it was 30 years ago, adjusted for inflation. People just think it’s high because it’s so visible,” he said. “Natural gas prices are very, very low, but you don’t know that because your energy bill is taken out automatically from your account. Fewer than 6 cents out of every dollar is spent on energy, and that’s historically low.”
Strauss also said it’s simply not true that inflation is out of control, or that all goods we buy in America are made in China.
“The view that we don’t make any goods in this country is nonsense. We produce goods of great value, not cheap consumer goods,” he said.
An example is the Caterpillar 787B, an earth moving machine that is used in quarries and mines. It weighs about one million pounds, is the largest machine of its type in the world, and is made in Peoria, Ill.
Consumers are also getting more for what they pay for today than ever before. A car costing $20,000 today gets far better gas mileage, is safer, and has more amenities than a car costing the equivalent price 10 years ago.
The same goes for electronics. A large flat screen television was reserved for the very wealthy a decade ago, but is now very affordable.
“The economy is going to continue to grow, but it’s more muddling along,” he said. “The growth is disappointing.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Jennifer Rice
Managing Editor
Putting its support behind the employees of ATMI Precast — who will soon vote for union representation, Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice (NIJwJ) held a protest Feb. 3 outside the doors of ATMI Precast.
On the first Friday of every month, the group gathers at various locations to discuss that day’s release of unemployment numbers, which are released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last Friday, members choose AMTI Precast as its location.
Even though the labor market posted gains in January by adding 257,000 private sector jobs, dropping the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent, NIJwJ spokesperson Mary Shesgreen said people shouldn’t be cheering just yet, as the numbers are seasonally adjusted.
“A mild January has produced less of a cutback in unemployment than we usually see. Even the officially, seasonally adjusted stats show a dismal picture of the labor market,” Shesgreen said.
Even with the small drop in unemployment, NIJwJ members call the labor market “grim,” as employers take advantage of the vulnerable positions of laboring people to squeeze them to cut their wages, to try to break their union, intimidate them and to treat them with disrespect.
Pointing at the front doors of ATMI Precast, Shesgreen said all this is happening behind its factory doors.
“The abuse of the workers here, the firings, the intimidation is part of a larger picture that is happening all across the country – it’s a war on working people, a war on the working-class and a war on us as part of the 99 percent of the American people,” she explained.
Last November, ATMI employees, represented by Teamsters Local 673, rejected the company’s last and final contract offer after the company offered to return only 5 percent of the 20 percent pay it cut years before, resulting in ATMI locking out its employees for several weeks.
After being returned to their jobs, four employees were promptly fired, resulting in Unfair Labor Practices to be filed against ATMI.
Now, employees will decided Feb. 17 if they want to represented by another union — Laborers’ Local 681. In what labor officials call an intimidation tactic, ATMI has fired another four workers, resulting in more Unfair Labor Practices to be filed against ATMI.
Shesgreen said NIJwJ was at ATMI Precast’s doors to support it employees in their fight for collective bargaining rights.
Dr. Vincent Gaddis, professor of history at Benedictine University and an expert on Martin Luther King spoke to NIJwJ members, saying the most significant thing a man can do, is to be able to work with dignity.
“ATMI is working to take that dignity away,” he said. “ATMI believes that what is just and fair, is to fire employees, break their union, pay below the living wage, to get rid of good union jobs and replace them with temporary, low-wage workers. It’s not right, it is evil,” Gaddis said.
A current ATMI worker, who asked not to be identified, said he works from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m., with one break, which is his lunch. Working full-time, including overtime — up to 80 hours a week, other men indicated their annual salaries were $32,00, $33,000 and $35,000 with bonuses only available to supervisors.

Jennifer Rice’s e-mail address is Jen@foxvalleylabornews.com.

