2023 is the year to "Make NUCA Yours!" and our fall convention is the big event to "Build Your Business." Register today for the Fall Convention! We've got information-packed business sessions scheduled for you, including John Fluharty discussing damage prevention, Vince Hafeli delivering his powerful talk on recognizing suicide risks at work, and our expert panel on working with railroads and their unique infrastructure requirements. And our inspirational keynote speaker Randy Fox will transform your leadership outlook! And we have our many fun social and networking events. The 2023 NUCA Annual Convention & Exhibits will be held October 26-28 in Naples, Florida, at the Naples Grande Beach Resort. Registration for the 2023 Convention is now open at NUCADIGS.com.

The NUCA Hawaii Chapter is mobilizing donations to provide urgent relief for the island of Maui, such as food, clean water, medical supplies, and shelter for those affected by last week's wildfire disaster. This resource page lists various donation locations, emergency information and more. If you can help, please consider a donation. Click here.

 

The U.S. Dept. of Labor stated it planned to issue as a final rule on August 23 its controversial revisions to the Davis-Bacon Act. The rule, "Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Act Regulations," reverses several much-needed reforms established during the Reagan Administration and dramatically expands the scope and reach of the Davis-Bacon Act, a cumbersome 1930s-era prevailing wage law. The new wage regulations, which will take effect on October 23, 2023, will increase the regulatory burden on small business and the costs of public work projects.

 

NUCA opposed this change to long-standing Davis-Bacon practices when they were proposed earlier this year by the Biden Administration. Several pro-business and construction organizations are expected to file legal challenges to the new rules. NUCA is planning to hold a member-wide webinar in September to discuss these changes and what they mean to contractors engaged in federal contracts. Read more.

BigIron Auctions last event for NUCA netted a million dollars in sales and over $9,000 for the NUCA Foundation. Members asked for another BigIron Auction event--and now it's here! The latest Focus Auction Fundraiser will be held online September 27, 2023. Get a great return on the sale of your unused equipment through NUCA National Partner BigIron Auctions. BigIron will create your listing, market your surplus equipment (listed and sold from your location), and collect buyer payments. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the NUCA Foundation for Education & Research. Please note: The deadline to list your equipment is September 1, 2023! Contact BigIron at 1-800-937-3558 or bigiron.com/selling to list your equipment. Long-time NUCA member Chris Duininck had a terrific experience with our last BigIron Focus Auction: watch his personal testimonial here (1:51)

The White House's "Made in America Office" released August 14 updated guidance for federal agencies administering domestic preference requirements for the 2021 infrastructure law's "Build America, Buy America" demands. This was followed on August 15 by the USDOT finalizing its waiver exempting certain costs and small projects from the Buy America requirements. Both notices are due to be published shortly in the Federal Register, making them official. More here. 

NUCA's May 23 Construction Law webinar on late utility relocations can be viewed here. Our next Construction Law webinar is scheduled for September 19, featuring another fascinating topic to be examined by industry legal experts Tom Olson and Shawn Farrell. Registration will open Labor Day week.

NUCA's Essential Skills for Crew Leaders Training is a two-day, intensive course that trains your employees to be effective leaders and communicators so they can provide clear direction to your crew, and plan and schedule the crew’s work to maximize safety, production, and profit. Now is a great time to prepare for a safe 2023 and 2024 by ensuring your veteran employees are ready to run your new crews. The next crew leader training course will be held Sept. 7-8 at NUCA's comfortable headquarters office in Fairfax, Virginia. Learn more here and take a look at the course outline, or contact NUCA's Mike Flowers for more information.

NUCA is proud to be a partner of Utility Expo and AEM. And by reading NUCA at Work, you now have an invitation to visit the NUCA Lounge at Utility Expo! The Lounge is located in K Lot, so all members are invited to stop by, relax and network. NUCA will be offering Confined Space Entry training sessions on both days, twice a day at 11am and 3pm. Use "NUCA23" to get 30% off the standard badge fee of $99 -- register here.

TSSD final numbers are being compiled--is your event part of our annual industry safety profile? The seventh annual Trench Safety Stand Down (TSSD) held in June delivered to thousands of our industry's employees valuable safety training that will help keep them safe on the jobsite. So far, 345 companies at 1,978 jobsites trained 23,007 employees on safe working techniques around and in trenches and excavations. Please send NUCA your completed TSSD reports by Sept. 1 (and your event photos, too)! The TSSD online reporting form is found here.

Introduced in January, NUCA Assurance is construction-focused group captive program owned by members and offers a host of insurance benefits to business owners. It is designed by insurance experts with construction backgrounds to deliver the claims control and risk-management to support smart business owners like you. To learn more about this new NUCA member benefit, go to nucaassurance.com.

In summer 2023, reduce company accidents by participating in your association's safety evaluation program. We want our people to make it home safely every night. The NUCA-STAR Program was developed to aid you in evaluating, updating, and recognizing your construction safety programs & practices so everyone makes it home. Offered at no cost to NUCA members. Learn more about this member benefit.

NUCA's Fairfax, Virginia office will be closed Monday, September 4, for Labor Day. NUCA National staff will be enjoying a day off from their many labors performed on behalf of our hard-working members. We hope you will be taking a break from your own hard work to celebrate Digging America.

NUCA at Work is taking a summer break at the end of August. The next issue will be released September 6. You can always find the latest news and information on our social media channels on Twitter/X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, with links to all found via a quick visit to the front page of NUCA.com. Or click on the social media icons below.

It’s so easy to jump head-first into your lockout/tagout procedures when performing maintenance, but before you get started, there

is some very important information you first need to know that, if overlooked, could increase your chances of injury or death. This week's TBT: OSHA's Lockout Tagout Standard.