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ConstructionSPRING 2016NEW JERSEY

The Associated Construction Contractors of New Jersey Magazine

Prevailing Wage Laws Critical to a State’s Economic Stability

B | New Jersey Construction | Spring 2016

Spring 2016 | New Jersey Construction | 1

2 | New Jersey Construction | Spring 2016

ACCNJ Leadership

Board of TrusteesAlfonso Daloisio Jr., ChairmanRailroad Construction Family of CompaniesBenedict Torcivia Jr., Vice ChairTorcon Inc.J. Fletcher Creamer, Jr., TreasurerJ. Fletcher Creamer & Son Inc.Eric Jensen, SecretaryMichael Riesz & Co.Mark Hall, Past ChairmanHall Construction Co., Inc.Jack Kocsis, Jr., Chief Executive OfficerDarlene Regina, Chief Operating Officer

Highway RepresentativesRolando AcostaNortheast Remsco ConstructionHank AdamsKiewit Infrastructure GroupArt CorwinMoretrench American Corp.Michael CriscolaCrisdel Group Inc.David EarpWalker Diving Underwater Const. LLCNelson FerreiraFerreira Construction Co.Vincent GalloTilconThomas VollersVollersJeff WatersWaters & Bugbee Inc.Richard WeeksWeeks Marine Inc.

Building RepresentativesClifford BlanchardWm. Blanchard Co.Charles DeAngelisVericon Construction Company LLCRobert EpifanoEpic Management Inc.

Michael FitzpatrickFitzpatrick and Associates, Inc.Robert GambaPrismatic Development Corp.Glenn GarlattiAlbert Garlatti Construction Co. Inc.Paul NatoliJoseph A. Natoli Construction Corp.James ParryJohn D. Lawrence Inc.Robert PolisanoNetwork Construction Co., Inc.James Prisco Jr.J.R. Prisco Inc.

Building DivisionJohn BaumgardnerBFC, Ltd.John DevecchioTN Ward CompanyLarry DrillDrill Construction Co., Inc.John Epifano – Division Vice ChairEpic Management Inc.Robert Gariepy – Division ChairRCC Builders & DevelopersJohn GunningSkanska USA Building Inc.John HallHall Building Corp.Bill MacedoTurner Construction CompanyJack MacedoMacedos Construction LLCRichard NugentMassett Building CompanyStan ThompsonTNT Construction Co. Inc.Brian TorciviaTorcon Inc.Al ZapponeFabi Construction Co.

Highway DivisionChris AndrewsGardner M. Bishop Inc.Josh Benson – Division ChairTilcon Maria FuentesAspen Landscaping Contracting Inc.Brad JorreyJ. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc.Chris JohnsonTutor PeriniPaul KochSkanska KochSteven MaggipintoSchiavone Construction Co., LLCJoseph McCann – Division Vice ChairMoretrench American Corp.Michael MergentimeMerco Inc.Jesse OttesenWeeks Marine Inc.Greg PetrongoloJPC Group Inc.Valentino RizzoBeaver Concrete Construction Co. Inc.Gene SullivanRailroad Construction Company


ACCNJ Leadership

Meet ACCNJ Secretary Eric R. JensenPresident, Michael Riesz & Co.

This is not the first time Eric Jensen has held the title of “Secretary” on the AssociationBoard. Before the merger, Eric served as the last Secretary for BCANJ. He now returns to the position, lending his valuable time and insight to ACCNJ.

“ACCNJ provides us as members with resources pertinent to our industry – all in one place,”he says. “Training, labor relations, government relations and, most important, a forum wheremembers can exchange information and ideas.”

Now President of Michael Riesz & Co., Eric is the fourth generation of his family to managethe firm. He graduated from Lake Forest College with a degree in business, and prior to joiningMichael Riesz & Co. was a partner at Capital Control Group in Chicago, an investment consulting firm for institutional pension funds.

Eric was a long-time member of BCANJ’s Board of Trustees, also serving as Treasurer andChair of the Safety Committee, among other positions. Since the merger, he has served as aBuilding Representative on the ACCNJ Board. ACCNJ’s main priority, in his view, is to continueits strong representation of the construction industry as it confronts challenges from labor relations to state and federal regulations to an ever-changing marketplace.

“We need to use our strength as a group of the state’s industry leaders to help shape the future of the industry and the state,” Eric affirms. “We have experienced leadership and capable staff, making ACCNJ prepared to do just that.”


HeadingEditor’s Note

As politicians and voters gear up for a 2017 gubernatorial campaign in New Jersey,we bring to your attention in this issue some important areas in the constructionindustry that are pertinent – and important – to the state of the state.

Our feature article delves into the Kevin Duncan study on prevailing wage laws andthe economic impact they have on a state’s economy. We were fortunate to have Kevinkeynote our March Membership Meeting and hear first-hand how states like New Jerseywith strong prevailing wage laws reap the benefits in increased tax revenues and de-creased social-service spending, among other things. Our Labor Management articlefrom NJ LIUNA echoes the value of New Jersey’s prevailing wage law and explains howcontractors can be front-and-center in enforcement.

We review key state policy issues in our Government Affairs overview, giving readers asneak preview of the language you will see on the November ballot in two ConstitutionalAmendment questions. ELEC, in another Labor Management article, continues theoverview’s discussion of the Transportation Trust Fund, emphasizing the intense effortsof the Operating Engineers labor management cooperative in trying to get New Jerseypoliticians to take action before our infrastructure disintegrates.

ACCNJ’s CEO, Jack Kocsis, hones in on establishing a standardized bidding processfor state and local public work. Again, the benefits to the state and local governmentscould be measured in quantifiably healthy economic terms – good for all New Jerseyans.

We paired economic health with safety in this issue, proud to detail the concerted activities of the many members who participated in ACCNJ’s Safety Day 2016 and OSHA’sStand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. The Bricklayers Labor Management piece applauds the publication of OSHA’s final silica rule, and IMPACT, the Ironworkers LaborManagement voice, touts its unique Safety Trained Supervisor Construction Certification.

Darlene Regina in the Chief Operating Officer’s Message explores some of the historyand successes of the Labor Management Cooperatives and how they have shaped thecontext of labor relations in New Jersey. The level and strength of cooperation betweenlabor and management in this state is remarkable and because of it we have several ac-complishments to which we can point.

Perhaps most important, we are pleased to present two ACCNJ members in ourMember Profiles, Walker Underwater Construction and State Line Construction Co.,Inc. These companies exemplify determination, hard work, and dedication to qualityand commitment to the highest standards of all our members.

We hope you enjoy this issue and encourage your feedback.

Published byAssociated Construction Contractors of New JerseyRaritan Center Plaza II, Suite A-1991 Fieldcrest Avenue,Edison, NJ 08837-3627tel: 732-225-2265 • fax: 732-225-3105www.accnj.org

PublisherJack Kocsis, Jr.

Editor-in-ChiefDarlene Regina

Managing EditorAdvertising DirectorCarol Fulton

Copy EditorAdvertising CoordinatorDeb Teall

Contributing EditorsCarol Fulton, Jack Kocsis, Fred Mihelic, Darlene Regina, Jill Schiff, Michael Travostino

Publishing ConsultantRichard Ecke

New Jersey Construction Magazine is published by the Associated ConstructionContractors of New Jersey. Copyright by theAssociated Construction Contractors ofNew Jersey. No part of this magazine maybe reproduced or reprinted without writtenpermission of the Editor or Publisher. TheAssociated Construction Contractors ofNew Jersey does not stand sponsorship forthe opinions or facts of authors and doesnot necessarily agree with the opinionsstated by its contributing authors.

Reviewing theState of the StateBy Carol Fulton, Membership Development Director


Table of Contents

2 ACCNJ Leadership RosterMeet ACCNJ Secretary Eric R. JensenPresident, Michael Riesz & Co.

5 Editor’s NoteReviewing the State of the State

9 Message from the ChairmanGoals for the Term: Seeing More Work, Seeing More of You

11 Message from the CEOStandardized Bid Procurement Levels the Playing Field

13 Message from the COOManagement and Labor Working Together and Getting Results

16 FeaturePrevailing Wage Laws Critical to a State’s Economic Stability

26 Safety and TrainingSafety Day – April 20, 2016:Safety and Appreciation Were the Intertwined Messages

32 Member ProfileState Line Construction: Project Diversity Keeps It Strong

36 Member ProfileWalker Diving Underwater Construction: Veteran-Owned Business Delivering Veteran Expertise

40 Government Affairs ReportLegislature Tackles Critical Policy Issues

44 Legal UpdateAre Contractors Liable If a Multiemployer Plan Fails?

48 Labor Management CooperativeFor LIUNA, Prevailing Wage Enforcement is About Competitiveness

52 Labor Management CooperativeThe Carpenter Contract Trust: A Contractor’sMarketing “Dream Team”

57 Labor Management CooperativeELEC and Local 825 Combine to Avert TTF Bankruptcy

59 Labor Management CooperativeSafety Trained Supervisor Construction®Certification is a Game-Changer

62 Labor Management CooperativeBricklayers Applaud “Long Overdue” Silica Rule

67 Welcome New Members

69 Member News

75 Giving Back

77 Membership Roster

80 Advertisers Index

16 5732 36 52


Message from the Chairman

Six months into the chairmanship of ACCNJ, I can assuremembers what we already know to be true. This organiza-tion is much stronger than the sum of its predecessors,

AGC of NJ and BCANJ. In nearly three years post-merger, themembership has increased along with the Association’s politicalinfluence and cooperative work with labor unions.

Now we are building on our political relationships to improvelegislation that benefits our contractor members and the residents of New Jersey. We seek to expand our involvement with various state agencies and local municipalities and continueto foster a cooperative atmosphere with owners.

The current economic climate in the state is fair. We hope itwill improve to “good” in the next few years. For now, the privatesector has kept contractors busy largely with work for utilitycompanies plus some moderate growth in corporate expansion.Public work has held steady in school construction, but lagged in bridge and infrastructure work because finding the necessarydollars to maintain the state’s infrastructure has proven elusive,despite our best efforts.

Here’s where you can help. Come to ACCNJ events. SupportACCNJ activities and initiatives. The benefit of being active inour Association is meeting fellow contractors whose issues aresimilar to yours. We provide a fantastic opportunity for you notonly to network but brainstorm solutions – and develop long-term relationships that can lead to joint ventures or other partnerships that help grow your operations and strengthen the skills of your employees.

You know the Association excels in contract negotiations and labor relations. ACCNJ’s emphasis on safety standards andquality of work have been hallmarks you share, particularly noticeable when we bestow safety awards in June and report onaward-winning projects in December.

Not enough of you, however, recognize the value of the enhanced education opportunities we offer – from learning thenuances of multiemployer pension funding to complying withthe Affordable Care Act, from exploring the latest in green build-ing to selecting student interns so you can pass on your valuableknowledge. Many of the opportunities are free-of-charge, manyare of great benefit to others below the top management at your

firm. We will continue to find education opportunities we feelwould be of value, and welcome your suggestions and feedback.We may even find an expanded role in charitable activities thathelp our communities, and invite you to share your ideas.

Most of all, we welcome your presence and that of your employees. The more you get involved, the more value you will find in your membership, and the stronger we will becomecollectively.

Goals for the Term: Seeing MoreWork, Seeing More of YouBy Alfonso Daloisio Jr., Chairman

Here’s where you can help. Come to ACCNJ events.

Support ACCNJ activities and initiatives. The benefit of being active in our Association is

meeting fellow contractors whose issues are similar to yours.


Message from the CEO

In our quest to raise the standards in New Jersey’s construc-tion industry, I have often spoken of our efforts to level theplaying field for all contractors. Nowhere could this be more

obviously achieved than in a standardized, electronic procure-ment form for bidding on government-funded projects.

It’s not revolutionary. Pennsylvania, our next-door neighbor,has standardized procurement statewide, as have other statesacross the nation, although not all utilize electronic processes.

We have made in-roads on standardization in New Jersey.Through our efforts, we achieved a standard law on the namingof subcontractors at the time of bid, standardization of retainageamounts, standardization of timing for addenda issued prior tobid, establishment of a standard procedure for withdrawing bidsand standardization of bid submission days.

Still, much of our time in meetings with various state agenciesthis past year was spent discussing ways to improve the biddingprocess. We want it standardized in total, not just piecemeal, asvaluable as those pieces we’ve accomplished are. It’s important forour members and it’s important for the taxpayers of New Jersey.

Standardized, electronic procurement streamlines the process,keeping it efficient by its “sameness” for all. It reduces risk, en-hances competitive bidding and eases the potential for conflictamong bidders and between the government entity and bidders.It ensures ethical participation. All those benefits result in cost-savings for New Jersey contractors and New Jersey residents.

From a philosophical viewpoint, our members are businesses,here to do business in New Jersey. You should be able to solicitbusiness in a business-like manner, especially one that befits this21st century.

And while standardization of bid documents is extremely important, it will not mean much unless we find new and inno-vative ways to fund public projects. As you know, this past year

we were deeply disappointed the Governor vetoed an ACCNJ initiative to allow for Public Private Partnerships for all levels ofgovernment. This legislation was nearly unanimously passed byboth branches of the legislature before it met its end at theGovernor’s desk.

However, ACCNJ will not stop there and will once again movethis important piece of legislation in a new administration. Inthe meantime, we will also strongly advocate for a state budgetthat funds vital public projects.

As always, we welcome your thoughts and comments.

