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Find-a-Contractor Masonry Buyer's Guide
It’s time to gear up and be ready to hit Capitol Hill next month. Photo credit: franckreporter
April 2018

We’re Washington Bound

Chairman’s Message

By

Happy Spring!! The days are getting longer and the temperature is much better—at least in Texas!! Spring means it’s time to gear up and be ready to hit Capitol Hill next month. The Legislative Conference is May 15th through 17th.

The conference is a great way to let your representative know what they can do to help you and the masonry industry. The Keelan Group is so good to brief us on issues to discuss and they have all the appointments set up in advance and provide handouts to give to the representatives. This makes the visits so easy. We hope you can all come.

If you have already registered—great!! If not, please do that as quickly as possible. Just go to MCAA website to register. Be sure and register for the hotel also.

On May 15th, we will be doing an optional event. We will tour Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is the home of Thomas Jefferson. It has many innovations for its time. We will be on a private tour that will give us the opportunity to have access to the home and grounds of President Jefferson. Our guide will focus on the architectural and construction features of Jefferson’s time.

Transportation and lunch will be included with this event. We hope to have a great group. Susie will be with me, and we hope you invite your spouse as well. If there is a big enough group of wives, Susie has plans to tour the D.C. area during the days when we will be busy. Below are several important issues we will be discussing with our representatives.

Workforce Development

Mason contractors as a whole across the country, appear to be blessed with lots of work. This is great; however, we have a major problem: the lack of a robust, qualified workforce. The average construction worker is over age 40 and many are expected to retire in the near future leaving us in bad shape. The masonry industry literally has thousands of jobs that we can’t fill with qualified workers. Unfortunately, vocational programs were terminated years ago as funding from the government dried up. We need help from our legislators desperately for workforce development.

Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors

Some contractors in the construction industry are deliberately misclassifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees to avoid payroll taxes, insurance premiums and other employment expenses in order to boost company profits. This practice grossly undercuts honest, law abiding contractors and deprives the federal, state, and local governments from millions of dollars in tax revenue. Congress should direct the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service to work together to improve enforcement mechanisms and protocols. Classifying workers correctly will help to address millions in lost revenue to the federal government.

Guest Worker Program

We need a broad based, comprehensive immigration reform approach that includes provisions to secure our nation’s borders, creates a temporary guest worker program that meets the demand for labor, and creates a process for addressing the undocumented workers who are currently employed in the U.S.

Recent estimates have shown that the construction industry will require an average of 185,000 new workers per year to meet growing workforce demands, while at the same time baby boomers are continuing to retire at a very fast rate. It is well known that the construction industry faces a growing problem of a shortage of skilled labor. We need Congress to reform our immigration policies and include a guest worker program.

Concrete Masonry Checkoff

NCMA, our partners in the industry, are requesting Congressional authorization to allow concrete block manufacturers the opportunity to create a commodity checkoff program that would support industry research, education, and promotion. Because other industries already have such authorization, this bill simply provides a level playing field for fair market competition. The checkoff is at no cost to the federal government. This program will be a source of revenue that will be used to promote our industry.

As you can see, there are some important items that need to be addressed by Congress. I encourage each of you to come, and personally have a discussion with your representatives. They do listen and together as a group we can make a difference.

See you in May on the Hill.

Chairman’s Message Archive

The American Dream

August 2019
The American Dream

Doing Our Part

May 2019
Doing Our Part

Preparing for D.C.

April 2019
Preparing for D.C.

Recent Updates

September 2018
Recent Updates

Masonry’s Future

August 2018
Masonry’s Future

Worthwhile Work

June 2018
Worthwhile Work

A New Beginning

February 2018
A New Beginning

Givers Gain

January 2018
Givers Gain

Things to Remember

March 2017
Things to Remember

Looking Forward

February 2017
Looking Forward

A Fresh Start

January 2017
A Fresh Start

Who Moved My Cheese?

September 2016
Who Moved My Cheese?

Giving back

December 2015
Giving back

An exciting year ahead

February 2015
An exciting year ahead

Defining success

December 2014
Defining success

Staying busy for you

August 2014
Staying busy for you

Ready for action

February 2014
Ready for action

Thanks

January 2014
Thanks

Happy holidays

December 2013
Happy holidays

MCAA Midyear update

November 2013
MCAA Midyear update

The MCAA in D.C.

August 2013
The MCAA in D.C.

A Lot Happening

July 2013
A Lot Happening

Eye opening

June 2013
Eye opening

Positive movement

March 2013
Positive movement

Headed to Vegas

February 2013
Headed to Vegas

New beginning

January 2013
New beginning

It’s finally over

December 2012
It’s finally over

My trip to the Rockies

November 2012
My trip to the Rockies

The 2012 election

October 2012
The 2012 election

Stay involved

September 2012
Stay involved

Networking

August 2012
Networking

Summer time

July 2012
Summer time

Exciting time

June 2012
Exciting time

Working for you

May 2012
Working for you

New beginnings

March 2012
New beginnings

Farewell!

February 2012
Farewell!

One more to go!

January 2012
One more to go!

Join us in Vegas

November 2011
Join us in Vegas

As the world turns

August 2011
As the world turns

A Bright Future

May 2011
A Bright Future

Tidbits From MCAA

March 2011
Tidbits From MCAA

Time Flies By

February 2011
Time Flies By

The End of the Year

December 2010
The End of the Year

Busy Times!

November 2010
Busy Times!

South of 40

October 2010
South of 40

What Are We Doing?

August 2010
What Are We Doing?

Moving Forward

March 2010
Moving Forward

A Fond Farewell

February 2010
A Fond Farewell

A New Year

January 2010
A New Year

Start the Year Strong

December 2009
Start the Year Strong

MCAA in D.C.

September 2009
MCAA in D.C.

Brick Voids

August 2009
Brick Voids

Vision 2020

February 2009
Vision 2020

State of the Association

February 2009
State of the Association

The Silver Lining

January 2009
The Silver Lining

Impact on the Hill

June 2008
Impact on the Hill

New Horizons

February 2008
New Horizons

Wrapping up Another Year

December 2007
Wrapping up Another Year

Greetings From Italy!

November 2007
Greetings From Italy!

We Need Your Help!

January 2005
We Need Your Help!

The Strength of Unity

November 2003
The Strength of Unity

Changing of the Guard

February 2002
Changing of the Guard

“Being a member of MCAA says that you care about the future of the industry.”

Gary Arkin
Premier Stoneworks, LLC
MCAA member since 2015

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