Pat Barcas photo
A Marseilles voter claps as he watches President Obama’s State of the Union Address Jan. 24. The speech drew applause from the crowd throughout its entirety.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
MARSEILLES — With many of the nation’s eyes focused on the still to be determined GOP nomination battle, Laborers’ Local 393 in Marseilles hosted a party last Tuesday to ensure focus stays on President Obama.
About 100 area union members and their families gathered at the union hall on Main Street to view the State of the Union address. Party goers focused intently on the television, briefly applauding after the President made his points.
Most who attended were confident about Obama’s reelection chances.
“The biggest threat I see is, will voters be apathetic?” said Bill Houlihan, chief of staff for Dick Durbin’s Illinois office. “It’s a good sign that people are organizing so early, though.”
Obama’s strategy in the reelection right now, it seems, is to not do anything and wait until he has a true opponent to battle.
“He’s being silent now, and it’s a great strategy. He’s the President, he’s got a job to do,” said Houlihan. “The voters want to see a one-on-one fight, then we’ll see Obama really focus on the reelection. We’ll know by Memorial Day who he is going to face.”
Democratic voter and candidate for the Illinois 75th district State Representative spot Jeremy Ly said the State of the Union speech this year was one of the better speeches he’s seen.
“His weakness is the economy, however, Obama inherited a lot of problems,” he said. “We’ve now had 23 months of uninterrupted growth. Voters need to see that.”
Ly said he liked Obama’s mention of community colleges being used as sort of a de-facto community career center, schools having more flexibility, and the fact that Americans all need to work together.
“The end of the speech was great, where he said his favorite possession was the flag that Seal Team 6 brought back for him,” said Ly.
Obama mixed a sense of nostalgia in with current problems and solutions in his address, talking about jump starting the economy, a leaner federal bureaucracy, and touting small businesses.
Obama sent Congress legislation Tuesday that is aimed at pumping up small business growth and eliminating obstacles for start ups. The Startup America Legislative Agenda includes eliminating taxes on capital gains for investments in small businesses, as well as ending country-specific immigration caps, which would attract more highly skilled workers from abroad.
“Obama really hit it out of the ballpark with this speech,” said John Knudson, former mayor of Marseilles from 1983 to 2003. “His chances of reelection are great.”
Knudson said he thinks Republicans are only hurting themselves now, but worries that voters may not remember the main points come November.
“Right now, the GOP debates are like a circular firing squad, but it bothers me because they’re bringing all these negative things up now, people will forget them later,” said Knudson.
David Raikes of Local 393, the host of the event, said he’s fully confident of a second term for President Obama.
“You can just see how important this election is to the working class here, look how many people turned out for this,” he said. “People are committed, we’re working right up to election day. He did an exceptional job with the speech, he knows people are hurting, and people are tired of the old status quo. The man is sincere, all he wants to do is make our country great again.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