Standardized Bid ProcurementLevels the Playing FieldBy Jack Kocsis, Jr., Chief Executive Officer

Still, much of our time in meetings with various state agencies this past year was

spent discussing ways to improve the bidding process. We want it standardized in total, not just piecemeal, as valuable as those pieces we’ve accomplished are.


Message from the COO

For ACCNJ members, long gone are the days when manage-ment only interacted with labor over a jobsite dispute orcontract negotiations. Long before the merger of BCA

and AGC, we realized the construction industry in New Jerseyoperated better when we partnered with labor – on all fronts:business development, safety, training, government regulations,funding sources, you name it.

Thus, some time ago, we formed labor-management cooperatives. Today, ACCNJ is party to five:

• Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Labor ManagementCouncil of New Jersey

• Carpenter Contractor Trust of New York & New Jersey (CCT)

• Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative (ELEC)

• New Jersey Laborers’ Employers’ Cooperation & Education Trust (LECET)

• Ironworkers-Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT)

During the Great Recession that began in 2008 and hit our industry hard beginning in 2010, we worked with our coopera-tives to hammer out Market Recovery programs to keep contractor members competitive and craftworkers employed.When we commissioned a market study to more fully under-stand the current state and future trends of the industry, our cooperatives provided valuable financial support. Since that crisis, we have continued to work together on many issues.

With ELEC, we supported an aggressive program to emphasizethe critical need for a sustainably funded Transportation TrustFund. ELEC was responsible for a communications campaign thatreached more than two million households. Through social mediaand other venues, ELEC waged a unified effort to spur elected offi-cials to action. We are hopeful that time and financial commit-ment will yield a positive outcome in the coming months.

With CCT and the Bricklayers, we commissioned a study con-ducted by Stockton University, due to be released this fall, to determine the extent of the underground economy in NewJersey’s construction industry. The report will focus on its effecton the financial stability of the State, and what needs to be doneto enhance greater enforcement of existing laws to curb this on-going detrimental activity.

With LECET, we offered valuable opportunities for our mem-bers to participate in no-cost, web-based programs that coveredjobsite safety on topics such as confined-space work, heat stress,skin cancer and a drug-free workplace.

Many of our labor-management cooperatives supportedACCNJ’s Safety Day 2016 by making contributions to offset thecost of the Safety First banners that hung at dozens of memberjobsites on April 20, 2016. They also participated in safety talksand media coverage at projects across the state. You can readmore about Safety Day in a separate article in this issue.

And, of course, we must mention how well we work togetheron legislative and regulatory issues that directly impact the con-struction industry. The leadership of these labor-managementcooperatives works with us on a number of legislative fronts, including the need for P3 legislation, model procurement anduniform bidding documents, as well as greater enforcement ofprevailing wage laws. Most recently, they strongly supported an ACCNJ-sponsored program that addressed “The Economic,Fiscal and Social Impacts of State Prevailing Wage Laws.”

We still have a lot to accomplish to ensure the best possiblestandards in the construction industry in New Jersey. But as wecontinue to hear of disputes and dysfunction between labor andmanagement in other AGC chapters, we know we’ve definitelylearned we get more done by working together. In New Jersey, webelieve in success through labor-management partnership andshowing our strength in collective numbers.

Management and Labor Working Together and Getting ResultsBy Darlene Regina, Chief Operating Officer


Feature

Prevailing Wage Laws Critical to a State’s Economic StabilityBy Fred J. Mihelic, Public Relations Consultant

Springl 2016 | New Jersey Construction | 17

Perhaps no issue important to the construction industryengenders more controversy and scrutiny than the prevailing wage concept. What on the surface seems a

perfectly rational way of protecting a state’s economic welfareand maintaining a strong standard of living for its workers willinstead often spark bitter debate between anti-union and pro-union forces.

Opponents of the federal Davis-Bacon Act and state prevailingwage laws argue such laws raise labor and overall constructioncosts, placing an undue burden on taxpayers. They further contend these laws inherently favor union construction and stifle free-market principles by placing unfair restrictions onnon-union contractors and discouraging them from bidding onpublic construction projects.

Supporters of the prevailing wage concept argue to the contrary, insisting the laws are cost-neutral and actually serve asa built-in economic growth tool for communities by stabilizingwages and promoting more spending on local goods and services. And, far from being a tax liability, they instead benefitlocal taxpayers by ensuring higher standards of professionalismand productivity on the jobsite.

Prevailing wage laws also increase the likelihood that employers and their employees are taxed on the full wages they pay and receive, creating additional tax revenues. And, since most prevailing wage workers also receive pension andhealthcare coverage, taxpayers bear less of a burden in public assistance and welfare costs.

Finally, prevailing wage proponents claim the laws force contractors to compete on the basis of who can best train, bestequip, and best manage a construction crew, not on who can assemble the cheapest, most exploitable workforce – either locally or by importing labor from elsewhere.

Despite the broad public benefits generated through prevailingwage laws, dissension and confusion continue to stalk the concept 85 years after passage of the Davis-Bacon Act. Too often, officials elected or appointed to governing boards lack awarenessof construction industry practices and are too willing to simplyaccept the lowest bid without asking questions or adequatelymonitoring the projects they award. As a result, they unknow-ingly accept an inferior work product, paid for by local taxpayers.

This situation has been further aggravated by the absence of adequate, peer-reviewed research on the subject, an absencethat has enabled the rise of faulty assumptions and flawed reports that grossly miscalculate cost estimates and allow controversy to fester.

The majority of these studies – according to researchers KevinDuncan, Alex Lantsberg and Frank Manzo IV – are based on thewage differential method, “an outdated, theoretical approachthat estimates the cost of the wage policy by comparing prevail-ing wage rates to alternative wages that would be paid in the absence of the policy.” However, the researchers continue, the

wage differential method “ignores changes in labor productivity, material and fuel costs, contractor profit, and other constructionefficiencies that change with wage rates.”

New Report Quantifies BenefitsBut now, help may be at hand. A recently completed, data-drivenand reproducible examination of the economic, fiscal and socialimpact of state prevailing wage laws may put to rest many of thefalse assumptions and tired canards that have dogged this debateover the years. The report, entitled “The Economic, Fiscal andSocial Impacts of Prevailing Wage Laws: Choosing Between theHigh Road and the Low Road in the Construction Industry,” utilizes IMPLAN modeling software, based on data from the USDepartments of Labor and Commerce, the Census Bureau andthe Bureau of Economic Analysis, and comparisons betweenstates with and without prevailing wage laws to assess the trueimpact of prevailing-wage policies.

Conducted by Kevin Duncan from Colorado State University-Pueblo, Frank Manzo of the Illinois Economic Policy Instituteand Alex Lantsberg of Smart Cities Prevail (a leading construc-tion industry research and educational organization), the reportexamines – for the first time – the existing body of research that has been presented on both sides of the issue. It makes animportant distinction between research that has undergone rigorous peer review and that which has not, and concludes that75% of peer-reviewed studies find construction costs are not affected by prevailing wages.

“We found that non-peer-reviewed studies that suggest cost-savings from prevailing wage repeal tend to focus exclusively onwage differences, which ignore the fact that prevailing wage standards dramatically reduce material and fuel expenditures andreliance on taxpayer-funded welfare assistance, while increasingworksite productivity,” said research analyst Lantsberg.

“The notion that cheaper labor equals cheaper projects issteeped in myth,” adds co-author Kevin Duncan, SeniorEconomist with BGC Economics and Professor of Economics atColorado State University-Pueblo. “Labor just isn’t that much ofa total project’s cost (about 23%). In fact, it pales in comparisonto fuel, materials and purchased services – all of which cost morein non-prevailing wage states.

Prevailing wage laws also increase the likelihood that employers and their employees are taxed on the full wages they pay and receive, creating additional tax revenues.


“Prevailing wage states may spend more on wages and benefits,” Duncan continues, “but they also hire more in-statecontractors and get about 13% more productivity out of theirworkforce. Also, the lack of prevailing wage rates can result inmore change orders, costly project delays and other issues.”

This was confirmed in a 2004 report from the ConstructionLabor Research Council which found that states with the highestwages for highway construction workers actually have the lowesttotal cost per mile (and vice versa).

“As they relate to overall project costs, the spending differencesbetween the two types of states offset each other, making the prevailing wage cost-neutral as a policy matter,” Duncan affirms.“But, the new economic data also show higher rates of worksiteinjuries, poverty and construction worker reliance on public assistance in non-prevailing wage states, which ultimately tipsthe scales in favor of prevailing wages as a policy choice.”

Evolution of Prevailing Wage LawsEnacted in 1931, the federal Davis-Bacon Act established the concept that a community prevailing wage should be paid on government-funded construction projects. Its purpose was and is to give all contractors an equal opportunity to bid and win government contracts, and to ensure that an infusion of federalgovernment expenditures will not undermine the working condi-tions and wages that are prevalent in a particular state or region.

The Davis-Bacon Act and the state prevailing wage laws that preceded and followed it were a response to the negativeconsequences of unregulated competitive bidding that spawnedunscrupulous contractors who would consistently low-ball bidson government construction projects and bring in low-wage,itinerant workers to complete the job. The net effect of this unprincipled practice was the suppression of local wages and, as skilled workers left the industry for better-paying jobs, a general decrease in productivity and quality work.

New Jersey was the sixth state in the nation to pass its own prevailing wage law in 1913, almost 20 years before the federallaw was enacted. The New Jersey law requires contractors to payworkers on public building projects that exceed a certain costthreshold no less than the compensation that prevails on similarprojects in their geographic area. The Garden State law applies

to projects funded by state government, all levels of local govern-ment, and every instrumentality or agency of the state, or any ofits political subdivisions.

The purpose of New Jersey’s law is clearly defined in its statute:“It is declared to be the public policy of this State to establish a prevailing wage level for workmen engaged in public works in order to safeguard their efficiency and general well-being and to protectthem as well as their employers from the effects of serious and unfaircompetition resulting from wage levels detrimental to efficiency and well-being.”“The prevailing wage is not a union/non-union issue,”

observes economist Duncan. “It is rather a standard of living and economic stability issue. We find less poverty and less reliance on welfare programs wherever it is in place.”

William T. Mullen, President of the New Jersey State Building& Construction Trades Council, seconds Duncan’s assessment.“For more than a century, the prevailing wage has been a bulwark of the construction industry and one of our state’s greatest economic resources,” Mullen notes.

“The law’s wage requirements help make it possible for a person to have a successful career in construction,” Mullen adds.“The predictability of compensation and the stability of pensionand healthcare benefits make the construction trades worth-while employment, enabling workers and their families to livethe American Dream.”

Attack and EffectDespite the demonstrable merits of prevailing wage laws, thereremains skepticism and general indifference toward the policyon the part of many local and state agencies that bid and awardconstruction contracts. The nation is currently split, with strongor average prevailing wage laws in 25 states and weak or no prevailing wage laws in 25 states.

“Prevailing wage states may spend more on wages and benefits, but they also hire more in-state

contractors and get about 13% more productivity out of their workforce.”


There have been recent campaigns – with varying degrees ofsuccess – to either eliminate or restrict prevailing wage laws inWisconsin, Michigan, New Mexico, Kentucky, Nevada, Indianaand West Virginia. In contrast, California and Vermont havemoved to strengthen their laws and New Hampshire recently reinstated its prevailing wage law.

The difference this time around, however, is that economistsKevin Duncan and Alex Lantsberg have been able to accuratelypredict the impact that repeal of prevailing wage laws wouldhave on the respective states. Armed with data painstakinglycompiled for their report, Duncan and Lantsberg can now applypeer-reviewed national findings to individual states.

The results have been eye-opening. In Wisconsin, which repealed its prevailing wage law in 2015, the study predicts “approximately 2,300 more construction workers are now expected to fall below the official poverty line, with about 2,400more workers expected to rely on food stamps and 900 more” on other public assistance. In addition, “7,700 constructionworkers will likely lose health insurance coverage and 3,000workers will lose their employer-provided pension plans.”

In Michigan, a citizen petition to repeal the prevailing wagelaw failed in 2015, but its backers have vowed to mount a similarpetition drive this year. If repeal efforts come to pass, Duncanand Lantsberg say Michigan can expect about 4,300 more con-struction workers will earn less than the official poverty wage, an additional 4,400 will qualify for food stamps, and 1,500 morewill need other public aid.

Also, they say, “13,500 construction workers in Michigancould lose health insurance coverage and 5,300 would lose theiremployer-provided pension plans.”

Impact on the Health of State EconomiesThe report uses data from the Economic Census of Construction toshow states with weak or no prevailing wages have “about 2%more of the total value of construction completed by out-of-state

contractors than states with strong or average policies.” As a result, construction work “leakages” from the Wisconsin andMichigan economies “would be approximately $500 million and$673 million respectively. The impact of these leakages wouldripple throughout the economies of both states and affect manyunrelated industries.”

With more work undertaken by out-of-state contractors,Michigan could expect an annual decrease in economic activityof approximately $1.5 billion and a decrease in state and localtax revenue of more than $55 million. Wisconsin can expect adecrease in economic activity of about $1.1 billion annually anda drop in state and local tax revenue of more than $40 million.

According to Duncan and Lantsberg, these results indicatethat “for every dollar of construction value completed by an out-of-state contractor, economic activity decreases by $2.15 inMichigan and $2.26 in Wisconsin.”

