ECA News & Events Update
Pictured is Josh Bone,
ELECTRI International Executive Director
Pictured is Jessica Cardenas,
NECA Executive Director,
Development and Engagement
ECA March Membership Meeting
Please join us for the ECA Regular Membership Meeting.
 
The luncheon program will feature industry updates, and guest presentations from Josh Bone, ELECTRI International Executive Director, and Jessica Cardenas, NECA Executive Director, Development and Engagement.

The event is scheduled as follows:
 
ECA Membership Meeting
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Maggiano's Banquets
240 Oakbrook Center
Oak Brook, IL
(630) 368-0300
 
Registration / Networking: 12:00 pm
Lunch: 12:30 pm
Business Session / Presentation: 1:15 pm
Event Concludes: 2:00 pm

We hope that you will be able to attend and learn more about ELECTRI's recent and upcoming research and how the foundation is a resource for the industry. We look forward to seeing you, there!
SAVE THE DATE: April 5th, 2022
Young Professionals of ECA Chicago Event at Windy City Curling Club!
REGISTRATION OPENS TOMORROW AT WWW.ECACHICAGO.COM
66th Annual Paddy's Day Luncheon
March 11, 2022 - 11:00 AM
Chicago Hilton and Towers
THE GRAND BALLROOM
720 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL
 
Don't Miss:
Shannon Rovers
Door Prize Drawing
Francis P. Cummins Award Presentation
2023 Big Shillelagh Announcement
The Paddy's Day Lunch is THE opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with hundreds of colleagues in the electrical industry of Chicago.
Contact Ali Novinger at anovinger@eachicago.org with any questions or changes regarding your registration. This event will be compliant with the safety policies of the Hilton Chicago. Current policy will be emailed to attendees the week of the event.  
IMSCA Legislative Reception - March 22, 2022
IMSCA’s next Board and Membership Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 22nd from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Sangamo Club in Springfield, IL. Our board and membership meeting will be held the same day prior to IMSCA’s 2022 Legislative Reception from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Sangamo Club. This event will be co-hosted with the Illinois Construction Industry Committee. All IMSCA members are encouraged to attend this important event to discuss issues important to the Illinois construction industry with your legislators. Please click on the link for the 2022 Legislative Reception registration form. Please return the registration form by email to sarah@ccepil.com. The deadline to register for the reception is Friday, March 11, 2022. All Legislative Reception attendees are invited and welcome to attend IMSCA’s Board and Membership meeting earlier in the day.
Join the ELECTRI Innovation Summit in Paris, France!
April 4 - 9, 2022

This extraordinary ELECTRI International event, hosted by Schneider Electric, is open to all NECA Contractors. This opportunity takes place on April 4-9, 2022 and will help introduce you to some amazing innovations that will definitely help you design your company’s future!

Contractors who join this ELECTRI adventure will have many opportunities to…

  • Meet with European contractors and manufacturers who belong to Gimelec, an organization similar to ELECTRI
  • Tour Schneider’s cutting-edge Innovation Hub and a current Schneider project site
  • Focus on innovation, project life cycle, and the learn how European contractors design and construct projects
  • Interact with local leaders and electrical contractors
  • See innovation at work by touring Grenoble & Montbonnot EcoStruxure Power Innovation Lab Electropole
  • Visit a French EC’s high-tech job site.
  • Take your choice of afternoon sightseeing trips

Experience our Welcome Reception/Dinner Cruise on the Seine River…and even more… Summit registration is now open, but space is limited. Here’s the link to information on the Innovation Summit agenda, travel protocols, and trip costs/details. For other specific questions, contact Laura Holmes, ELECTRI Director of Operations, at Laura.Holmes@electri.org
ELECTRI Needs Your Help! - Document Crunch Research -

ELECTRI needs your input on some exciting upcoming projects!

Send ELECTRI your contracts for Document Crunch Research
ELECTRI is partnering with Document Crunch on upcoming research to determine what constitutes fair and unfair contract language for our contractors to use as a template in the future. They are in the initial phase of gathering contracts from sheet metal, mechanical, and electrical contractors. Please send any contracts you are willing to share to josh.bone@electri.org to be included in this research. Contracts will remain anonymous through this process.