By Jennifer Rice
Managing Editor
EAST HARTFORD, CONN. — Being a union member has made all the difference in Jason Dupuis’ life.
His choice to be a union member has given him a successful 16-year career with the Boilermakers, an opportunity to hunt moose in Canada and the chance to partner with the nations leading union insurance provider to sponsor his family’s racecar.
A third-generation Boilermaker (IBB Local 327) from East Hartford, Conn., Dupuis divides his time among work, hunting and racing. Last fall he was selected to appear on the Union Sportsmen Alliance (USA) TV show, “Brotherhood Outdoors.” His show, entitled, “Boilermaker Meets Bull Moose,” aired last week.
The show celebrates union sportsmen and women as they join host Tom Ackerman for hunting and fishing adventures across North America. Or, they can act as Ackerman’s guide, taking him to their favorite hunting and fishing spots.
Dupuis’ hunting adventure took him to Alberta, Canada, where he had his first opportunity to hunt moose.
“I’m used to hunting whitetail deer and the terrain for moose hunting is totally different,” Dupuis explained. Deer reside in thick, wooded areas, while moose roam in both wooded and open areas, like marshes and swamps.
Dupuis deer hunts in a tree stand. With Ackerman and his filmcrew, they used the spot and stalk method. Dupuis took one shot at the moose and got him. “An 180-pound deer is a big deer. The moose I shot was 1,600-pounds. He was an absolute monster,” Dupuis said.
As a union member, he’s been a co-coordinator for the Boilermakers Northeast Area Apprenticeship Committee since 2004, a position held by his father. His grandfather also was a Boilermaker. To this day, Dupuis’ father holds the title of the youngest business manager elected to the local. He was 28 and won by one vote. After that, he never lost another election.
Dupuis worked his way up to his current position. Just as he started as coordinator of the apprenticeship committee, the work for Boilermakers exploded. “We had so much work, we didn’t know if we were going to find the people to fill the work,” Dupuis explained. Because of that fact, the program brought in another coordinator. Now the two work together, providing careers for young men and women as Boilermakers.
“We proud of the fact that when we introduce someone into this program, we just don’t give them a job — we give them a career. We give them health benefits and a pension. If they put in the effort, we’ll make it well worth their time,” he said.
Dupuis’ union and its members are covered by insurance through the Chicago-based Union Insurance Group (UIG). A few years ago, some insurance questions brought Dupuis to Chicago to meet with UIG President Chris DeGaigny where the two men started talking about a passion they both have — racing.
Dupuis, is the crew chief for his sister Renee’s car. Thanks to their father, the siblings have been involved with racing since there were 5-years-old. Currently, Renee races in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
“Chris mentioned UIG wanted to sponsor the racecar, but I didn’t really think too much about it,” Dupuis said. After years of racing, he was accustomed to companies saying they were interested in sponsorship, but few followed through.
“Racing is a very, very expensive sport and if you don’t have the financial backing, you might as well not even show up,” Dupuis said. He explained engines are $50,000 to $60,000 each, tires cost $40,000 a year and fuel is $10 a gallon. That’s not to mention travel expenses, like lodging, meals and transportation for the crew members.
“We’re an all-volunteer team. None of us get paid,” he said.
To Dupuis’ disbelief, he got confirmation two weeks after his meeting with UIG, that it wanted to be the official sponsor of Renee’s racecar.
“We’re so appreciative of UIG for this opportunity. With UIG as a sponsor, we’re able to do so many more races and last year, we improved several spots in the season’s end-of-the-year standings.
To view a clip of Dupuis moose hunting experience, visit: www.thesportsmanchannel.com/programming/descriptions/description.php?ID=430

Jennifer Rice’s e-mail address is Jen@foxvalleylabornews.com.

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The new library features an open layout, many different styles of seating, and an environmentally friendly cork floor that adds to the ambiance.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
ELGIN — A building project that is on time, under budget, and 100 percent union built are ideal factors for area tradesmen, and the new Renner Academic Library and Learning Resource building at Elgin Community College (ECC) shares all three traits.
“It’s on time, under budget, and contains beautiful aesthetics. This project is just a home run on all levels,” said Paul Dawson, managing director of construction projects at ECC. “We’re really proud of this building.”
The college held a grand opening Jan. 26 for the library, which opened to students unofficially about ten days prior.
The state-of-the-art, $21.5 million building employed roughly 300 different tradesmen in its construction, which was completed in December 2011.
“We employed every area trade you can think of,” said Dawson. “This was probably the biggest project in Elgin last year, and maybe in the area.”
College officials praised the smoothness of the construction. A project labor agreement was signed prior to the work, which guaranteed no strikes.
“The board was adamant about using local construction. This is all union, and there were no strikes,” said Dawson. “The unions were great. Scott Roscoe [Fox Valley Building Trades President] continues to support the foundation here, and it was great working with him.”
The construction history dates back to 2006 when, during an accreditation visit, the Higher Learning Commission raised concerns about the space limitations of the former library, saying it has “long term space and facility concerns that are inadequate for a contemporary, comprehensive community college the size of ECC.” This visit spurred action by the college that led to the library being a part of the 2009 Facilities Master Plan.
“The old library was smaller than some area junior high school libraries,” said Brian Beecher, the associate dean of the library.
The new library boasts energy efficient construction as well as local materials (they are applying for silver LEED certification), 57,000 square feet of space (tripling the size of the former library), self checkout machines for fast checkout, 14 private study rooms, 10 group study rooms, three large classrooms, 120 public computers, an art gallery, and a cafe.
Additional future proofing of the building was also a priority. It features humidity control to ensure the archives and books stand the test of time, and also a floating floor that features heating and air conditioning vents, and room for any configuration of wires and power outlets. The library is also open to the public.
The building is named for Gilbert I. Renner, the college’s first president. He served at the college from 1950-1971.
“It’s a wow space. The students just love it,” said Beecher. “I expect it to win awards in the future.”