A similar study co-authored by Duncan and Lantsberg inCalifornia, which eventually strengthened its prevailing wage lawafter much debate, found the following consequences wouldensue if the law had been repealed:

• Net job losses of 17,500 and gross job losses of 48,500

• A 3% to 5.5% increase in out-of-state contracting

• A reduction in state economic output of $1.4 billion

• Real income reduced by $1.5 billion

• A 12% decline in productivity and a 5% increase in materials waste

• More construction professionals living at or near thepoverty line

“From creating jobs to increasing efficiency, prevailing wagepolicies provide taxpayers with a far better return on investmentthan the less-beneficial alternative,” Duncan and Lantsbergwrote. “Data show that the decision to weaken or eliminate pre-vailing wages can increase poverty, export more tax dollars out-of-state, and eliminate thousands of jobs in the process.”

The research team’s IMPLAN modeling software and statisticalanalysis also reveal the potential consequences of repealing orweakening regulations in all 25 states that currently have strong oraverage prevailing wage laws in place. It estimates the incomes of

In Michigan, a citizen petition to repeal the prevailing wage law failed in 2015, but its backers have vowed to mount a similar

petition drive this year.


an additional 99,000 construction workers across the nationwould fall below the poverty level. Some 319,000 more would losehealth insurance coverage and 124,000 would lose their pensionplans, leading to increased reliance on public assistance programs.

Also nationwide, construction worker enrollment in theSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would bal-loon by 102,000 workers, an additional $308.5 million cost totaxpayers annually. The bad news continues, per the report, as“an estimated 36,000 more construction workers would receiveEarned Income Tax Credits (EITC), costing taxpayers another$74.6 million a year.”

The loss in earnings would cause a loss in federal income taxcontributions of more than $3.4 billion. That’s because construc-tion workers in the 25 average/strong prevailing wage states each contribute an average $3,289 per year in federal incometaxes (after credits, deductions and cost of living adjustments),while their equivalents in the 25 states with weak or no prevail-ing wage laws each contribute only an average $1,964 in annualfederal income taxes.

“The statistics clearly demonstrate that driving wages downwill not help balance the federal budget,” states the NorthAmerica’s Building Trades Unions organization in a positionpaper. “It is essential to account for the spin-off economic benefits of maintaining prevailing wages.”

Choosing the High RoadFive major findings of the study demonstrate that choosing thehigh road helps owners, craftworkers, contractors and taxpayers.

• Prevailing Wage Laws Have No Impact on TotalConstruction Costs. Labor comprises just 23% of total construction costs, and 75% of recent peer-reviewed studiesfind that construction costs are not affected by prevailingwages. Weakening or repealing prevailing wage laws does,however, increase poverty, shrink economic activity andlocal hiring, and reduce worksite productivity. Researchalso indicates that when construction wages increase, contractors respond by utilizing more capital equipmentand hiring skilled workers rather than their less-productive

counterparts. Material and fuel cost reductions offset anyhigher labor costs.

• Prevailing Wage Repeal Would Cost Taxpayers Money.Construction workers in states with strong/average prevailing wage laws contribute $5.3 billion more in federalincome taxes on average per year than their counterparts inweak/no-law states. Also, they are 8% more likely to havehealth insurance and 4% more likely to have a retirementplan. States with weak/no laws currently spend $367 mil-lion more per year on food stamps and EITC for construc-tion workers than states with strong/average laws.

• Prevailing Wage Laws Close Racial Gaps, Help Veterans,and Reduce Income Inequality. Construction workers inprevailing wage states earn 17% more than their counter-parts in non-prevailing wage law states. Repealing prevail-ing wages is associated with income declines of up to 8%,pushing low earners onto public assistance. Military veterans are employed in construction at a higher rate than in other industries, and an even higher rate in stateswith stronger prevailing wage laws. Prevailing wages alsoincrease by 6% the probability that a nonwhite individualwill work in construction.

• Prevailing Wage Repeal Hurts Local Contractors and LocalEconomies. By protecting local wages, prevailing wage lawsalso protect work for local contractors and their employeesand significantly reduce the leakage of construction spending to firms in neighboring states. Worker skills are enhanced through more effective apprenticeship andsafety training. The positive effects ripple throughout theprevailing wage law state’s economy, increasing overall output and job growth across all economic sectors.

• Prevailing Wage Repeal at the State Level Harms Workers,Taxpayers and the Economy. If the 25 states with strong oraverage prevailing wage laws were to weaken or repeal theirlaws, construction worker wages and benefits would fall by$23 billion and total employment would decline by400,000 jobs. This income loss would shrink the nationaleconomy by $65 billion and total tax revenues would plummet by more than $8 billion.

Weakening or repealing prevailing wage laws does, however, increase poverty, shrink economic activity and local hiring, and reduce worksite productivity.


Study co-author Kevin Duncan observes: “Our study confirmsthat states without prevailing wage laws undermine workman-ship, productivity and workforce development programs thatpromote construction career pathways for minorities and veterans. Also, millions more is spent in these states on foodstamps, EITC, and other public welfare for low-income, bluecollar construction workers, leading to smaller economic output, higher income inequality, and far less in tax revenues.”

Prevailing Wage Keeps Millions of Dollars in New JerseyDuncan was the featured speaker at the ACCNJ MembershipMeeting on March 15, 2016, in Eatontown. He said that NewJersey’s strong prevailing wage law translates into more than 91% of the state’s public construction contracts being undertakenby New Jersey-based contractors. This produces nearly a billiondollars more annually for the state’s economic output thanwould be garnered without the prevailing wage law.

Contractors in Pennsylvania and New York are awarded approximately 5.5% and 2.2% respectively of New Jersey’s publicconstruction contracts on an annual basis. Massachusetts andDelaware contractors have been awarded an even smaller percentage of the work.

“I can tell you the prevailing wage has been a godsend to our statein the years since the Recession of 2008,” asserts Bill Mullen of theNew Jersey Building Trades. “For much of that time our membersendured 30% to 50% unemployment rates. But, as bad as it was, itwould have been much worse without the steady flow of publicworks projects and the stabilizing effect of prevailing wages.”

Jack Kocsis, chief executive officer of the AssociatedConstruction Contractors of NJ, echoes Mullen’s remarks. “We have been fortunate in New Jersey over the past 10 to 15years to have had administrations that are willing to protect andvigorously enforce our prevailing wage laws,” Kocsis concludes.“From Governor Jim McGreevey and his Labor Commissioner Al Kroll to Governor Chris Christie and Labor Commissioner

Harold Wirths, our Department of Labor has been committed tostrengthening and enforcing prevailing wage regulations.”

Kocsis applauds the work done by Duncan, Lantsberg andFrank Manzo IV (Policy Director at the Illinois Economic PolicyInstitute), pointing to New Jersey as a prime example of a statethat has benefited from prevailing wage, for all the reasons thestudy found.

“Prevailing wage legislation promotes a strong construction industry and a thriving middle class,” Kocsis emphasizes. “Withprevailing wage, we place a strong emphasis on apprenticeshiptraining, skilled workmanship, workplace safety, and increasedaccess to health insurance and retirement security. Also, by fostering an economy with a strong middle class, prevailingwages help promote sound public-sector budgets at all levels ofgovernment. Simply put, it is an irreplaceable component forcontinued economic growth in New Jersey.”


Safety and Training

Safety Day is an ACCNJ initiative aimed at promoting theimportance of safety in all aspects of the construction industry. We focus our efforts on raising public awareness

about using caution when traveling around all construction work zones and refocusing the attention of workers on the key elements of staying safe while on the job. These goals are designed to ensure those individuals working on member jobsites will be able to return home to their families safe andsound at the end of each day.

We also highlight the substantial investment in safety trainingand education made by union contractors and craftworkers. As part of our effort, Safety Day banners emphasizing this part-nership were displayed on jobsites throughout New Jersey andoutreach was made to various media outlets to promote it.

The generous contributions of the Carpenter Contractor TrustNY/NJ (CCT), Engineers Labor Employer Cooperative (ELEC)and Laborers Employers Cooperative Education Trust (LECET)made a banner available to each ACCNJ active member. In addition, the training centers made themselves available to complement the members’ activities by visiting various jobsites.

Once again, with more than two dozen member companiesand labor partners displaying 60 plus banners around the state,members hosted events from tool box talks to appreciationluncheons, spread out across the state. Sites included a construc-tion yard alongside a highway, to college and pharmaceuticalcampuses. No matter what type of activity was held, the messagewas the same: the importance of safety on the job and the valueof each worker to their employer and family.

Atlantic Concrete Cutting Inc.Hosting a late afternoon cookout at their corporate offices togreet their day shift crews as they return to the shop and send off their night shift crews allowed Atlantic Concrete Cutting’smanagement team to let the men and women know their dedication and skills are appreciated. It also allowed them tooffer reminders and words of encouragement about the importance of working safely.

CrisdelStarting with lunch,Crisdel employees atthe Bristol MyersSquibb-PPK Projectwere shown thecompany’s apprecia-tion for the safe,hard work that hasgone into the project thus far. In cooperation with Torcon, theconstruction manager for the project, all trades and contractorsonsite gathered to listen as Torcon’s safety manager explainedthe importance of safety, as well as recognized the good work

Safety Day – April 20, 2016Safety and Appreciation Were the Intertwined MessagesBy Jill Schiff, Executive Director of Operations


they’ve accomplished together. T-shirts and gift cards were givento everyone. Representatives from Laborers Local 172 andOperating Engineers Local 825 were also present to further themessage to Crisdel’s employees. Tool box talks addressed blindspots and working around heavy equipment, while stressing howthey can strive to make the safe choice every time.

Drill ConstructionAt the highly visible Wayne Town Center, Drill Construction Co.proudly displayed their banner not only to remind craftworkersabout safety, but to make the public aware of being safe aroundconstruction sites.

Epic Management Inc.With Safety Day activitiesplanned for three differentsites in New Jersey, SafetyDirector Charles Hansontook the opportunity to address more than 20 craftworkers outsidetheir trailer at the RutgersUniversity jobsite inPiscataway on the importance of fall protection, a hot topic forour industry as ACCNJ’s Safety Day preceded OSHA’s Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction Week.

Fitzpatrick & AssociatesThis year, a banner isproudly displayed inACCNJ’s own backyard asFitzpatrick & Associatesstarts the parking deckproject at the NortheastCarpenters Funds Buildingin Edison.

Hall Building Corp.John Deliniski, Instructorwith the NortheastCarpenters ApprenticeTraining & EducationalFund, conducts a laddersafety tool box talk forcraftworkers at theMontclair State UniversityPartridge Hall jobsite.

JPC GroupAt 6:30am, Heavy Highway Laborers 172 S.E.T. Instructor DougSmall rolled onto the jobsite ready to go with an early morningsafety talk for craftworkers at the Rt. 30 Blue Anchor Dam inWinslow Twp.

Northeast Regional Council of CarpentersApprentices at the Thomas C. Ober Carpenters Training Centerin Hammonton participated in activities surrounding OSHA’sStand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. More than 40craftworkers took part in the day.


Northeast RemscoWith morning and afternoon plans for company employees,Robert Jennings, NR Corporate Safety Director, started the dayat sunrise with a safety talk at the firm’s MM120 Yard on theGarden State Parkway. He took the opportunity to highlight PPEand the importance it plays in making sure everyone completesthe day safely to return home to their families. The message carried through to the afternoon program held at the main yardin Farmingdale.

Railroad ConstructionCompanyAs a precursor to OSHA’sNational Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls inConstruction, CorporateSafety Director Rick Bunkerspent the day travelling tocompany jobsites emphasiz-ing the importance of RCCfield supervisory personneland co-workers to remainaware of the requirement toPlan, Provide and Train forFall Protection.

Schiavone Construction Co.With events planned for Manahawkin, Seaside Heights andNewark, Environmental Health and Safety Director MichaelCaterina organized activities that included presentations byOSHA representative Mike Corbett.

State Line Construction Co., Inc.Getting on board for Safety Day was important to State Line as a subcontractor on the massive project at Jersey Shore Medical Center. They hosted a lunchtime tool box talk for their craftworkers.

South State Inc.Taking a break at the Clemonton Lake Park jobsite, the crew was joined by General & Construction Laborers Local 172 S.E.T.instructors for a tool box talk.

Torcon Inc.At the Rowan Holly Pointe Commons Project, 15 vendors wereon hand to greet more than 350 workers at the site. Lunch andsafety prize drawings were provided as a special thank you for thededication and commitment to safety of all those working on thisincredibly fast-tracked project. Site Safety Manager JohnSmashey, Corporate Safety Director Mike Hennebery, OSHAArea Director Paula Dixon-Roderick and ACCNJ staff addressedthe craftworkers, reminding them of their role in getting not onlythemselves, but eachother, home safely at the end of the day.

In addition, Torconheld another jobsite-wideevent for a comparablecrowd of 350 workers attheir Bristol Myers Squibbsite in Lawrenceville, aswell as a safety talk inElizabeth at the start-up of a school project.


Weeks Marine Inc.Combining Safety Day ac-tivities with OSHA’s Stand-Down, the companyhosted a kickoff breakfast,fall protection training,tool box talks and incidence review, as well as a guest speaker, NeilSwidey, author of TrappedUnder the Sea. They concluded the week with ajobsite lunch and closingremarks from ProjectManager Adam Wallach.

West Bay Construction Inc.With new sanitary sewer service being installed throughoutAvalon, the company discussed the importance of being cog-nizant of one’s surroundings, especially with the large equipmenton site and the precautionary steps needed when working belowgrade. A dewatering, well point system is being used to controlunderground water for a safer, dryer work area, along withtrench and manhole boxes to secure side slopes from cave-ins.The day allowed West Bay to reinforce their motto: No Safety NoLife, Know Safety Know Life.

In addition to those above, we want to make sure to recognize all those that hosted events or will be hostingsafety activities following this publication’s release:

CCA Civil Inc.

