ECA Industry Update
City of Chicago's 108th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting - Brought to you by Powering Chicago!
Chicago’s “official” Christmas tree, the 108th Annual City of Chicago Christmas Tree in Millennium Park, will shine brightly near the intersection of Michigan Ave. and Washington St. from November 19 through January 9.

The 2021 Tree Lighting Ceremony presented by Powering Chicago with leadership support from the Millennium Park Foundation will be in-person on Friday, November 19 starting at 6pm (with the actual lighting at approximately 6:30pm).

Tree Lighting Ceremony Schedule

  • 5:30–6pm: Preshow with DJ Selah Say

  • 6pm: Tree Lighting Ceremony featuring Mariachi Herencia de Mexico, the cast of Chicago Opera Theater performing an excerpt from “Becoming Santa Claus;” a youth dance ensemble from the Kenwood School of Ballet; and special guests Dreezy Claus and Sister Claus

  • 6:30pm: Fireworks

  • 6:35–7:45pm: Concert featuring DJ Selah Say; Cirque du Soleil performing an excerpt of ‘Twas the Night Before…;” Chicago Soul Spectacular performing a high-energy Soul Christmas medley; and singer-songwriter Brian McKnight


Powering Chicago sponsored INTECH's First Annual Apprentice Competition in celebration of National Apprentice Week 2021. The IBEW 134 / NECA Chicago Technical Institute invited 2nd through 5th year apprentices to attend a preliminary skills challenge, and then the top 10 finalists competed in the Finals competition on Friday, November 12th. All apprentices at the school were treated to Food Trucks for lunch that day, and prizes awarded to the finalists and the top finishers. The Champions name will be engraved each year on the Apprentice Competition Cup, to be displayed in the atrium of the school for all to see.

Congratulations to the 2021 Finalists:
1st Place: Jake Rappelt
2nd Place: Christopher Brieschke
3rd Place: Gregory Grant

Federal Appeals Court Halts COVID-19 Vaccine Rule for Large Businesses
On Friday, Nov. 12, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit continued its stay on the implementation of the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on vaccine mandates and testing pending a full review on the request for a permanent injunction. The decision is a major blow to the Biden Administration's efforts to impose the standard on employers of 100 or more employees. NECA will continue to monitor these developments. For the latest, visit the Coronavirus Resource Center.
NECA BOOK 2022 Listing
National NECA has requested an update of our Chapter listing which is printed in the NECA Book. NECA is requesting this information verification in a short time-frame. So, you will need to visit the NECA website at: www.necanet.org to adjust your firm's listing if you have any updates ("MANAGE PROFILE" area of NECA website). The deadline for adjusting your member information is: December 3, 2021 Please contact NECA Membership at: (202) 991-6234 or [email protected] to obtain your User Name and Password, if you have not already done so, to access your NECA Membership Information Page on the NECA website. Only the NECA accredited rep. can adjust the member profile.
PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR ECA ROSTER UPDATE BY NOVEMBER 19th
ECA Chicago is preparing the 2022 Membership Roster and Directory. Please return your Company's roster update form
no later than Friday, November 19th.

If you have any questions, please contact Tim Taylor at
 [email protected] or (708) 531-0022
ECA President's Party & Holiday Celebration
IO Godfrey Rooftop Lounge, Godfrey Hotel Chicago
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Housing Block has closed, but you can still RSVP for the Party!
Dance the night away to a Chicago favorite, "Maggie Speaks", along with a special surprise guest appearance you want won't to miss!
Enjoy the I|O Godfrey, Chicago’s largest and only year-round rooftop lounge, decorated as a magical winter wonderland this holiday season.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Training Series
for Electrical Contractors
Webinar #3 is scheduled for November 30th @ 1pm
ECA Chicago is proud to continue our partnership with Leadership Surge to create inclusive work environments in which all people feel as though they belong. 

The third webinar in the training series is focused on "Overcoming Judgement". 
 An important element of diversity is “open awareness”. Open awareness refers to a quality of consciousness that is not evaluative or actively shaped by pre-existing ideas or intentions, but is fully receptive to allowing the experience to simply occur “as it is”.

In this workshop, open awareness is introduced by addressing the evaluative nature of the mind. While open awareness involves non-judgment, most of our daily awareness is clouded by countless judgments and evaluations. By becoming aware of these judgments, an important obstacle of open awareness is removed. Participants experience the judgmental nature of their minds and learn about the problematic aspects of judgments.

Join us November 30th for this important discussion with Alex Willis!
CISCO Project Award Nominations Accepted until December 3rd
Calling All Contractors!

CISCO is now accepting applications for the Pride in Construction Award Program, 2021 Project of the Year Awards. Six categories are available. Learn more by downloading the application form here.

Program submittal Deadline - December 3, 2021
REMINDER: Electronic Reporting of EIT Monthly Reports & Payroll
Effective January 2022
EIT Monthly Reports & Payments – effective January 2022, all payroll reports and
corresponding fringe benefit payments must be submitted to EIT electronically. A notice
addressing this was sent out by EIT last week & the notice is posted on the ECA website.

Employers should contact EIT Helpdesk at [email protected] for further information regarding electronic reporting implementation.
NECA This Week (11/15/21)
Please click on the link for the current edition of "NECA THIS WEEK."
Follow ECA Chicago on Social Media!
LinkedIn Public Page
In Case you Missed It...
Woman Working From Home Having Group Videoconference On Laptop
Webinar recordings available online for ECA Members!
If you missed a meeting or webinar by ECA, you can now log-in to the website and view the program you missed. Many recordings are now available, and more will be added daily from webinars held over the past year. Go to www.ecachicago.com and under the "Industry Resources" pull down menu, select "Member Education and Webinar Recordings". You will be prompted to log-in, and then you are free to browse webinar recordings you may have missed. Please contact ECA with questions (708)531-0022.
COVID-19 RESOURCES FOR ECA MEMBERS:
Stay up to date on the latest changes for our Industry including news releases, legislation and Government mandates, workplace safety and preparation guidelines, OSHA alerts, and more that affect electrical contractors in Chicago and Cook County.
 
SAVE THE DATES

November 30, 2021
ECA Chicago's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training for Electrical Contractors
Webinar #3 - Zoom at 1pm

December 11, 2021
Godfrey Hotel Chicago