Building Your Talent Bench

January 12, 2022 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Instructor: Bill Curran, Leadership and Talent Consultant

CATEGORY: LEADERSHIP SERIES

Managing Change Orders

January 19, 2022 | 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Instructor: Stephane McShane, Director, Maxim Consulting Group, LLC

CATEGORY: PROJECT MANAGER'S TOOLKIT

Building the Case to Win – Claims and Change Orders

January 19, 2022 | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Instructor: Stephane McShane, Director, Maxim Consulting Group, LLC

CATEGORY: PROJECT MANAGER'S TOOLKIT

What You Don’t Know, Can Hurt You: A Review of Current Trends in Compliance and Risk Management

January 27, 2022 | 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Instructor: Lorraine D’Angelo, Esq., CCEP, LPEC, President, LDA Compliance Consulting, Inc.

CATEGORY: COMPLIANCE AND LEGAL

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The massive Dorchester Bay City project is expanding further to nearly 6.5 million square feet with

developers’ acquisition of a neighboring parcel containing the Boston Teachers Union headquarters.

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The St. Regis Residences, Boston is one step closer to opening after celebrating the building’s topping-off this month. This 22-story luxury waterfront tower features an onsite flood mitigation system.

Samuels & Associates told the BPDA today it will soon file detailed plans for a 553,000-square-foot replacement for the creaky old Star Market on Boylston Street in the Fenway.

Wu weighing higher developer fees, including for lab projects

The Wu administration is considering hiking fees and costs for commercial and residential real estate developers in order to increase Boston's supply of affordable housing, including possibly by targeting the city's ever-proliferating lab space with special fees.

Veterans Affairs Adds TABB as an Accepted Certification Body

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) added the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB) as a third certification body for certifying personnel and contractors who perform testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); water balancing; and sound and vibration equipment testing. The addition was effective November 1, 2021.

Sky-High Lumber Prices Are Back

Lumber prices have shot up again in a rise reminiscent of a year ago, when high-climbing wood prices warned of the hinky supply lines and broad inflation to come. Futures for January delivery ended Friday at $1,089.10 per thousand board feet, twice the price for a prompt delivery in mid-November.

Key dates for Michelle Wu’s new coronavirus vaccine policy for city workers, most indoor public spaces

A new Boston policy requiring city workers to be vaccinated against coronavirus to keep their jobs goes into effect next month. In announcing the policy last week, Mayor Michelle Wu said vaccines would also be required for the general public looking to enter most indoor public spaces including restaurants, fitness centers, sports centers, theaters and night clubs.

RECOVERY: BEHIND MODERN ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS INC.

Born and raised in the Massachusetts area, John Christian earned his master’s degree in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. For over a decade he worked with the Boston Public Health Commission and the Homeless Services Bureau running job training programs for the homeless population. During this time of his career, he obtained clinician’s licenses for substance abuse in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and a clinician’s license for mental health in Massachusetts. Christian also carries a national certification in substance abuse counseling with the Department of Transportation.

Since being founded by Paul McDevitt (1942 – 2016) over 35 years ago, Modern Assistance Programs, Inc. (MAP) has provided services in mental health and substance abuse counseling, among other hands-on services. Many of the clients MAP works with belong to labor unions. Since joining the firm in 2011, Christian has run MAP to carry out the vision of his old friend, Paul McDevitt.

“I'm a firm believer in unions and the protections they offer employees,” Christian explained. “Certainly when I worked with people who are homeless and becoming formerly-homeless, I saw what they were facing in the workplace – labor unions negotiate on behalf of workers for fair wages and benefits.”

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced the rescission of the final rule on Labor Organization Annual Financial Report for Trusts in which a Labor Organization is Interested, Form T-1. The DOL published a final rule establishing Form T-1 on March 6, 2020, requiring labor unions with $250,000 or greater in total annual receipts and which file the Form LM-2 annual union financial disclosure report to file this separate report covering the finances of certain trusts in which they are interested, such as apprenticeship and training plans, labor-management cooperation committees, strike funds, and building corporations.

The recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) re-establishes One Federal Decision, which aims to streamline and expedite the federal environmental review processes required for infrastructure projects of a certain size under the National Environmental Protection Act.

State laws can mandate certain types of small business insurance including workers compensations insurance and unemployment insurance. It is important to know that other types of small business insurance may be required by your state, such as mandate disability insurance, and some require insurance for specific types of business operations. Read more on what is required by your state.

A federal appeals court has given OSHA authority—for now—to move forward with enforcement of it emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing (the “ETS”). The core of the ETS is the requirement that employers with more than 100 employees must implement and enforce a policy that mandates that employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 4, 2022 or to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing and wear a mask.

Insurers will be required to cover at-home Covid tests. What's it mean for employers?

On Dec. 2, the White House announced private insurers will be required to reimburse individuals for the cost of at-home Covid-19 tests. While the move is a notable — if potentially complicated step — in the fight against Covid-19, experts say it won't solve the testing quandary faced by many businesses looking to implement a policy that would require regular testing of unvaccinated workers.

Supreme Court to hear arguments on vaccine mandates for employers

The U.S. Supreme Court announced it will consolidate appeals regarding court-ordered stays placed on two of the Biden administration's vaccine mandates, and the court will hear oral arguments on the appeals on Jan. 7, 2022. Construction organizations have come out against the mandates. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) trade group filed one of the challenges to the ETS for employers with 100 or more workers.

Supply-Chain Delays—Tactics for Recovering From an Out-of-Control Project

Supply-chain disruptions are causing both materials shortages and significantly longer lead times, meaning that materials are not onsite when needed for construction to continue. There are steps and strategies that contractors can implement to help weather these conditions and put them in the best position to prevent and recover cost overruns caused by supply chain woes.

Report: Union construction jobsites significantly safer than non-union sites

A new study released by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) found that out of the 37,000 OSHA inspections conducted in 2019, union projects were 19 percent less likely to have health and safety violations and had an average of 34 percent fewer violations per inspection when compared to nonunion projects.

A Contractor’s Year-End Checklist

As 2021 draws to a close, contractors should prepare a Contractor’s Year-End Checklist to close out a successful year. A recommended checklist was prepared by FCA International to help contractors avoid year-end pitfalls and prepare for a successful 2022.

2022 Engineering and Construction

Industry Outlook

The engineering and construction industry has made a significant recovery from the 2020 recession, but it has also experienced multiple headwinds that are expected to persist. 2022 should be another rewarding—but challenging—year, and the industry looks to be poised to capture growth opportunities. Read more for Five engineering and construction industry trends to watch.

ABOUT BTEA NORTHEAST

The Building Trades Employers’ Association Northeast is the leading voice for the union building trades contractor throughout the New England region. The BTEA encompasses seven different area trade associations that employ tradespeople from several different local building trades unions.

For the past century, the BTEA has made a positive impact on the construction industry. Our members have enjoyed positive working relationships with the various trade unions and national associations that we work with on a daily basis. Our goal is to maintain a positive environment in which contractors and tradespeople can enjoy health and prosperity within the construction industry.

WWW.BTEA.COM Building Trades Employers’ Association - BTEA