Join a Task Force
At the ELECTRI January Council meeting, the Council voted to fund the following research projects:

  • Pre-Development of an Electrical Contracting Industry Career Mapping Tool
  • Determine the Impact of Support and Culture on a Contractor’s Bottom Line
  • CMMC and Cybersecurity Education
  • Growing Trade Partner Use of Lean Construction Methods

Now, ELECTRI needs Council members to volunteer to join a task force for these research projects to review deliverables of reports and participate in conference calls with the task force and the researcher to ensure the research is on track.

If you are interested, or someone in your company is interested, please fill out this survey to select which project you would like to be a part of!
IMSCA Legislative Update --
HB5412 & March 7, 2022 Legislative Update
Legislative Update - 3/4/22
Status Update: IMSCA has been engaged in negotiations with the proponents of HB 5412 (Leader Marcus Evans, Jr.) for many weeks. IMSCA’s focus has been seeking an exemption for signatories of collective bargaining agreements from the requirements of HB 5412. Earlier last week Amendment 3 was introduced by the proponents in an effort to remove opposition from associations who represent union contractors, such as IMSCA. Amendment 3 includes the following exemption language:

(g) Primary contractors who are parties to a collective bargaining agreement on the project where the work is being performed shall be exempt from this Section.

After thorough review and discussion, IMSCA agreed to move their position from oppose to neutral, with the adoption of Amendment 3 to HB 5412. The amendment was adopted. After the adoption of the amendment, HB 5412 was debated and called for a vote – twice. After the first round of voting, HB 5412 only received 58 votes, coming up short of the 60 votes needed for approval. As a result, the sponsor moved the bill to “postponed consideration”. About an hour later, the sponsor called the bill back for another round of debate and a vote.
During the second round of debate, the sponsor was asked if the legislation “provides an exemption for union contractors” – and the answer was “yes”. Leader Jay Hoffman also provided discussion in support of exempting union contractors from HB 5412. The legislation was approved by a vote of 62-36-0. The voting record can be read here: HB 5412 House Vote

This bill now heads to the Illinois Senate for consideration and approval. It is important to note that the proponents of HB 5412 still have their work cut out for them. The remaining opponents of HB 5412 are well organized and continue fighting against HB 5412. For those reasons – HB 5412 still has a big hill to climb as this fight will continue to the next chamber.

The broadened exemption will benefit more union contractors and will add a layer of protection to signatories of collective bargaining agreements from increased and unknown liability, that will undoubtedly be created as a result of HB 5412. While this language may not be perfect, it puts our members in a better position than what we would be without it. If any questions, please contact Jessica Newbold Hoselton, Executive Director, Illinois Mechanical & Specialty Contractors Association (IMSCA) at (217) 523-4361.

Pictured above is Stephane McShane -
Maxim Consulting Group.
"Supply Chain Management"
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Electrical Contractors' Association of City of Chicago (ECA) Research and Education Committee is pleased to announce a seminar called, "Supply Chain Management." The seminar is being presented by Stephane McShane - Maxim Consulting Group. The program will be held on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 from 8:00 am - 12:00 pm. at the Drake Oak Brook Hotel, 2301 York Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523,(630) 571-0000. Breakfast is to be provided.
Pictured is Jamie Rhee, Commissioner
Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA)
ECA April Membership Meeting
April 20, 2022
Please join us for the ECA Regular Membership Meeting. The luncheon program will feature industry updates, and a guest presentation from Jamie Rhee, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA).

The event is scheduled as follows:
 
ECA Membership Meeting
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Truluck's Restaurant
9860 Berwyn Avenue
Rosemont, IL
(847) 233-9404
 
Registration / Networking: 12:00 pm
Lunch: 12:30 pm
Business Session / Presentation: 1:15 pm
Event Concludes: 2:00 pm

