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Wisconsin LECET
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Wisconsin LECET
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| Answer the State Prevailing Wage Survey by July 31!Wisconsin LECET has again upgraded the
Windows program first developed in 1997 for reporting wages and hours in response to the
State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Prevailing Wage Survey. Each
signatory contractor has been sent a copy of the software, called Prevail 1.2, on disk. If
you install Prevail 1.2 on your computer, you can report wages and hours for all your
workers electronically. It will save you a lot of time and effort. In addition, Prevail
1.2 has Help Files that contain all DWD Instructions for filling out the survey as well as
contract wage rates, occupational classifications and work descriptions.
Each year. the State of Wisconsin surveys construction contractors to determine the prevailing wage for all the trades in all 72 Wisconsin counties. The survey covers building, heavy and highway, sewer and water, specialty trades and all other contractors who could perform work on public projects in the state. Responses to the survey determine which wages prevail in which counties. The survey covers the period June 1 through May 31 of the current year. Thus, the current survey that you just received from the Department of Workforce Development covers the period from June 1, 1998 through May 31, 1999. Signatory contractors will be required to bid work in 2000 at collectively bargained wage rates in all counties in Wisconsin. If those same contractors do not report wages and hours on all employees on all projects when responding to the DWD survey, union wages will not be included in the formula used by the State of Wisconsin to determine prevailing wage rates. Thus, signatories who do not report high-wage private sector work take their generally higher wages out of the formula and literally guarantee that lower wages will prevail. Lower rates have a ripple effect that makes all signatory contractors less competitive when bidding for 2000 projects. Call DWD at (608) 267-9331 if you have not received a
survey.
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Message From The Director by Gerald J. Diemer |
| As you have already figured out by
looking at the cover of this issue of the Wisconsin LECET News, it is once again time to
fill out the Annual Prevailing Wage Rate Survey from the State of Wisconsin Department of
Workforce Development (DWD). You have received the survey from DWD and you have received the Prevail 1.2 Windows program on disk from Wisconsin LECET. It is also very possible that you have received a visit from representatives of Wisconsin LECET, the Wisconsin Laborers District Council and your local laborers union to install the computer software and explain the survey process. Wisconsin LECET and the Wisconsin Laborers District Council have also shared Prevail 1.2 with other building trades unions in an effort to increase the amount of hours reported by signatory contractors. We have also spent time on the telephone with many of our contractors explaining Prevail 1.2 and the importance of the survey process. Now it is up to you. Please answer the survey by July 31. You have made the commitment to pay your workers a fair wage with good benefits in return for reliability and productivity. Now you need to make sure that commitment is recognized by the State of Wisconsin as a standard of fairness in our local communities. Give us a call if you have questions.
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 Tom Fisher (right), Assistant Business Manager of the Wisconsin Laborers District Council talks about prevailing wage reporting with Kirk Magill, Magill Construction, Elkhorn.
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 Tom Fisher discusses Prevail 1.2 with the office staff at Scherrer Construction Co. in Burlington. |
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| Wisconsin LECET Supports Better SchoolsWith strong support from Wisconsin
LECET, our signatory contractors, the Wisconsin Laborers District Council and local
laborers unions, the Campaign for School Modernization has been formed. The campaign seeks
to have more schools built, and to have them built by our signatory contractors using
well-trained and productive union laborers.
