Website Updates
We’ve been working to make improvements to the MCAI website over the past few weeks. The goal is to make it more user-friendly and to make it more functional for our members. When you get a chance, stop by the site, www.mcai.com, and browse through. It is a work in progress, so we value your insights and feedback.
One important note – the Membership Directory, Newsletters, Industry Links and MCAA link will now be in the “For Members” password-protected section of the website. We found that list brokers were copying the list and turning around and trying to sell it to members, and to staff. We will continue to offer to make recommendations to any website visitors looking for a contractor. The changes will protect member data and provide better value for members.
When you visit the site and click the For Members tab, you will be asked to register. Please complete the form and it will be reviewed in our office. Once its validity is determined we will email login credentials.
FCCI Insurance Discounts Available to MCAI Members
We have been working with MCAI member Schuetz Insurance Agency for several months to put together a program that could provide discounted insurance products to members. We’re pleased to announce that MCAI members can now participate in a discount program through the Schuetz Agency. They are able to offer discounted Property/Casualty, Work Comp and Surety Bonds to MCAI members. The insurance carrier behind these discounts is FCCI – a world class insurance company with an office in Indianapolis.
Here are some of the benefits available to members:
10% Workers Compensation discount for all association members
Workers Compensation Individual Risk Dividend
Discounted General Liability rates vs. FCCI standard rating
Surety Bonds: – 15% discount on total bond premium for all association members
Additional 10% discount to members who are also insured with FCCI (total 25% discount to members who have both bond and insurance programs with FCCI)
For more information on this program please contact Dale Wolcott at the Schuetz Agency at 317-639-5679 or the MCAI office at 317-255-4126.
MCAA Convention
The MCAA Convention will be held next month at the J.W. Marriott in Scottsdale, AZ. It will run from March 25-30. As in years past, we will host a hospitality suite for members who will attend, and we have planned Indiana Night for Monday, March 27th. We have reserved the Musical Instrument Museum for the evening. We will have entertainment, great food and an opportunity to tour some exciting exhibits. Members participating are encouraged to visit the MIM website in advance of our visit.
We don’t yet have final word on the details of the MCAA golf outing – we hope to have Hoosier members placed together in the outing, and if that’s not possible we will make other arrangements. Stay tuned!
Student Chapter Success – Congratulations to Purdue and Ball State!!
Both Purdue and Ball State submitted proposals to the MCAA Student Competition. Purdue placed 7th and Ball State placed 10th out of 22 applicants. 5th – 10th place teams receive a Merit Award, which includes a $1,000 check and small trophy. Congratulations to all!!
Drug Testing Non-Collective Bargaining Employees
The ISTPA/MCAI Drug Trust wants to remind contractor members that while all union members are subject to the provisions of the Drug Testing policy (new booklets have been ordered and will be delivered to the local union offices in the next few weeks), it is up to the contractor whether or not they want to include their non-collective bargaining employees in the drug testing pool. The number of NCB employees in the testing program becomes an issue because IU Health charges the Trust for the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) on a per head basis – the number of people being tested regardless of their union status.
If participants in the testing program are experiencing difficulties in life, the EAP program can be a valuable source of support. Whether they are dealing with substance abuse issues, family/marital problems or financial difficulties, help through the IU EAP is available.
MCAA Update
Transform Field Personnel Into Leaders with MCAA’s 2023 Field Leaders Conference: MCAA’s Field Leaders Conference gives field leaders at all levels the skills, understanding, and inspiration to positively impact a company’s bottom line. Choose your preferred location (there are four) and register your team today!
Dates are:
April 3-5, 2023 Scottsdale, AZ
May 17-19, 2023 Chicago, IL
August 2-4, 2023 San Francisco, CA
October 11-13, 2023 Des Moines, IA
Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Retention of Professional Staff: High employee turnover of professional staff is a major issue facing the mechanical contracting industry today. It can have a massive impact on a contractor’s productivity and bottom line. MCAA’s Retention of Professional Staff outlines specific strategies that contractors can implement to increase their ability to retain employees as well as metrics that can be used to measure the effectiveness of these initiatives. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.
Set Your Service and Operations Personnel Apart with Focused Training at One of MSCA’s 2023 Classes Beginning in March: The spring 2023 MSCA classes are on the calendar and open for registration! MSCA provides focused training programs for your sales and operational personnel. This collection of programs, unlike any other, provides the continued training to set your employees apart in the HVACR industry.
BLS Reports Slight Decline in Construction Industry Union Representation in 2022: Union representation rates in the construction industry fell slightly in 2022, decreasing to 12.4%, with 1,076,000 of the 8,671,000 workers “represented” by unions, down from 13.6% in 2021 (1,112,000 of the 8,157,000 employed). Among those 1,076,000 represented by unions, 1,019,000 were classified as union members, leaving some 57,000 (roughly 5%) of the remainder classified as represented by unions (covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) but not reported as union members.
Labor Management Meetings Scheduled
Several MCAI Chapters have either recently held a Labor Management meeting, or they have them scheduled in the near future. The MCAI also has a statewide meeting scheduled – the MCAI Board will meet with the Board of the Indiana State Pipe Trades May 2-3.
The Wabash Valley Chapter recently met with the leadership of UA Local 157. The Fort Wayne MCA meets on a regular basis with UA Local 166 – most recently January 11. The Central Indiana MCA (MCPC) will meet with leadership from UA Local 440 on February 16th, and the MCA of Southern Indiana will meet with leadership from UA Local 136 March 16 and 17.
If any members have issues they would like added to the agendas, please contact your chapter officers or Board members, or MCAI Officers, Board members or the MCAI staff.
Disposal of PVC Pipe – Hazardous Waste?
An environmental group recently sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require contractors to dispose of PVC as a hazardous waste. In a preliminarily victory for contractors, the EPA believes that there is not scientific evidence to warrant such a new regulatory requirement. The EPA is asking for contractor input on how this would impact your construction business, projects, and workplaces. If discarded PVC plastic is categorized as hazardous waste, it would create a stigma against using the innumerable construction products that contain the material; this would, in turn, exacerbate the current materials shortages and supply chain delays as owners search for PVC-free versions of popular products. Concerned contractors should contact the EPA to oppose this unfounded effort to regulate contractor’s disposal of PVC as hazardous waste. This ill-conceived initiative would send supply chains in a tailspin and create unwarranted perceptions of the countless construction materials utilizing PVC.
Click this link to visit the AGC website – this will allow you to submit the pre-written message as is, or customize it with personal information on how this issue impacts you and your company.
Mark Your Calendar
If you want to stay on top of the meetings and programs taking place within the MCAI community, please visit the website and the online calendar. You can scroll through, month by month, to see what is happening in all five chapters, as well as with the Service Contractors and the Pipe Welding Bureau.
If you visit the calendar and don’t see something you believe should be listed, please let us know!