We hope that you will be able to attend and learn more about upcoming projects at Chicago's airports! We look forward to seeing you, there!
Pictured above is Dr. Awad Hanna -
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"Project Scheduling"
Thursday, May 12, 2022
8:00 am - 3:00 pm
The Electrical Contractors' Association of City of Chicago (ECA) Research and Education Committee is pleased to announce a seminar called, "Project Scheduling." The seminar is being presented by Dr. Awad Hanna - University of Wisconsin-Madison. The program will be held on Thursday, May 12, 2022 from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm. at Maggiano's Banquets, 240 Oakbrook Ctr., Oak Brook, IL 60523,(630) 368-0300. Breakfast and lunch are to be provided.
Pictured above is Robert Mooty -
former NECA Education Instructor.
"Advanced Estimating of Electrical Construction"
Monday, May 23, 2022 - Tuesday, May 24, 2022
8:00 am - 4:00 pm (Both days)
The Electrical Contractors' Association of City of Chicago (ECA) Research and Education Committee is pleased to announce a workshop called, "Advanced Estimating of Electrical Construction." The seminar is being presented by Robert Mooty, former NECA Education Instructor. The program will be held on Monday, May 23, 2022 - Tuesday, May 24, 2022 from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. (both days) at the Drake Oak Brook Hotel, Oak Brook, IL 60523, (630) 571-0000. Breakfast and lunch are to be provided.
ECA 50th Annual Spring Conference
The American Club - Kohler, WI
June 8 - 9, 2022
The Electrical Contractors’ Association of City of Chicago (ECA) 50th Annual Spring Conference will be held on June 8-9, 2022 at The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin. The American Club is one of the premier resort hotels in the country. It is the only AAA Five Diamond Resort in the Midwest. We’re sure that this is reason enough to attend this Conference. Please click the link for registration information. You may also visit the ECA website at: www.ecachicago.com to register. In order to ensure room availability, please Register no later than April 29, 2022. This event registration is offered to all ECA accredited representatives.
Chapter Event:
Monday, June 13, 2022
Donald Voss Room / Patio
Evening Reception & Dinner

Stipend Available:
The ECA Executive Committee approved the educational stipends of the Registration fees for up to two representatives and their guest and/or spouse, if applicable, of participating ECA member firms for the NECA Midwestern Region Conference on June 12 – 15, 2022.
NECA Midwestern Region Spring Conference -
The Broadmoor Resort
Colorado Springs, CO
June 12 - 15, 2022
The NECA Midwestern Region Conference is just around the corner! We hope that you are able to attend this event. The Midwestern Region, NECA has reserved a block of rooms for arrival between Friday, June 10, 2020 to departure on Thursday, June 16, 2022 on a first-come first-serve basis.  If you would like to attend the conference, on-line registration has begun. Please click on the link or visit www.necanet.org to register for this event. Also, please send a copy of your on-line transaction to the Association office.  This will allow us to have a record of your registration information should you need any assistance after registering, as well as aid us in reimbursement(s) and preparing for the Chapter event. Register soon, as rooms are going fast!

NECA's Vice President's Reception (Council Members Only) is on Saturday, June 11, 2022.
NECA Government Affairs Update
Please click on the link below for information concerning NECA's Government Affairs prior legislative updates.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Webinars & Member News
EAP solutions are available via on demand telephonic support and through video counseling, mobile app, work/life web portal and chat functionality.

ECA Members may log-in to the interactive work/life web portal for information on a variety of topics. Webinars are available at any time of day and our mobile app allows employees to access services such as counseling and work life resources right from the palm of their hand.

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


March 7 - 8, 2022
Drury Lane Conference Center
Oakbrook Terrace, IL


Maggiano's Banquets
Oak Brook, IL
 
March 11, 2022
Maggiano's Little Italy
Schaumburg, IL


March 11, 2022
Chicago Hilton & Towers
Chicago, IL


March 13 - 16, 2022
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
Tampa, FL


March 22, 2022
Sangamo Club
Springfield, IL


March 28 - 31, 2022
Oriental Hotel
Washington, D.C.


April 4 - 9, 2022
Hotel Pullman Eiffel Tower
Paris, France


April 12, 2022
Drake Oak Brook Hotel
Oak Brook, IL


April 20, 2022
Truluck's Restaurant
Rosemont, IL

May 11, 2022
Mastro's Steakhouse Chicago, IL


May 12, 2022
Maggiano's Banquets
Oak Brook, IL


May 16 - 18, 2022
Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch
Scottsdale, AZ


May 23 - 24, 2022
Drake Oak Brook Hotel
Oak Brook, IL


June 8 - 9, 2022
The American Club
Kohler, WI


June 12 - 15, 2022
The Broadmoor Resort
Colorado Springs, CO