J. Fletcher Creamer & Son

DeFoe Corp.

Eii Inc.

Gilbane NJ

JK Crane

Moretrench

Walker Diving Underwater Construction

Waters & Bugbee Inc.

State Line Construction:Project Diversity Keeps It Strong

Euclides Domingues left Portugal at the young age of 23 toimmigrate to America, the land of opportunity. With hisbrother, Jose, he founded State Line Construction in

Newark in 1977. Then, reminisces Euclides, it took heart, willand tireless work. Today, his advice for someone starting a NewJersey construction company is slightly less idealistic: “Be readyto wear many different hats,” he warns. “The constructionprocess today entails significantly more facets than in years past.There are numerous government agencies, regulations, insur-ance and safety requirements, and with it all comes a lot morepaperwork!”

But Euclides’ dedication to customer service, devotion to excellence in providing exceptional work, and determination tocomplete each project on time and on budget are the ideals thathave kept State Line successful through nearly four decades. Someof the firm’s clients have been “with us from inception,” he notes.

Key Personnel and Family Strength Led to GrowthEuclides’ sons, Jose and Danny, joined their father in his quest togrow and evolve as a family-owned enterprise. Other familymembers have also signed on to work for State Line, including

cousin Steve Domingues, who serves as the firm’s key field supervising engineer. They are all hands-on in every aspect of the business or, as they eloquently express it, “we are boots onthe ground, responsible for project supervision and involved inthe day-to-day corporate decisions.”

Together with expert personnel who have been with State Line for decades – some for more than 30 years – the family developed the company into one of the largest concrete and masonry firms of its kind in the area, leading the industry in the construction of commercial, industrial and institutionalbuildings and parking garages.

During its early years, the company performed mainly curband flatwork. Later, with the proficiency and estimating knowl-edge of now-Vice President Fred Schwab, State Line slowly progressed into other areas of construction, including concretefoundations, masonry and excavation. Its portfolio now spansprojects from education to pharmaceutical, retail and supermarkets to data centers and warehousing, corporate offices to county and state bridges.

“As with any business, there are periodic challenges along theway,” Fred commented. “For us, we had to continuously secure asufficient amount of projects to enable us to successfully employkey personnel, even through the lulls in the industry and thecountry’s economic challenges.”

Including the Great Recession. Jose affirms “our fundamentalphilosophy of superior service, excellence in quality and unwavering attention to safety remained unscathed during therecent economic downturn.” He believes the company’s ability to select diverse jobs, reflecting a range of size and scope, kept it economically stable regardless of the vagaries of the nationaland local economies.


Member Profile

From left to right: Fred Schwab, Jose Domingues, Euclides Domingues,Danny Domingues, Steve Domingues.

St. Barnabas Medical Center, West Wing Expansion – Livingston, NJ


Challenges Become PassionsWhen State Line worked on the Daily News Printing Press proj-ect in Jersey City, Danny was quick to recognize the enormouschallenges of a job that required more than 6,000 cubic yards ofconcrete to create a “press table.” Not to mention, of course, theusual construction challenges – weather, scheduling, etc. It wasthe largest job the company had ever taken on at the time.

“The structure stands the length of a football field,” explainedSteve, “supported by 40 columns on a three-foot-thick mat foun-dation. The most demanding part of the job was maintaining thestringent tolerances required for the printing equipment toproperly work while maintaining a timely schedule during achallenging winter forecast!”

But Euclides tells of the irony of the project – what was the mostchallenging became the most rewarding. It reveals the philosophyof State Line Construction. Persevere and successfully conquerthrough hard work and integrity. He doesn’t take much credit forthe company’s success, however, shifting it to “our dedicated andambitious employees who are devoted to our clients and tirelesslystrive to go above and beyond their expectations.”

Pride in construction, for State Line Construction, comes from the tangible finished product. “When I see all the diversestructures built across the world, I understand all the challenges associated with delivering them,” Euclides said. “That makes me proud to be in this industry.” Bristol Meyer Squibb – Lawrence Township, NJ

Daily News – Jersey City, NJ


Member Profile

In the midst of the recession in 2009, David Earp, President of Walker Diving Underwater Construction, not only boughtthe business but nearly doubled its revenue in the first full

year. He attributes his immediate success to good luck and several bids won by less than 1 percent. But in addition to goodfortune, Earp as the new leader encouraged his managementteam to dream big.

“They had the experience and the capability,” he explained, “I empowered them to go after bigger and more challenging projects. Once they trusted that the manpower, equipment andfinances were in place to tackle these projects, they went to workto seek out and take advantage of bigger opportunities.”

From Navy SEAL to CEOThe management team was just one feature that attracted Earpwhen the “For Sale” notice caught his eye. Founded in 1957 byGlenn Walker, a diver, the company had a strong history and hadremained competitive for more than 50 years through severalownership changes. And it was located in South Jersey.

Earp grew up in South Jersey and enrolled in the US NavalAcademy in Annapolis, majoring in Ocean Engineering, whichincluded coastal structures and underwater life-support systems.He spent his first two years in service as a Navy diver, performingsalvage operations and diving duties. For eight years after that,Earp was a Navy SEAL, which took him around the world and ultimately back to diving, working with SEAL Delivery Vehiclesdiving off of submarines.

He left the Navy for graduate school at Dartmouth, earning hisMBA. It was while he was searching for business opportunitiesthat he came across Walker Diving.

“Walker Diving seemed to have a unique place in the market,”said Earp. “Many contractors that started in diving have shiftedfocus to pile driving and marine construction, which offer largervolumes of revenue. Walker Diving continues to focus on work inwhich diving is the key element. “

As a result, Walker Diving subcontracts on a wide portfolio ofprojects, working with the largest general contractors and thesmallest specialty companies in the region. To Earp, it doesn’tmatter the size of the company or duration of the project.

“Contractors want to be able to hire a diving subcontractorwho can provide the crews, tools and expertise necessary to com-plete the project on budget and on time. And when the divingscope can be controlled independently, we strive to quote a fixedprice on a specific scope of of work,” he affirmed.

Pride in ProjectsThe company performs operations on a wide variety of projects,from wharfs and piers to bridges, intakes and outfalls, pipelinesand dams.

Pile Restoration. David Earp is especially proud of the rehabilita-tion of timber piles under the Brooklyn Bridge Park. WalkerDiving has participated on five phases of work for two generalcontractors. In fact, Earp specifically sought to convince generalcontractors that have self-performed diving to see his companyas a more attractive option. Walker Diving successfully com-pleted the work on that site and has gone on to subcontract forthose two general contractors on other projects. The BrooklynBridge Park work demonstrated Walker Diving’s ability to bring together themanning, equip-ment and materialsto complete the contracted scope ofwork on time withminimal impact to the other activi-ties onsite. Over approximately five years, WalkerDiving installedthousands of cubicyards of concreteinto individualforms around timber piles.

Walker Diving Underwater Construction: Veteran-Owned Business Delivering Veteran Expertise


Emergency Assistance.When a dredging contractor suffered anunfortunate accident and operations changed from rescue to recovery, Walker Diving quickly mobilized a dive crew and seamlessly joined the team already working onsite to recovertheir lost teammate and bring closure to the family. Getting approval to work on a US Army Corps of Engineers project canbe time-consuming, but Walker Diving worked closely with thediving coordinator to obtain approvals quickly. The state policedivers had been onsite from the beginning and close teamworkenabled the joint team to quickly bring closure to the family andcoworkers. Earp said, “While not a large project, or one I hopewe ever repeat, I was proud of the crew for how they performedprofessionally in a tense, emotionally charged situation.”

Unique Challenges.Walker Diving was approached about tyingin a 30” lateral into a main sewage interceptor that was to be slip-lined and grouted. The challenge was the location – 170’down-flow from a manhole in the middle of a highway in asewage main where the flow could only be slowed for short periods during the middle of the night. All existing procedureswere based around exposing the pipes and doing all of the workfrom the outside. When the manufacturers were questionedabout how to perform this from inside an active pipe, the prod-uct engineers asked that Walker Diving “let them know” if theyfigured it out. Walker Diving developed a concept; built a full-size mockup to prove the concept; and then executed the work.According to Earp, “It wasn’t fast and it sure smelled bad, but the installation functioned perfectly and the grout remained only in the annular space.”

Challenges of a Veteran-Owned Small BusinessWalker Diving typically performs work primarily in New Jersey,Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York. But running a veteran-owned business has its challenges and frustrations, Earp admits.

The federal government has spending and subcontractinggoals for service-disabled veteran-owned businesses on directfederal spending, but on the major federal spending passed tothe states by the DOT and other agencies, veterans are not in-cluded. The House passed a bill to remedy this, but the Senatehas not yet addressed the issue.

As a specialized contractor in a region with small states,Walker Diving has had to seek work outside of New Jersey.Pennsylvania has been an area of growth, aided by the inclusionof veteran-owned business in the state-wide small diverse busi-ness program, which enables a veteran to compete on a levelfield. However, other states have either set different standardsthan the federal programs or only include those with 51% of theirwork in that state. Ideally, service-disabled veterans will one daybe recognized for their service by competing on par with any entity, rather than at a disadvantage.

Preparing for the FutureDavid Earp recognizes that many new structures can be builtwith little need for diving, but many existing marine structuresmay require significant underwater repairs to extend their lifecy-cle. Underwater repairs can be less-expensive, reduce permittingchallenges and avoid losing use of the facility, as you might whilea complete rebuild is in progress.

“Underwater construction will continue to serve a vital role inthe infrastructure market,” Earp stated confidently. “Our future,and our growth, is dependent upon demonstrating our expertise.Our goal is to convince the heavy and marine contractors in ourmarket that Walker Diving can be a cost-effective and reliable answer to their underwater needs, so they do not have to self-perform that work or assume risks that make them avoid projects with an underwater component.”

He credits Walker Diving’s membership in ACCNJ as “invalu-able” to the company’s success.

“Entering the construction industry from the military,” he explained, “I have relied upon contacts made through ACCNJ toeducate and guide me, and help me develop a plan for how mycompany can be a valued participant in the construction industry. The ACCNJ staff has been patient and helpful in bothnegotiating with labor and explaining how a good relationshipwith labor can be an asset to my company.”

Earp is a bit wry when expressing his hopes for the future: “Idream of the time when I can focus more on the work and less onthe regulation and the bureaucratic obstacles that seem to in-crease every year. But until that time, at least I can enjoy workingalongside others whose companionship I enjoy.”


Government Affairs Report

Each fiscal year’s spring season into summer session of the NJLegislature looks like an all-out sprint to the finish line of se-cure and sound policy-making. New Jersey’s constitution calls

for the State’s budget and finances to be balanced by July 1 of eachyear. Traditionally, alongside the budget process are a handful of criti-cally important legislative initiatives grinding through the Statehousehalls to either final passage, defeat or outright delay until the fall.This year is no different. Let’s take a look at several of these issues.

State Budget Several days after suspending his bid for the White House,Governor Christie marked his return to NJ by proposing a $34.8billion state budget in a joint session of the NJ Legislature. TheGovernor’s proposed spending plan for FY2017 boosts spendingby approximately $1 billion over the current year’s budget, with-out gimmicks and one-shot revenue grabs. The proposed budgetdisclosed by Governor Christie includes no new taxes, little newspending and a modest prediction of a 3% increase in tax collec-tions. Additional highlights of the Governor’s proposal includeinjecting $1.86 billion into the struggling public worker pensionsystem, a 1% increase in school funding, and building a projectedstate general fund surplus for property tax relief purposes. Thedepleted Transportation Trust Fund was briefly discussed withinthe Governor’s budget address remarks without referencing afront-office commitment to a specific funding solution, as negoti-ations with legislative leadership continue on TTF funding. At the time of this writing, the Legislature’s budget hearings onthe Governor’s proposed plan are in full swing, as each house debates the merits of the state’s spending components.

Transportation Trust FundThe debate over solutions to a depleted TTF appears to haveended, as the fiscal cliff of the state’s highway program inchescloser. The solution is an increase in the gas tax, whether at thepump or at the refinery; a tax-raising initiative is imperative forthe health of our state’s infrastructure. Meanwhile, the total duration of the spending program and identification of likely

legislative supporters remain as ongoing issues. As an industry,we have spent a great deal of time and resources underscoringthe importance of New Jersey’s bridge and highway network, andthe consequences of inaction or one-shot band-aids to temporar-ily fix a depleted program. While public awareness and opinionof this critical issue have varied, ACCNJ remains united with ourlabor partners in highlighting the importance of a sustainablestate highway spending program. The TTF-funding issues remain very fluid in the Statehouse heading into mid-May, andwe will update members as action is taken, and our collective efforts yield dividends.

Tax Fairness Initiatives The Governor has stated repeatedly that with any tax increase,such as the gas tax discussed above, the Legislature must con-template tax cuts to create a tax fairness environment. Therefore,two initiatives – “Estate Tax Phase-Out” and “Personal Income &Retirement Exclusion Reductions” have surfaced as tax parity off-sets. The measures would gradually eliminate the estate tax onfamily assets over the next five years. Currently, NJ’s estate tax istriggered when family assets are passed down with values of$675,000 or greater. The bill as drafted increases the thresholdamount to $1 million in FY2017, and increases the threshold by$1.5 million over the next four years. The estate tax issue is onethat affects many in our high-cost-of-living state, and raising cur-rent thresholds with a built-in roadmap to a complete phase-outof the estate tax is a responsible approach that could gain strongbi-partisan support. The retirement income exclusion concept isan initiative that would enhance tax breaks on retirement in-come by raising the exclusion rates for retirees by 50-100%. The higher exemptions on state taxes would cover pension income, IRAs and annuity withdrawals. Although these tax policy bills have just begun to make their way through the legislative process in Trenton, there is a direct nexus betweenthem and State transportation funding. Please stayed tuned tothis debate as the summer months get closer, because the definition of “fairness” may be on a sliding scale.