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.

Submitted photo
Elmhurst Memorial Hospital also features the latest in medical technology including the Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System, the first Acquilion ONE 320-slice CT scanner in the state, and Open-Bore MRI technology.

By Pat Barcas
Staff Writer
SCHAUMBURG — Oak Brook’s Construction Industry Service Corporation (CISCO) wants to recognize those who contribute to the area’s building trade economy, and did so at its Jan. 27 Project of the Year awards, part of CISCO’s annual Pride in Construction Award Program.
The individual winners in the Pride in Construction Program were: Ken Ross, teacher at York High School for Educator of the Year; Dale Conaway, Illinois Dept. of Labor for Labor Conciliator of the Year; and Kristi Lafleur, executive director of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority for Public Body of the Year.
In addition to Navistar receiving the Project of the Year award in the category of rehabilitation, Project of the Year Awards were also given out to three other sites.
Winning in the category of new construction — suburbs is Elmhurst Memorial Hospital’s new replacement facility. The 50-acre integrated healthcare campus includes more than 1 million square feet of buildings, and opened June 2011. The old hospital, built in the 1920s, will remain open and be used for transitional care.
The $450 million project was delivered on-time and under-budget using more than 2,000 tradesmen and a total of 2.1 million man hours. The 866,000 square-foot facility features 259 private inpatient suites and a state of the art emergency department.
In addition, the facility provides jobs for 3,000 healthcare workers and an additional 600 physicians.
“We have an important responsibility to the communities we serve to carry out our mission of providing efficient, high-quality and compassionate care, and this new facility enables us to do that,” said W. Peter Daniels, President of Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare. “The future of healthcare is here in Elmhurst today. Technologically advanced, patient friendly and a full range of clinical services provided by an extremely talented medical staff and hospital staff.”
Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare hired the services of General Contractor Gilbane Building Company. The design architect was Pratt Design Studios and the architect of record was Albert Kahn Associates. The lead engineering firm was Korda/Nemeth Engineering.
“I could not be more proud to have a brand new, state-of-the-art facility, with more than 3,000 jobs and 600 physicians that offer health care at its best right here in the City of Elmhurst,” said Peter DiCianni, Mayor of the City of Elmhurst. “Elmhurst Memorial Hospital has set the bar and is the leader for quality health care for the entire region.”
The Project of the Year award for new construction in Chicago went to the Public Building Commission of Chicago’s entry of the Engine Company 109 Firehouse/Little Village Library. The two structures share a campus site in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and house sustainable site features including a combined wellfield geothermal system.
The top residential construction project chosen was Park Douglas, a 19-building multi-family assignment consisting of 137 units scattered throughout Chicago’s West Side. Eighteen of the buildings are three-stories along with a single-story LEED management office.
Each building is Energy Star certified, and Park Douglas meets Chicago’s Green Homes Program standards making use of local salvageable materials.
Each submitted entry was judged with regard to quality of construction, design, safety and its impact on the community.

Pat Barcas’ e-mail address is pat@foxvalleylabornews.com.