Monthly Archives: June 2011

Louisiana Bans Project Labor Agreements

By Wally Zimolong on June 29th, 2011 Posted in Project Labor Agreements, Uncategorized

Former GOP rising star/policy wonk/excellent Governor, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, recently signed into a law a bill banning government mandated PLA’s. Louisiana is the fifth State in 2011 and the ninth overall to ban the use of PLA’s on government funded projects. Thanks to aggressive efforts of organizations like the Associated Builders and Contractors and… Continue Reading

Pennsylvania Mechanics’ Liens and Bond Claims

By Wally Zimolong on June 28th, 2011 Posted in Bond Claims, Mechanics Liens

Looking for last minute CLE credits? Please join me on August 30, 2011 for at 12:30 p.m. for a 2 credit CLE “A Primer on Mechanics’ Liens and Bond Claims.” We will address: •Who can file a mechanics lien claim? •What projects are subject to a mechanics lien claim? •What are the specific requirements for… Continue Reading

Out In the Street: Friday, July 24, 2011

By Wally Zimolong on June 24th, 2011 Posted in Out In the Street

EMAIL DETOX. My name is Wally and I am an email-aholic. This week, based largely on the Four Hour Work Week email principles of Tim Ferriss, I began an email detox program. Early results: absolutely liberating. Email is was supposed to make us more efficient. Email is was supposed to free us from the confines… Continue Reading

Drywallville, USA

By Wally Zimolong on June 22nd, 2011 Posted in Contracts, News

CNBC has an amazing story of the closing of Empire, NV, a town wholly owned by drywall manufacturer USG. It illustrates the broad and long ranging effects of the downturn in the construction industry. This story is also amazing for another reason: company towns still exist?

Mechanics Liens For Excavation Work

By Wally Zimolong on June 21st, 2011 Posted in Mechanics Liens

An excavator’s, landscaper’s, or demolition contractor’s right to a mechanics lien in Pennsylvania is a tricky question because, unlike typical trade contractors, there is not a per se right to a mechanics lien for excavating, demolition, or landscaping. The Mechanics Lien Law states erection, construction, alteration, or repair work includes demolition, excavation, and landscaping only “when… Continue Reading

Out In the Street: Friday June 17, 2011

By Wally Zimolong on June 17th, 2011 Posted in Uncategorized

This is the first of my weekly Friday “Out In the Street” posts (named after Bruce Springsteen’s ode to Friday “Out In the Street”) where I take a break from discussing business and turn my attention to other topics of interest – politics, pop-culture, sports, ect. He is no Wade Boggs: WNTP in Tampa reports… Continue Reading

Unions Agree to 20% Wage Cut

By Wally Zimolong on June 16th, 2011 Posted in Secondary Boycott, Unions

Crain’s New York Business is reporting that New York construction unions agreed to cut wages of members working on the massive residential Gotham West project located on Manhattan’s far West Side by 20%. The gradual erosion of union influence on Manhattan construction projects is a theme we have been following because it indicates a larger… Continue Reading

Court Gives Heft to Standard Lien Waivers and Releases

By Wally Zimolong on June 15th, 2011 Posted in Contracts

My article in the February 2011 issue of Construction Executive Magazine “The ‘Accidental’ Release: Pay Close Attention to Standard Lien Waivers,” discussed the Western District of Pennsylvania’s decision in Sauer Incorporated v. Honeywell Building Solutions SES Corporation, 742 F.Supp.2d 709 (W.D.Pa.2011) where the Court dismissed Sauer’s delay claims based upon the language contained in standard lien… Continue Reading

And Now For Some Good News

By Wally Zimolong on June 9th, 2011 Posted in Contracts, New Projects

After a slew of bad economic news the past few weeks, we have some good news to report about two major construction projects courtesy of the always keen eyes over at NakedPhilly.com. First, NakedPhilly reports a major PennDot infrastructure project for the I-95 Girard Avenue interchange. According to the report: “The project will separate the… Continue Reading

Added Risk From Material Price Increases

By Wally Zimolong on June 8th, 2011 Posted in Best Practices

In an earlier post, I mentioned what appeared to be the increased number of bids that have been rejected because all bids came in over budget. I surmised that one potential reason for this was the soaring cost of material and fuel prices. Here is an interesting article from the AGC of America about how… Continue Reading

Oh Rats! Anything Goes for Union Picketing?

By Wally Zimolong on June 7th, 2011 Posted in Picketing

As first reported on the terrifc blog NLRB Insight published by the US Chamber of Commerce, the NLRB recently ruled that the common union picketing tactic of placing a large and menacing inflatable rat in front of a neutral secondary employer’s place of business does not violation the NLRA. In Sheet Metal Workers Local #15 (Brandon… Continue Reading

NLRB Fails to Tag Carpenters YouTube Video

By Wally Zimolong on June 6th, 2011 Posted in Picketing, Unions

In a shocking decision, the NLRB recently ruled that the Carpenters Union did not violate Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the NLRA when it infiltrated a non-union contractor’s job site, videotaped non-union employees, and then posted the edited video on YouTube. In Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters (Forcine Concrete), the Board addressed an unfair labor charge based upon a YouTube… Continue Reading

Will Rejected Bids Lead to Increased Claims

By Wally Zimolong on June 5th, 2011 Posted in Contracts, Delay Claims, Public Bidding

What do the following projects have in common: the Cape May Convention Center; the Western Reserve Road Project in Ohio; and the Guantlett Community Center in Pennsylvania? They are examples of projects where all bids were rejected because they came in over budget. While there are multiple reasons for this, by far the two biggest… Continue Reading

Will the Supreme Court Review Delaware Apprentice (Tri-M) Case?

By Wally Zimolong on June 5th, 2011 Posted in Contracts

Businessweek reports that the Delaware Attorney General’s Office is planning to appeal the much discussed recent Third Circuit ruling that Delaware cannot allow in-state contractors on public works projects to pay reduced wage rates to their apprentices while denying out-of-state contractors the same right. Pennsylvania-based Tri-M Group, an electrical subcontractor on a Delaware state veterans home… Continue Reading

Senate Bill Seeks to Add Pennsylvania to List of Right to Work States

By Wally Zimolong on June 3rd, 2011 Posted in Right to Work

The Pocono Record reports that State Sen. John Eichelberger has introduced legislation that would make Pennsylvania a “Right to Work” state. According to the article, the Senator Eichelberger’s bill would: Eliminate the automatic deduction of union dues and political contributions from public employee paychecks. Prevent the automatic deduction from public employee paychecks to unions’ political… Continue Reading

Union Labor Loses Grip on NYC Construction

By Wally Zimolong on June 3rd, 2011 Posted in Project Labor Agreements, Unions

Recently, the Regional Plan Association published a report “Construction Labor Cost in New York City,” which highlighted how union construction firms continue to lose market share to merit based firms. A copy of this report is available for download here. The report comes on the heels of a recent New York Times article regarding the… Continue Reading

NLRB Clarifies Definition of Coercive Tactics

By Wally Zimolong on June 3rd, 2011 Posted in Picketing

The National Labor Relations Board’s decision in United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joinders of America, Local Union No.1506 (Eliason & Knuth of Arizona, Inc.) 355 NLRB 159 has received a great deal of discussion after the Board held that “bannering” was a “non-coercive” activity that did not violate Section 8(b)(4)(ii)(B) of the NLRA. For those wondering what… Continue Reading