Legislature Tackles Critical Policy Issues By: Michael A. Travostino, Government Affairs Director


New Jersey’s 2016 Ballot Referendums As Atlantic City continued to make efforts to get the city’s fiscalhealth in order either through deep budget cuts or through amandated state take-over of the city’s finances, legislative leader-ship explored the possibility of expanding gaming in other areasof the State. Ultimately, enabling legislation sponsored by SenatePresident Sweeney was re-introduced and received final passagein the current legislative session that will position the constitu-tional amendment on November 2016’s ballot for NJ voters to de-cide if gaming should be expanded to Northern New Jersey with a

percentage of revenues generated at the new gaming facilities tobe dedicated to Atlantic City’s immediate health and future.

The second important ballot question in New Jersey in 2016will ask voters if they agree to dedicate all revenue from theState’s motor fuel tax and petroleum products gross receipts taxto the Transportation Trust Fund. Approval of this ballot measure will result in closing a small loophole around diesel fuel taxes, and will ensure that any potential revenue raisedthrough ongoing TTF-reauthorization negotiations will be solelydedicated to NJ’s transportation infrastructure.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PERMIT CASINO GAMBLING INTWO COUNTIES OTHER THAN ATLANTIC COUNTYDo you approve amending the Constitution to permit casinogambling in two additional counties in this State? At present,casino gambling is allowed only in Atlantic City in Atlantic County.

Only one casino in each of the two counties would be permitted. Each casino is to be located in a town that is at least 72 miles from Atlantic City. The amendment would allowcertain persons to apply first for a casino license.

INTERPRETIVE STATEMENTAt present, casino gambling is allowed only in Atlantic City inAtlantic County. This amendment would allow the Legislatureto pass laws to permit casino gambling to take place in twoother counties in this State.

Only one casino in each of the two counties would be permit-ted. Each casino is to be located in a town that is at least 72miles from Atlantic City. The amendment would allow certainpersons to apply first for a casino license.

The laws passed by the Legislature would provide for the loca-tion and type of casinos and the licensing and taxing of theoperation and equipment.

The amendment provides that the State’s share of revenuefrom the operation of the two casinos and of the casinos inAtlantic City would be used for programs and property tax re-lief for senior citizens and disabled residents. It would also beused for the recovery, stabilization, or improvement of AtlanticCity and other purposes as provided by law. Lesser portionswould be used to aid the thoroughbred and standardbredhorsemen in this State and each town and county in which acasino is located.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO DEDICATE ADDITIONAL REVENUES TO STATE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMDo you approve amending the Constitution to dedicate allrevenue from the State motor fuels tax and petroleum prod-ucts gross receipts tax to the Transportation Trust Fund?

This amendment would provide that an additional three cents of the current motor fuels tax on diesel fuel, which is notdedicated for transportation purposes, be dedicated to theTransportation Trust Fund. In doing so, the entire State tax on diesel fuel would be used for transportation purposes. The entire State tax on gasoline is currently dedicated to theTransportation Trust Fund and used for transportation purposes.

The amendment would also provide that all of the revenuefrom the current State tax on petroleum products gross re-ceipts be dedicated to the Transportation Trust Fund. In doingso, the entire State tax on petroleum products gross receiptswould be used for transportation purposes.

This amendment does not change the current tax on motorfuels or petroleum products gross receipts.

INTERPRETIVE STATEMENTThis amendment would dedicate all of the revenue from theState tax on motor fuels to the Transportation Trust Fund. Thecurrent dedication is 10.5 cents per gallon on gasoline anddiesel fuel. The amendment would include an additional threecents of the tax on diesel fuel that is not currently dedicated.The total revenue from the tax on motor fuels this fiscal year isestimated to be $541 million.

The amendment also dedicates all of the revenue from the taxon gross receipts of the sale of petroleum products to theTransportation Trust Fund. The current minimum dedication is$200 million per year. This fiscal year, the revenue from the taxon gross receipts of the sale of petroleum products is esti-mated to be $215 million.

The amendment does not change the current tax on motorfuels or petroleum products gross receipts. The dedication tothe Transportation Trust Fund ensures that the revenue is onlyused for transportation purposes.

Citizens Take On Constitutional AmendmentsNow it’s time for members of the construction industry – along with all New Jersey citizens – to decide policy as determinedby the constitution. Two amendments to the State Constitution will appear on the ballot on November 8, 2016, to be approved or rejected by voters. In May, language for each was finalized.


Legal Update

If you are a contractor contributing to a multiemployer pension plan, at some point you may have asked yourself:“What happens if this pension plan runs out of money? Will my

company be left holding the bag?”Many contractors may have hadthis fear because historically, employers contributing to a multi-employer pension plan that incurred a funding deficiency couldbe required to pay a pro rata share of that deficiency, and couldalso be assessed an excise tax equal to 100% of that amount if thedeficiency was not cured. Having to make a large, unexpectedpayment to an underfunded pension plan could then create financial difficulties for a contributing contractor.

Fortunately, over the past decade, Congress has taken steps toaddress the funding crisis of multiemployer pension plans by enacting the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (“PPA”) and, mostrecent, by enacting the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of2014 (“MPRA”). Both the PPA and MPRA establish proceduresthat help underfunded multiemployer pension plans return tofull funding and provide relief for contributing employers.

Pension Protection ActUnder the PPA, contractors contributing to an underfundedmultiemployer pension plan can avoid the minimum fundingcharges and the excise tax described above if the Trustees and thecontractors comply with certain PPA requirements designed tore-fund that plan.

The PPA created categories of multiemployer pension planscalled “zones” that are based on a plan’s funded percentage. Apension plan that is substantially underfunded (less than 80%funded) or that is projected to incur a minimum funding defi-ciency within seven (7) years is considered an “endangered” (or“yellow zone”) plan. If a plan is more seriously underfunded (lessthan 65% funded) and is projected to have a funding deficiency infive (5) years, it is considered in “critical” status (or “red zone”).

If a plan is either a yellow zone or red zone plan, the Trusteesand contributing employers must adopt and comply with eithera funding improvement plan (for endangered plans) or a rehabil-itation plan (for critical status plans). In either case, the fundingplan may include benefit accrual reductions and/or contributionrate increases that are projected to improve the financial health

of the plan. The Trustees of red zone plans are also required toprohibit lump-sum distributions and may choose to eliminateearly retirement benefits (so-called “adjustable benefits”).

If a red zone plan continues to decline after it has taken all rea-sonable measures to adjust its rehabilitation plan, the Trusteesmay convert to a so-called “safety valve” rehabilitation plan. Asafety valve rehabilitation plan is projected simply to forestall,rather than avoid, the plan’s insolvency. Under a safety valve rehabilitation plan, the contributing employers are relieved ofthe responsibility for fully re-funding that plan’s liabilities aslong as they do not withdraw from the plan.

In addition, as long as the Trustees and the contributing em-ployers of a red zone plan adopt and comply with a rehabilitationplan, the minimum funding charges and the excise taxes that areotherwise assessable to contributing employers are suspended.

These provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 arevital to sustaining not only the multiemployer pension plansthemselves, but also to sustaining the businesses of the contrac-tors contributing to those plans. Although the PPA’s fundingprovisions were set to expire at the end of 2014, Congress thank-fully understood the need for continuing this relief for distressedmultiemployer plans and made these funding rules permanentin the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014.

Multiemployer Pension Reform Act In addition to making the PPA’s funding rules permanent, theMPRA added further assistance for underfunded multiemployerpension plans that is also beneficial for contributing employers.

For example, the MPRA allows a plan that is projected to reachthe red zone within five (5) years to adopt critical status immedi-ately in order to eliminate lump-sum payouts and adjustablebenefits (e.g., subsidized early retirement benefits).

The MPRA also added an additional zone for pension plansthat are projected to become insolvent: “critical and declining”status or “deeply red” zone. A plan will be critical and decliningif the plan is projected to become insolvent within 14 years (or 19years if the ratio of inactive to active participants exceeds 2 to 1or if the plan is less than 80% funded).

Are Contractors Liable If aMultiemployer Plan Fails?By Elizabeth Schlax, Esq., and Jack Widman, Esq., Susanin Widman & Brennan, PC


Plans that are certified as critical and declining may reducebasic accrued benefits, including for current retirees (with someexceptions), by an amount that will allow the plan to avoid insol-vency, up to a maximum reduction that pays benefits at 110% ofthe PBGC insured level. The ability to reduce accrued benefits al-lows these plans to stop accelerating their own demise by paying100 cents on the dollar in benefits to current retirees when it mayonly have 50 cents for each promised benefit dollar.

At least three plans – Teamsters Central States, Southeast andSouthwest Areas Pension Plan, Iron Workers Local 17 PensionPlan, and Teamsters Local 469 Pension Plan – have already ap-plied to the Department of Treasury for permission to reduce ac-crued benefits with the goal of avoiding insolvency.

If after reducing accrued benefits at the maximum reductionlevel, a critical and declining status plan still will not avoid insol-vency, the MPRA provides that the plan can apply to the PensionBenefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) to partition the plan.The PBGC will allow a plan to determine the discrete amount ofliabilities that will cause the plan to become insolvent, and to theminimum extent necessary, a plan may partition those liabilitiesoff into a separate plan. The PBGC will then pay the benefits forparticipants in the partitioned plan (up to the maximum insuredlevel, with the plan sponsor funding the excess of the promisedbenefit, including any reductions). Important for employers con-

tributing to a plan that has been partitioned, as long as the em-ployer continues contributing to the plan for a period of at leastten (10) years after the date of the partition, if that employer laterwithdraws from the plan, the employer will be assessed with-drawal liability only with respect to the now-solvent portion ofthe plan and not with respect to the partitioned plan.

Although the MPRA is seen in some circles as controversial,the tools that the MPRA provides to seriously distressed multi-employer pension plans ultimately help those plans avoid insol-vency, which allows the participants and beneficiaries of thoseplans to maintain at least some level of benefits. For contractors,the MPRA provides some assurance that they can continue tocontribute to multiemployer plans with less fear that their re-sponsibility to “fix” a funding crisis for those plans could imposesignificant unexpected financial obligations on their businesses.

Taken together, the Pension Protection Act and theMultiemployer Pension Reform Act contain provisions thatmake it less likely contractors will be in the position of askingthemselves the question posed at the beginning of this article:“What happens if this pension plan runs out of money?” Ultimately,even if a plan does become insolvent, the plan can continue tooperate and pay reduced benefits with the assistance of PBGCloans – liability for repayment of those loans is limited to theplan and not the contributing employers.


Labor Management Cooperative

Prevailing wage laws are the great equalizer of the construction industry. If the cost of the resources – labor,equipment and materials – are all roughly the same for

each bidding contractor, then the business that is productiveand/or willing to bid with a lower profit margin should win thework. In theory this is what should happen, and in theory thisshould benefit the union contractor whose skilled, productive organization and workforce should outperform its counterparts.

But what if the competition cheats? What if they don’t pay theprevailing wages? How can a contractor win work when he or shemay be placed at a competitive disadvantage? It is an issue thatgreatly concerns the Laborers’ International Union in NewJersey, so much so that, along with its signatory contractors,LIUNA has established an organization to monitor prevailingwage—The New Jersey Alliance for Competitive Contracting(ACC), a department of LIUNA’s labor-management fund, theNew Jersey Laborers’ – Employers’ Cooperation and EducationTrust (NJ LECET).

With a staff that crisscrosses the state pulling payroll records,interviewing workers, observing work practices, and communi-cating with project owners and enforcement agencies, LIUNA’sACC has over the past few years helped debar dozens upondozens of unscrupulous contractors and helped collect well over $6 million in fines and back wages.

Yet make no mistake about it, the ACC knows some contrac-tors continue to scam the system through misclassification and

fraudulent paperwork, which is why vigilance and a presence inthe field are so important. The New Jersey Department of Laborand Workforce Development is committed to enforcing prevail-ing wage laws, but with a limited staff, prevailing wage monitor-ing by groups like LIUNA help by catching cheaters and alertingauthorities when problems are evident.

ACC Director Lou Sancio explained that prevailing wage monitoring is an investment in creating a level playing field.“We’ve gotten bad contractors removed from jobs; we havehelped workers recoup lost wages through the legal system; andwe have kept other, suspect contractors, honest,” he confirms.

Yet Sancio concedes that for all the victories that have led tofines, back pay and debarment from public projects, the work of the ACC is not done.

“With competition so fierce, contractors are sharpening theirpencils looking for ways to gain an advantage, even if it meansgaming the system,” said LIUNA Vice President and EasternRegional Manager Raymond M. Pocino. He explained that prevailing wages were created more than a century ago to bringstability and predictability to a region’s construction industrythrough minimum wage standards that are tied to the cost-of-living of an area, but they remain an area fertile for exploitation.

Compounding the issue are local officials who either don’t understand or don’t care about prevailing wage enforcement.Recently retired field representative Bob Klein was taken aback

For LIUNA, Prevailing Wage Enforcement isAbout Competitiveness By Robert Lewandowski, NJLIUNA Communications Director


after an official dismissed his warnings about a prevailing wageviolator by insisting, “So what? That saves me money.”