Joe Wineke, a longtime State Senator and member of the Wisconsin Assembly has been appointed as the Director of the effort. While no one likes paying taxes, public construction projects supported by taxes provide many benefits for the citizens of our state. In particular, old school facilities with substandard conditions can be dangerous and inefficient. Our children are put in a bad situation. However, we are in an excellent position to improve this situation. New facilities and technology can improve our children's education and secure our future. Unfortunately, fewer than half of the building referenda for new school facilities are passed by voters in Wisconsin. The goal of the Campaign for School Modernization is to improve that batting average for successful referenda.New school construction can also mean successful bids for signatory contractors and jobs for well-trained, safe and productive union workers. The Campaign for School Modernization has already enjoyed some success. Working with contractors, construction unions, teachers, school officials, architects and parents, we were able to help promote successful referenda for over $50 million in new school construction in Eau Claire and Verona. The Verona success came after three previous failures. If you know of a school referendum that we may be interested in, let us know. If we are convinced our signatory contractors will be competitve bidders, we will get involved. Success will be good for our kids, our contractors and our union workers. Joe Wineke and the Campaign for School Modernization are ready to help. . |
| Guide for New OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard Available In the Fall, 1998 Wisconsin LECET News, we wrote a brief article about the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) respiratory protection standard. The standard, 1910.134, had just been revised to enhance protections for workers against chemical hazards, dust and airborne particulates. Several new requirements were put in place that contractors needed to be aware of. Unfortunately, the new standard was so new when our Fall newsletter went to press, that there was little information available on the new requirements and how to comply with them. Wisconsin LECET received a number of calls from contractors looking for more information and could only refer them to the OSHA website. Now, the Laborers Health & Safety Fund of North America has published a guideline for the new standard entitled Face It: The Laborers Guide to Respiratory Protection. The new guideline will help our signatory contractors understand and comply with the new 1910.134 respiratory protection standard. Call Wisconsin LECET for a copy. |
| Radio and Television Ads Promoting Safety in Road Construction Work Zones are UnveiledAn unveiling ceremony for highway work zone safety ads took place this spring. Shown at the unveiling are from left: William Buglass, Vice President of Payne & Dolan, Inc.; WI Department of Transportation Secretary Charles Thompson and WI LECET Chairman Michael R. Ryan of the Wisconsin Laborers District Council. WI LECET participated in putting the safety effort together. Radio and TV ads ran during the Memorial Day weekend. |
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Search for Future Workers ContinuesWisconsin LECET continues to look for qualified people to join the ranks of construction craft laborers. Potential immediate assistance can come from job fairs where attendees are looking for work immediately. At this job fair, John Wertschnig (left), a Veterans Employment Representative with the State of Wisconsin talks to Tom Klein (center), Business Manager for Laborers Local 1086 and Al Friedl (right), WI Laborers Training Director. |
| Wisconsin LECET and the local laborers unions are also looking years down the road. At this Career Day at Woodworth Junior High School in Fond du Lac, Jerry Diemer, Wisconsin LECET Director, talked to students about how rewarding a career in union construction could be. Laborers Local 1086 arranged for the visit. Many other local laborers unions also participate in programs at high schools and middle schools all over Wisconsin. |  |
| Wisconsin LECET Continues
Involvement with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Construction ClubWI LECET continues
to take advantage of cooperative opportunities with the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Construction Club.
Professor Jeffrey S. Russell, Chair of the Construction Engineering and Management Program at UW-Madison traveled north to the WI Laborers Training Center this spring to see first hand what the Laborers commitment to training was all about. He also had enough time to visit the Operating Engineers Training Center and observe joint training exercises with operating engineers and laborers. Professor Russell was very impressed with our training programs and indicated that he would like his students to see how deeply committed union construction is to training, safety and productivity by visiting the training centers. UW-Madison Construction Engineering and Management Program graduates are the future construction industry leaders in Wisconsin. |
 During the early spring, the Wisconsin Laborers Training Center in Almond, WI is a very busy place. It was a great time for Wisconsin LECET to offer Professor Jeffrey Russell (right) a tour. Al Friedl (left) showed off our training facility. We also took our guest on a tour of the Operating Engineers Training Center just down the road in Coloma.
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 The UW-Madison Construction Club also holds its Annual Awards Banquet in the spring. One of this year's recipients of the Lifetime Achievement in Construction Award was Ned Becthold (right), President of Payne & Dolan, Inc. Ned is congratulated by Mike Ryan (left), President/Business Manager of the WI Laborers District Council and Chairman of Wisconsin LECET. |
Visit the Wisconsin LECET website Send email to wilecet@solidarity.com |