But it doesn’t necessarily save money and even if it did, usingthat logic, the public sector could turn its back on many more ofits laws and regulations. Imagine the cost-savings for the prisonsystem if towns and cities decided not to arrest anyone. The law isthe law and the Alliance for Competitive Contracting and LIUNAare committed to ensuring it is being followed by all contractors.

In addition to cost factors, recent research from the IllinoisEconomic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois concluded that prevailing wage laws do nothing to inhibit com-petition. Without them, however, states have seen an uptick inout-of-state employers and workers performing constructionwork, a drop in economic output, and an outflow of money thatleaves with those same contractors and workers. Prevailingwages stabilize an important part of the regional economy.

Help Needed from ACCNJ ContractorsKeeping an eye on every project throughout the state is a daunting,some would say impossible task, but contractors can alert LIUNA’sACC of projects where they believe there are irregularities.

“When you are outbid and you know the number you submitted is a good tight number, let us know,” said Sancio. “We can put that job on our watch list and be there from firstshovel to the last punch list.”

Sancio explained that just holding a contractor who plannedto undercut wages liable to the letter of the law can be a benefit.“Sometimes we catch contractors in violation, other times theyare aware of our presence and behave themselves,” he said. “Inthe latter case, if they based their bid on lower wages that theycannot pay, they are forced to absorb the additional costs.”

A call or email to the LIUNA ACC with a job description and locationare all that is needed to open an investigation. For more informationor to report a questionable job or contractor, call 888 -314 2555 oremail Lou Sancio at [email protected]. All communications areconsidered confidential.



The Carpenter Contract Trust:A Contractor’s Marketing “Dream Team”By Kevin McCabe, President

Aprevious article in New Jersey Construction outlined themission and goals of the Carpenter Contractor TrustNY/NJ (CCT). This article provides a more recent update

on our progress and the initiatives we are undertaking. Most important, it allows you, our contractor members, to analyzeyour objectives and assess how the CCT’s marketing and promotional efforts can better serve you to reach those goals.

Geographic ConsiderationsWhile the merger between New York and New Jersey is com-plete, we constantly study the landscape to see how we can betterassist our union carpenters and contractors. What has decidedlychanged is the enlargement of our landscape in recent months.As our Executive Secretary-Treasurer John Ballantyne noted in arecent message to the membership, “We are now a Council thatrepresents more than 40,000 highly skilled and hard-workingcraftworkers who deliver top-quality construction. Our marketsinclude all of New Jersey and Delaware, plus regions inMaryland, Pennsylvania and New York State. In addition, theTrade Show Carpenters of Local 491, welcomed into the NRCC inNovember, cover all of Maryland and Washington, DC, plus keyregions in Northern Virginia.”

Our precise role under the new geographic configuration and increased membership, consisting of both carpenters andcontractors, is still undefined, but the CCT has the flexibility topivot to meet new challenges that might arise.

Access to the CCT TeamRecently, a contractor friend asked me, “How can I better use theCCT to raise my company’s profile, deepen existing connectionsand help increase my business?”

It was a timely question. I explained he has a built-in team ofexperts comprised of the CCT staff and our consultants who areprepared to meet with and offer not just advice but hands-on as-sistance. I noted that he has access, through his membership, toa plethora of experts in the marketing sphere, who can help himwith the creation of collateral material, videos, advertisements,public relations initiatives and social media outreach. I alsomade one other suggestion. I explained that no one had a betterunderstanding of his business, top to bottom, than he did. Thatincludes knowledge of personnel, challenges and projects. Inother words, you understand best what makes your company different and exceptional. We can help you market the message.

One of my constant refrains, especially to our contractor mem-bers, is don’t be modest when it comes to informing us of projectsyou’ve completed, especially if it required “special circumstances”or challenges that might not be obvious. This merits attention. If your personnel or company has received an award or if an employee does something extraordinary as a volunteer outsidethe work environment, it is worthy of our consideration. Allow us to help promote these projects and individuals.

Past SuccessesThe CCT had a year of successes of which we were pleased, but I always remind our group we don’t live in the past. Some of our highlights for 2015 include increased video productionhighlighting the successes and activities of the members. Wehave increased our social media campaign through Facebook,LinkedIn and Twitter, together with timely email blasts. Membersreceived media coverage in various publications through our public relations efforts. Our initiatives last year also included


attending the SPECS show in Las Vegas and the InternationalCouncil of Shopping Centers. These efforts went beyond simply“showing up.” We were able to establish contacts we hope will develop into future projects. And we concluded a successful first-year recruitment in our pre-apprenticeship program with ThePuerto Rican Association For Human Development Inc.

A Look to the FutureOn our agenda for this year is an expansion of collateral material. We are in the process of completing an InteriorSystems Brochure as well as a Military Brochure we will use toward recruitment efforts of former members of the armedforces. We also recently completed a brochure for Sisters of theBrotherhood to help with their recruitment efforts, and are inthe process of creating an Equity Brochure, which explains ourpotential financial participation with developers that might qualify as partners. We are also planning to create a videobrochure and a “developers” success story, one that highlights a project of unusual appeal.

We hope to apply Facebook/Quickclips to our marketing efforts and implement a 360 video at one of our training centers.(A special camera allows the simultaneous recording of a

360-degree view, allowing viewers to pan and rotate the view.)We are also examining the possibility of an interactive app thatwill serve as a unifying brand for our contractors and carpenters.

Finally, we are implementing a major effort to expand our outreach to women, minorities and the military. I have spokenand written before about our intentions and efforts to remain in front of the curve regarding our marketing efforts. This increased focus on outreach is a demonstrative example of ourrecognition that the demographics of our society are changing.The inclusion of these demographics will have a positive andlong-lasting effect on our workforce. As an organization, wemust be at the recruitment forefront of this transformation.

Restating the MissionThe list of our activities, both past and current efforts, always circles back to our mission: promoting you in the construction industry. If you examine what we have done and what we intendto do, you can better understand how we can work together to assist you in reaching your marketing goals. That’s why we’re here.

I look forward to hearing from you.

For more information, visit www.cctnynj.org.



ELEC and Local 825 Combine to Avert TTF BankruptcyBy Mark Longo, Executive Director

Road-to-Repair Drives to Overcome Political Detours and RoadblocksNo other organization has worked harder to forge a funding solution for New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund than theEngineers Labor-Employer Cooperative (ELEC).

For nearly two years, the labor-management organization ofIUOE Local 825, ELEC, has waged a targeted campaign to spurelected officials to action.

Combined Leverage“We have a built-in network of advocates,” said Greg Lalevee,ELEC’s Chairman. “When you combine our 6,500 members withtheir families and friends, we have a formidable number of advo-cates who care very much about transportation construction.”

ELEC’s reach extends even farther, thanks to three years ofbuilding relationships with like-minded business groups, tradeorganizations and coalitions.

“We partner with more than 30 groups throughout the state,”said Kate Gibbs, who is responsible for business development atELEC. “Our combined influence has made us one of the more effective advocacy organizations in New Jersey.”

Social MediaIn addition to its personal and business ties, ELEC has also spentmore than two years building a dedicated following on Facebookand other social media.

“ELEC’s Facebook page now has more than 5,100 followers andour posts reach more than 100,000 people a week,” said Gibbs,who drives the social media program.

In the last six months, ELEC has served more than 3.4 millionpostings on Facebook, reaching more than 800,000 individuals,generating 75,000 clicks and 160,000 video views, she said.

Rocky Road, Krackel and Tylenol®Banking on a sense of humor to help convey their message, ELECand Local 825 created a “Washington Survival Kit,” and placedone on every seat on this year’s Train Ride To Washington inFebruary. To ensure attention for its message, the kit containedRocky Road chocolate chews, a Krackel candy bar (for our crackingroads and bridges), Life Savers (just in case) and Tylenol for all theheadaches caused by commuting.

Unfortunately, the journey isn’t over yet. Discussions are taking place in the halls of Trenton and in communities through-out the state.

The stakes are high. They include the continuing deteriorationof our infrastructure, “hidden” costs of inaction – such as detours, accidents, automotive repairs – and, ultimately, increased property taxes, as counties and municipalities are left to fund road maintenance on their own.

“It is unacceptable to think that our elected officials will notjoin together to solve this problem,” said Lalevee. “Failure is not an option. And time is running out.”



Safety Trained Supervisor Construction® Certification is a Game-ChangerBy Kevin Hilton, Chief Executive Officer

On a jobsite, it’s important for employees to exercise safe work practices every day. The Iron Workers and IMPACT are working toward having more trained

supervisors on jobsites to help make sure everyone goes homesafely. IMPACT, the Iron Workers’ labor-management arm, istraining and certifying a new breed of safety champions in theironworking industry through the Safety Trained SupervisorConstruction® (STSC®) certification program, a Board ofCertified Safety Professionals (BCSP) certification.

“We anticipate significant improvement in safety performanceas more and more ironworkers attain this certification,” says Bill Brown, IMPACT’s contractor co-chair and CEO of Ben HurConstruction Company in St. Louis. “This is based on the resultsachieved by other safety leaders in the industry.”

Launched in November 2014, this program is yet another steptoward the goal the Iron Workers and their employers have ofachieving zero safety incidences and consists of an IMPACT-sponsored STSC® Prep Course, followed by the STSC® certifica-tion test, administered by BCSP. The credential is successfullyresulting in a more safety-conscious and skilled team of iron-worker supervisors.

“A jobsite is never ready for work until everyone working it focuses on safety,” says Eric Dean, Iron Workers general president.“Utilizing our robust training offerings will ensure that our iron-workers will have all the tools necessary to protect themselves onthe job and return home safely each day. The certification furthersour credentials and standing in the construction community.”

The STSC® certification is appropriate for personnel who areresponsible for maintaining safe conditions and practices onconstruction jobsites. It requires applicants to meet minimumeducation and experience requirements. In addition, they must

have 30 hours of safety, health and environmental training,along with two years of supervisory experience or four years ofwork experience in construction.

In the last two decades, the responsibilities of safety personnelon construction sites have continued to expand. Safety issueshave become more complex, and today’s safety supervisors arecontinually expected to be better-qualified. STSC® credentialholders are among the most highly trained, educated and experi-enced safety individuals in the construction industry.

To date 437 union ironworkers have achieved the STSC® credential, with seven courses already scheduled for the first half of 2016.

“We are thrilled to have had a high success rate for the STSC®exams,” says Cindy Menches, director of contractor training anddevelopment for IMPACT. “The industry recognizes the need forcertification to identify competency in the field of safety…theBCSP STSC® certification does that for the Iron Workers and ourcontractors.”

As CEO, I see clear evidence in other organizations that theSTSC® certification will aid ironworkers and our contractors inachieving the highest levels of safety on the job. For my part, Iwill continue to encourage both ironworkers and contractor representatives to seek this certification and achieve Zero.

More information about IMPACT’s Prep Course and fee reimbursement program for the STSC® certification is available at http://bit.ly/IMPACT-STSC. Visit ironworkers.org and impact-net.org to learn more about the Iron Workers or IMPACT. You may also visit the BCSP website at www.bcsp.org/STSC to learn about the certification.


HeadingLabor Management Cooperative

On March 24, 2016, I, along with NJBAC Secretary/Treasurer John Capo, had the honor of witnessing a part of history. At the BAC John Flynn National Training

Center in Bowie, Maryland, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez announced a long-anticipated improvement of the silica standardthat so affects our members, our industry and our health.

The following contains excerpts from a DOL news release witha quote from BAC President James Boland, plus comments fromLabor Secretary Perez at the Training Center.

USDOL Promulgates the Long-overdue Final Silica Rule

[Washington, D.C.] March 24, 2016 – US Labor Secretary Tom Pereztoday announced the promulgation of the long-overdue final silicarule. The new rule will prevent about 600 deaths and thousands of illnesses related to silica exposure each year. Secretary Perez made theannouncement in Bowie, Maryland, at the John J. Flynn BAC/IMIInternational Training Center.

The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers(BAC) has taken a leading role in working with community and industry partners, scientists and lawmakers to ensure adoption of thefinal rule. “This is a huge step forward for millions of workers in theUS, including BAC members who have suffered from silica dust exposure for generations,” BAC President James Boland said. “Manythanks to all our members who helped put a human face on the lossand illness associated with this occupational peril. Together, ourUnion and the labor movement have improved and will continue toimprove safety and health protections for our workers. Together, wecan make workers’ lives better. And together, we will continue the fight to protect this final standard.”

To raise public awareness of the deadly consequences of silica expo-sure and support the final adoption of OSHA’s proposed silica rule,BAC launched a “Stop Silica from Killing Again” campaign, and itsmembers also testified at OSHA hearings sharing their personal sto-ries on dangers of silica exposure, among many other efforts…

Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez Remarks

We’re here to re-affirm a very basic value proposition: that everyoneshould be able to come home safe and healthy at the end of a hardday’s work…that no one should have to give his or her life to earn a liv-ing. Silica has been undermining that fundamental right for too long.

…In the early 1930s, in the thick of the Great Depression, thousandsof people desperate for a job – many of them African-Americans fromthe South – traveled to a town called Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, formigrant work on a tunnel project called Hawk’s Nest. They were or-dered to drill through a mountain made up entirely of silica, withoutany meaningful protection at all. It turned out that the employer knewhow dangerous it was – when engineers and company representativeswent to the site, they wore masks. The employers figured that the longlatency period between exposure and illness would make it hard forthem to be held accountable.

But the silica exposure was so intense that there was no latency –workers were dying right there on the spot, many of them hundreds ofmiles away from their families. It was a horrific scene. Bodies werediscarded in nearby fields, without proper identification or notifica-tion to loved ones, with cornstalks as gravestones. The total number of deaths was easily in the hundreds, possibly in the thousands...

BricklayersApplaud “Long Overdue” Silica RuleBy Richard Tolson, Regional Vice President


The Gauley Bridge disaster led to a public outcry and congressionalhearings. It eventually led Labor Secretary Frances Perkins to convenea National Conference on Silicosis in 1936, which included a repre-sentative from the AFL....

Now at long last, we’ve mustered the will to do something about it.Today, finally, we’re rising to the challenge and taking the bold actionthis problem demands.

…I also want to emphasize that the rule provides flexibility to em-ployers – small businesses in particular – as they implement the newstandard. We’ve done something new and different here, giving theconstruction industry two completely different ways to comply. Fortheir most common tasks, we’ve specified exactly the best way to pro-tect workers doing those tasks. If employers follow that option, that’sall they have to do to limit exposures for those tasks.

But we also know businesses can be innovative and creative. Sowe’ve given these construction employers the same option general in-dustry and maritime employers have: to do what they think works bestfor their businesses, as long as they periodically monitor exposure andensure their approach keeps exposures at or below the 50 microgramlimit. I think this demonstrates that we’re listening to employers, thatwe’re not imposing one-size-fits all solutions, that we want to makeour rules as easy to follow as possible.

…Every day, proud and resilient men and women do strenuous workto operate foundries; to build our homes brick-by-brick; to maintainour sidewalks, railroads, highways and shipyards. They deserve betterthan to have their lungs irreversibly compromised or destroyed. Theydeserve the opportunity to support their families and live out theirhighest and best dreams. They deserve a chance to live into retirement– and to spend that retirement playing with grandchildren instead oftethered to an oxygen tank. They deserve the most exacting standardsfeasible to protect their health and safety.

This rule is decades in the making and long overdue. It can savelives. It will save lives. And I’m proud to be a part of it. John and I were honored to participate in this event. I was

moved to watch the faces of 40 or so apprentices as they recog-nized their health is important and that they will face a safer fu-ture than those that came before them! I am grateful to myInternational Union, supported by others in the Building Trades,in bringing about this welcome change.

In Solidarity,

Rich TolsonDirector, Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Administrative District Council, New Jersey – Local Nos. 4 & 5and Regional Vice President of BAC


HeadingWelcome New Members

ACTIVEGrace Industries LLCGrace Industries, a subsidiary of Haugland Group LLC, providesheavy highway, bridge construction, earthwork, drainage andother heavy/civil services. Represented in ACCNJ by ExecutiveVice President Richard Weyer, the company is located at 11Commercial Street, Plainview NY 11803. Staff can be reached byphone, 516.336.6720, and email, [email protected] on the web at www.hauglandgroupllc.com.

Jersey PrecastJersey Precast of Hamilton Township (Mercer County), offersprecast and prestressed concrete products. Michael Rosner, Sales Manager, represents the firm in the Association. He may be reached by phone, 609.689.3700, and email, [email protected]. The company address is 853Nottingham Way, Hamilton Twp NJ 08638, and the web addressis www.jerseyprecast.com.

McCrossin Foundations LLCMcCrossin Foundations of Bellefonte, PA, offers the most comprehensive geotechnical solutions and services in the Mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley and Northeast regions, includingdrilling and pile driving. Regional Manager Martin McDermottserves as the company representative in the Association. He canbe reached via email, [email protected], and phone,814.355.4848. Contact McCrossin at the corporate headquarters,2780 Benner Pike, Bellefonte PA 16823, and on the web atwww.mccrossinfoundations.com.

ASSOCIATEArthur J. Gallagher & Co.Arthur J. Gallagher specializes in construction risk management,focused on developing surety, insurance and risk managementprograms for contractors. The firm has offices nationwide, andJim Gorga, Senior Vice President/Director of the New JerseyConstruction Practice, is located in Morris County at 200 Jefferson Park, Whippany NJ 07981. He can be reached by phone, 973.921.8286, and email, [email protected]. VisitArthur J. Gallagher on the web at www.ajg.com/construction.

Haftek Concrete Washout SystemsHaftek of Paterson (Passaic County) offers a safe, responsible, environmentally conscious and cost-effective alternative to theold worksite concrete washout sites, becoming a leader in concrete washout removal and recycling. The firm is representedin ACCNJ by Roger Haftek, President, who can be reached byphone at 973.942.3131, and by email at [email protected] corporate address is 179 Ryerson Avenue, Paterson NJ07502. For a demonstration of how Haftek systems work, visitwww.concretewashoutnjny.com.

ACCNJ welcomes five new members who joined in March 2016.

We invite you to visit their websites and look forward to seeing their

representatives at our upcoming events.


Member News

Bayshore RecyclingValerie Montecalvo, President of Bayshore, was honored as a2016 Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of the JerseyShore at its annual Women of Distinction & CommunityPartners Gala on April 1, 2016, at Eagle Oaks Country Club inFarmingdale. In the honoree biography, the Girl Scouts extolledValerie’s advocacy of environmentalism, including the installa-tion of Bayshore’s 10,000-panel rooftop solar array that generates40% of the company’s energy.

WithumWithum announces its 2016 State of the Firm Rebrandwith a new logo that extends the brand promise – to be bold, innovativeand accessible – for clients, community and staff. The logo is “a positive expression of our underlying values – what we call the Withum Way.” The logo also contains a + sign, “the universalsymbol in the accounting profession representing ‘being in theblack’ and positive results.” While WithumSmith+Brown is stillthe firm’s official corporate name, it will now be marketed as“Withum,” the name most people use to refer to the firm already.Withum invites you to watch the new brand come to life onYouTube: https://youtu.be/j5aD71rRo68

Connell Foley LLPConnell Foley is pleased to announce Philip F. McGovern Jr., alongtime real estate and commercial transactions partner as wellas managing partner of the firm’s Jersey City office, was electedfirm Managing Partner as of January 1, 2016. Mr. McGovern succeeds Michael X. McBride, whoserved in the role from 2010through 2015 and who will remainChair of the firm’s ConstructionGroup. Mr. McGovern joinedConnell Foley as a law clerk in 1983while in law school. He joined thefirm as an associate in 1985 and became a partner of the firm in1993. Since that time he has heldseveral leadership roles, includingserving on the firm’s StrategicPlanning Committee, HiringCommittee, ManagementCommittee and Executive Committee. In the late 1990s he be-came a strong proponent of opening an office in Jersey City, as he saw the potential for real estate and other business develop-ment in the greater Hudson County area. In 2002, Connell Foleyopened its Jersey City office, with Mr. McGovern leading the efforts. The office has been a tremendous success for the firmand has been involved in a majority of the significant real estatedevelopment projects in that city.

J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc.J. Fletcher Creamer has an admirable safety record, for which the firm has received multiple awards. Most recently, J. FletcherCreamer received UTCA Safety Awards in 2014 and 2015 forContractor with Over 200,000 Craftworker Hours, and UtilityContractors Association Safety Awards in 2014 and 2015, also in the category of Contractor with Over 200,000 CraftworkerHours. J. Fletcher Creamer celebrates 93 years in business in2016, and proudly points to 27 consecutive years on the ENR Top 400 Contractor list.

Schiavone Construction Co. LLCSchiavone is proud to tell us news of two New Jersey Alliance forAction 2015 New Jersey Leading Infrastructure Project Awards,one for the firm’s Route 72 Bridge project and the second for theRoute 37 Bridge project.

In other achievements, Schiavone received its three-year recertification in the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 programs.

Phillip F. McGovern, newManaging Partner at ConnellFoley LLP in Roseland.

Valerie Montecalvo of Bayshore Recycling (second from left) was honored asa 2016 Woman of Distinction in April 2016 by the Girl Scouts of the JerseyShore. With her, left to right, are Tom Hayes, Director of Customer Service atNew Jersey Natural Gas Co., co-chair of the event; Victoria Magliacane, Sr.VP of Sales & Service at Investor’s Bank, co-chair of the event; and KelseyRiordan, Emcee.


Member News

JR Prisco, Inc.JR Prisco of Summit is pleased to announce John T. Quinn hasjoined the firm as Senior Project Manager. John, with more than20 years’ experience from the ground up, including as SeniorProject Manager and Vice President of Development, will focuson the firm’s expanding operations.

Foley, Inc.Foley shares news of recent personnelmoves in its Piscataway headquarters.Jeff Merle, Vice President ofMachinery Sales, announced two promotions in the MachineryDivision: Jared Briesch has been promoted to Used Equipment andRental Manager; and Lenny DeJesushas been promoted to Used and RentalAssistant. Ed Gudaitis, Vice Presidentof Foley Rents, announced BrianVigilante has been promoted to RentalServices Sales Manager.

Also at Foley…While the event will occur before this issue ofNew Jersey Construction is published, Foley wants itsGovernmental Customers to know of its Cooperative PurchasingEvent, scheduled for June 16 and designed to review the details ofa cooperative purchasing agreement, how it works, how organi-zations can benefit from such agreements and how a companycan start the process. Representatives from the MiddlesexRegional Education Services Commission (MRESC), NationalJoint Powers Alliance (NJPA), the National IntergovernmentalPurchasing Alliance (National IPA) and Cat Financial lend theirexpertise for the four-hour program.

Hi Tech Data Floors Inc.ACCNJ gained a new neighbor in June2016 when Hi Tech Data Floors movedinto a new Raritan Center location at164 Northfield Avenue, Edison NJ08837. Members may contact RobertMcCrossan at 732.905.1799 [email protected]. The move comesas Hi Tech Data Floors celebrates 30years in business (1986-2016) andproudly announces these recent proj-ect achievements: Coach Headquartersat 10 Hudson Yards, 5 ManhattanWest, Google, Boston Consultingand SAP, all in New York City;Comcast Headquarters inPhiladelphia; and Memorial SloanKettering in Middletown NJ.

Tilcon New JerseyTilcon is proud to announce winning projects in the NAPAQuality in Construction Awards competition: Various roads inBergen County; Palisades Interstate Parkway in Bergen County; I-287 in Morris County; and Route 3 in Clifton. In addition,Tilcon received the NAPA 2015 Diamond Paving CommendationAward and NAPA 2015 Diamond Achievement Award.

Tilcon also reports its New Jersey corporate office has moved to Parsippany, and can be found at 9 Entin Road,Parsippany, NJ 07054.

Artist rendering of ComcastHQ in Philadelphia, aproject in the Hi Tech Data Floors portfolio.

Brian Vigilante, recentlypromoted to RentalServices Sales Manager atFoley, Inc.

Jared Briesch, new Used Equipment and Rental Manager, and Lenny DeJesus, new Used and Rental Assistant at Foley, Inc. Hi Tech Data Floors worked on the Coach Headquarters at 10 Hudson Yards

in New York City.


Member News

Railroad Construction Company, Inc.Railroad Construction turns 90!Established in 1926, Railroad ConstructionCompany celebrates 90 years in business.With its roots in servicing local industrywith dependable, quality railroad trackconstruction and maintenance, today the company has becomeone of the most reputable general contractors on the East Coast.The firm’s management attributes its growth and success in ex-panding its disciplines to the dedication of its family of co-work-ers and the trust and loyalty of customers.

Railroad continues to grow in 2016, announcing its new location covering the Philadelphia area: 10 Industrial Highway,Building O, Lester PA 19029, phone 610.616.3783.

In personnel news, Railroad welcomed Jack Tobin, PE, as Vice President in September 2015. Jack brings 30 years of experience in the heavy and highway construction industry andconsiders himself blessed to have participated in some of themost significant heavy-construction projects built in the NewYork metropolitan area.

Wm. Blanchard Co.Wm. Blanchard Co. is pleased to report Barnabas Health has engaged the firm as Construction Manager for the West WingExpansion and Parking Garage project at Saint Barnabas MedicalCenter in Livingston. The West Wing Expansion, expected to becomplete by Fall 2017, consists of a new 241,000-square-foot, five-story addition, which will include a new main entrance to the hos-pital, lobby and registration area, private patient rooms, astate-of-the-art NICU andSame Day Surgery, amongother features. The 411-carprecast parking garage,scheduled to open this summer, will have a bridgeconnection to the West Wingand offer electric vehicle-charging stations. Extensivesite reconfiguration and util-ity work also accompany theconstruction of the project.

Wm. Blanchard Co. onsite at Saint Barnabas Medical Center inLivingston, serving as ConstructionManager for an expansive new addition and parking garage.


Giving Back

Moretrench Honored at Interfaith Food Pantry GalaMoretrench President and CEO and ACCNJ Board MemberArthur B. Corwin, P.E., received the Interfaith Food Pantry’sPartner Award on behalf of the company at the organization’sSpring Gala on April 8, 2016, in Whippany. The IFP, which servesMorris County, provides emergency and supplemental food toarea residents during times of need. Last year, the IFP distributedalmost a million pounds of food to more than 10,000 people.

Moretrench is a long-time supporter of the IFP and PremierSponsor of this year’s Gala. Through the years, employees have conducted numerous food drives, volunteered regularly with theThanksgiving program, participated in the Kitchen to Table pro-gram by cooking meals for homebound individuals, and providedmore than $40,000 in financial support through sponsorship, employee contributions and donations in lieu of client holiday gifts.

“Moretrench has always embodied a culture of community serv-ice,” notes Art Corwin. “There are those in our community who areemployed and work very hard yet still can’t make ends meet. We atMoretrench try to give the extra support they need to make it.”

Railroad Construction Company Rises to the Habitat ChallengeFor the past 21 years, Paterson Habitat for Humanity has challengedcorporations in the tristate area to send volunteers to Habitat work-sites. After the overwhelming response in 2014, the 2015 PatersonHabitat for Humanity Corporate Challenge was extended from twoweeks to four. In June 2015, Railroad Construction once again participated, sending 11 volunteers to Paterson’s 4th Ward.

Under the direction of the Habitat Project Manager andSuperintendent, the Railroad team performed basic carpentry,concrete prep work and general site maintenance for a three-story home. In the street-level garage, stone and specialStyrofoam fill was laid in preparation for the pouring of the concrete floor. The second story was framed and stringers werehung for future construction of the third floor.

Railroad Construction would like to recognize these employeesfor their hard work and enthusiasm (left to right in the photo):Evan Stracquadanio, Renato Sung, Lisa Tackach, Amy LaRocco,

Greg Fallon, Luz Carrillo, Patrick Rooney, Sally Ortiz, MichaelWierzbicki, Gene Sullivan and Rick Bunker.

“Railroad Construction Company proudly joins the 2016Paterson Habitat for Humanity Corporate Challenge,” declaresPresident Al Daloisio, who also serves as Chair of the ACCNJBoard of Directors. “We support the Habitat for Humanity’s mis-sion and we are committed to helping revitalize some ofPaterson’s oldest neighborhoods.”

Railroad Construction Employees Help “Stuff the Bus”Railroad Construction co-workers donated everything from back-packs to pen and pencils, paper to rulers to notebooks, helping“Stuff the Bus” prior to the 2015-2016 school year for the Boys &Girls Club of Paterson & Passaic. TheClub seeks to fill each backpack with$25 worth of school supplies. Thanksto the Club’s many benefactors, including the co-workers of RailroadConstruction, nearly 400 backpackswere distributed to “give children inneed the supplies to succeed.”

Team Tilcon Plays In the Snow for Special Olympics…A team of Tilcon volunteers from New Jersey and New Yorkplayed in the 10th Annual New York Snow Bowl flag footballtournament to benefit Special Olympics of New Jersey. Held atthe New York Giants Quest Diagnostics Training Center March4-6, 2016, the tournament raised more than $500,000.

…and Raises Money for the Susan G. Komen FoundationMeanwhile, Tilcon New Jersey/New York and some of the firm’ssister companies in the Northeast division raised more than$5,200 through various fundraising activities.

Railroad Construction Company employees volunteered with PatersonHabitat for Humanity in June 2015, working on a home in the city’s 4thWard as part of the organization’s Corporate Challenge.

Co-workers at Railroad ConstructionCompany helped “Stuff the Bus,” donatingbackpacks, supplies and time to the Boys & Girls Club of Paterson & Passaic.

Donations from Moretrench employees to the Interfaith Food Pantry inMorris County. Moretrench received a Partner Award from the IFP in April2016 in recognition of the tremendous service of Moretrench volunteers.


HeadingMembership Roster

ACTIVE MEMBERSA.P. Construction, Inc.

Abatement Unlimited Inc.

AbateTech

ABC Construction Contracting Inc.

Acoustical Services, Inc.

Aliano Brothers

Allan Briteway Electrical Utility Contractors Inc.

American Pile and Foundation LLC

J. Anthony Equipment Co.

Archer Steel Construction Inc.

Aspen Landscaping Contracting, Inc.

A-Tech Concrete

Atlantic Concrete Cutting, Inc.

Atlas Concrete

B & G Restoration, Inc.

Barr & Barr, Inc.

ER Barrett, Inc

Beach Electric Company Inc.

Beaver Concrete Construction Co., Inc.

Bergen Engineering Co.

Berkowsky & Associates, Inc.

BFC Ltd.

Wm. Blanchard Co.

Bond Brothers Inc.

Brennan Industrial Contractors

Bristol Environmental Inc.

Buck Construction

Case Foundation Company

CCA Civil, Inc.

Central Jersey Wrecking & Recycling Inc.

Century 21 Construction Corp.

CJ Drilling Inc.

Coastal Steel Construction of NJ, LLC.

Commodore Construction Corp

Complete Installation Inc.

J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc.

Crisdel Group, Inc.

E.E. Cruz & Company, Inc.

JR Cruz Corp.

Dale Construction Company Inc.

DeFoe Corp.

Degmor Inc.

DePalma Contracting Inc.

Diamond Huntbach Construction Corp,

Drill Construction Co., Inc.

Driscoll Construction Co., Inc.

Dryden Diving Company Inc.

Willard Dunham Const. Co.

Durr Mechanical Construction Inc.

EDA Construction Co.

EIC Associates, Inc.

Epic Management, Inc.

Everlasting Contracting

Exterior Wall & Building Consultants

Fabi Construction, Inc.

L. Feriozzi Concrete Company

Ferreira Construction Co., Inc.

Fitzpatrick & Associates, Inc.

Force Concrete & Masonry Corp.

Forsa Construction L.L.C.

Foster Contracting, Inc.

Foundation Structures, Inc.

Fromkin Brothers, Inc.

Furino & Sons Inc.

Gardner M. Bishop, Inc.

Louis Gargiulo Co., Inc.

Albert Garlatti Const. Co.

Gilbane Building Co.

Glasgow, Inc.

Global Installation Resources

Grace Industries LLC

Gramercy Group Inc.

Grove Construction LLC

Hall Building Corp.

Hall Construction Co., Inc.

Henegan Construction Co., Inc.

Charles J. Hesse, Inc.

Hi Tech Data Floors, Inc.

Hunt Construction Group

Hutton Construction, L.L.C.

IEW Construction Group

Intercounty Paving Associates, LLC.

JBL Electric Inc.

JK Crane

Jersey Precast

Jett Industries Inc.

Joseph Jingoli and Son, Inc.

JPC Group, Inc.

J-Track, LLC

JVN Restoration Inc.

Kiewit Infrastructure Co.

Kiska Construction Inc.

Lanyi & Tevald Inc.

C. LaTorre Construction LLC

John D. Lawrence, Inc.

Lend Lease, Inc.

Edward Leske Co.

Linde-Griffith Construction Co.

Linde-Griffith Construction Inc. II

LRC Development Corp.

Macedos Construction Co., Inc. of NJ

Madison Concrete Co.

Massett Building Co.

McCloskey Mechanical Contractors Inc.

McCrossin Foundations LLC

Meco Constructors Inc. & Affiliates


Merco, Inc.

Michels Corporation

Molba Construction, Inc.

Moretrench American Corp.

T. Moriarty & Son, Inc.

C. Moschella Builders, Inc.

Joseph A. Natoli Construction Corp.

Network Construction Co., Inc.

Nicholson Construction Company

Nordic Contracting Co., Inc.

Northeast Remsco Construction, Inc.

Nurminen Construction Corp.

Oradell Construction Co., Inc.

PAL Environmental Services

Pala Construction Corp.

Philadelphia D&M

B. Pietrini & Sons

Pinnacle Environmental Corp.

Pow-R-Save Inc.

Pravco Inc.

J.R. Prisco, Inc.

Prismatic Development Corporation

Pristine Services Inc.

ProContractor Inc.

Pro Construction Specialty Corp.

Railroad Construction Company, Inc.

RCC Builders & Developers

Reicon Group, LLC

Michael Riesz & Co.

Rocket Construction Co., Inc.

M.E. Sabosik Associates

Samap U.S.A. Corp.

Fred M. Schiavone Construction, Inc.

Schiavone Construction Co., LLC

Schleifer Associates, Inc.

Schnell Contracting Services LLC

L.M. Sessler Excavating & Wrecking, Inc.

J.F. Shea Construction, Inc.

Simpson & Brown

Skanska Koch

Skanska USA Building, Inc.

South State, Inc.

Sparwick Contracting, Inc.

Stanker & Galetto, Inc.

State Line Construction Co., Inc.

Sundance Construction Co., Inc.

Taas Contracting LLC

Tarheel Enterprises Inc.

Techno Acoustics Holdings, LLC

Tilcon New Jersey

Tishman Construction Corporation of NJ

Torcon, Inc.

Trevcon Construction Co., Inc.

TriState Construction Inc.

Turner Construction Co.

Tutor Perini

URS Corporation

USA Environmental Management

Vericon Construction Company LLC

Vollers

W.E.S. Works LLC

Wade Ray & Associates Construction

Walker Diving Underwater Construction LLC

Walsh Construction Company

TN Ward

Warrior Installations Group LLC

Waters & Bugbee, Inc.

Louis J. Weber & Associates, Inc.

Weeks Marine, Inc.

West Bay Construction Inc.

Wetlands, Inc.

Wyndham Construction, LLC

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSAdvanced Drainage Systems, Inc.

J.M. Ahle Co., Inc.

Alliant Insurance Services

Allied Fire & Safety Equipment Co., Inc.

Aluma Systems

Ambassador Medical Services, Inc.

American Global LLC

Chris Anderson Roofing & Erecting Co, Inc.

Aon Risk Solutions

Bayshore Recycling Corp.

Building Contractors Association of Atlantic County

Building Contractors Association of South Jersey

Binder Machinery Company

Boswell Engineering

Brent Material Company

C & H Agency

Campbell Foundry Company

Capital Steel Service, LLC.

CFS Steel Company

Clarity Testing Services Inc.

CNA Insurance Company

Codeworx VCL LLC

Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, PC

CohnReznick

Columbia Partners LLCInvestment Management

Connell Foley LLP

Conner Strong & Buckalew

Construction Claims Group

Construction Information Systems

Construction Risk Partners, LLC

Fred A. Cook Jr., Inc.

County Concrete Corp.


CTS Cement Manufacturing, Co.

Dale Group Insurance & Bonds

DGI-Menard

Eastern Concrete Materials, Inc.

Eii, Inc.

The Construction Advisory Team at Emerald Financial

Enterprise Fleet Management

Evergreen Recycling Solutions

Excelize Software Private Limited

Floor Covering Institute of New Jersey

Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, LLC

Foley, Inc.

Andrew Frank & Co.

Frenkel & Company

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Garden State Highway Products, Inc.

The General Contractors Association of NY

Glenn Insurance Inc.

Golden, Rothschild, Spagnola, Lundell, Boylan & Garubo PC

The Gordian Group

The Graham Company

Grassi & Co.

Haftek Concrete Washout Systems

A.H. Harris & Sons, Inc.

Haydon Bolts, Inc.

Haztek, Inc.

Hedinger & Lawless L.L.C.

The Hyde Agency

Jesco, Inc.

Jovin Demo, Inc.

Kelken Construction Systems

R.S. Knapp Co.

L & A Laboratory Installations

Lafarge

Let It Grow, Inc.

Lewis & McKenna

Liberty Mutual Surety

Liberty Stone & Aggregates, LLC

Links Insurance Services, LLC

Lum, Drasco, & Positan

M&T Insurance Agency

Management Planning, Inc.

Marsh USA Inc.

Merritt Construction Services, Inc.

Mid-Atlantic Surety, LLC

MSPC Certified Public Accountants and Advisors PC

New Jersey Alliance for Action

New Jersey Food Council

Northeast Prestressed Products, LLC

Oldcastle Precast Pipe

Peckar & Abramson, P.C.

PennJersey Machinery, LLC

People’s United Equipment Finance Corp.

Edward J. Post Company

Pro Safety Services LLC

ProSpec LLC

RCC Fabricators Inc.

The Reinforced Earth Company

Resolution Management Consultants, Inc.

Re-Steel Supply Co., Inc.

Safegate Safety Solutions

SaxBST LLP

Selco Manufacturing Corporation

Seneca Insurance Company Inc.

Service Scaffold Company Inc.

Shorelands Construction, Inc.

Skyline Steel, LLC

Smolin, Lupin & Co., P.A.

Starr Companies

Stone Industries Inc.

Susanin, Widman & Brennan, P.C.

Syrstone, Inc.

T.E.S., Inc.

Taylor Oil Company

Traffic Safety Service LLC

Travelers

True & Associates

Turner Surety and Insurance Brokerage, Inc.

Ulma Form Works Inc.

Unique Scaffolding Systems

United Rentals Inc

USI Insurance Services

Weiser Mazars, LLP

Weldon Materials Inc

Wiss & Co.

Withum Smith & Brown, PC

Zurich Specialty Products / Surety


Advertisers Index

Advanced Drainage Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

J.M. Ahle Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Aluma Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Atlantic Concrete Cutting, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Building and General Construction Laborers Local 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Building and General Construction Laborers Local 77 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Carpenter Contractor Trust NY/NJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Clarity Testing Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Cohen Seglias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Connell Foley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Construction Craft Laborers Training and Apprenticeship Fund of NJ and Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Construction and General Laborers’ Union Local 172 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Construction Risk Partners, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover

J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative (ELEC) . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Epic Management, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Fitzpatrick & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Fader LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Foley, Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Grassi & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Hall Building Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Hall Construction Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Heavy and General Construction Laborers Local 472 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

The Hyde Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Ironworkers Local Union No. 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Ironworkers Local Union No. 68 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Kelken Construction Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Masonry Contractors of New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Michels Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Mill Cabinet Local 252 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Moretrench American Corporation . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover

Joseph A. Natoli Construction Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

New Jersey State Building & Construction Trades Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Northeast Carpenters Apprentice Training and Educational Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Northeast Remsco Construction, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

International Union of OperatingEngineers Local 825 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Peckar & Abramson, PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

J.R. Prisco, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Railroad Construction Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Schiavone Construction Co., LLC . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover

Skanska USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Taylor Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Tilcon New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Torcon, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Turner Construction Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Tutor Perini Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Unique Scaffolding Systems, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Vericon Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Vollers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Withum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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