Virginia Building and Construction Trades Council

1. Virginia Building and Construction Trades Council Summer Convention Virginia Beach, Va August 29-September 1, 2010

2. Mark Ayers, President of National Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, spoke on the continuing challenges of the current economy and the importance of the upcoming midterm elections in determining policies favorable to working families.

3. Delegates heard from Jim Leaman, retiring President of Virginia AFL-CIO, concerning his plans to move to Florida and play a lot of golf. He promised to visit often and remain active in politics wherever he is. The body gave Jim several tokens of recognition for his strong support of working families over the years he served as Secretary-Treasurer under Danny LeBlanc and as President since Danny’s retirement in 2005.

4. Bobby Myers, former President of VA BCTC, is currently working as a regional labor law representative for Virginia Department of Labor and Industry in the Roanoke area. He spoke about his recent experiences with the weak labor laws in Virginia and how little protection workers who don’t have a union agreement have under state statutes.

5. Doris Crouse-Mays is the newly elected President of Virginia AFL-CIO. She outlined the program for the upcoming Congressional elections, noting that Virginia is not a targeted state but there are targeted races in Virginia, notably the Fifth (Tom Perriello), Ninth (Rick Boucher), and Eleventh (Gerry Connolly) Congressional Districts. Bobby Scott, running in the Third District, is seen as a safe seat. Each local union is responsible for enlisting volunteers to work on the election campaign.

6. Ray Davenport, former Commissioner of Labor and Industry under Governor Tim Kaine, thanked the delegates for their support in his election as Secretary-Treasurer of Virginia AFL-CIO at the recent August convention in Williamsburg. Ray also served as business manager for Operating Engineers Local 147 in Norfolk. He spoke about his work at DOLI, and the accomplishments in safety and enforcement despite the continuing cutbacks in budget which forced his agency to reduce manpower by one-third over the four years.

7. Geoff McDonald of Geoffrey R. McDonald and Associates Law Firm, talked about his role in supporting the Organized Labor in Virginia exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society, 428 North Boulevard, Richmond VA 23320. The show runs through December 30, 2010. Ley Mills, regional investigator for the IRS, and Peggy Roberts (left), regional representative for ICE-Homeland Security, described their enforcement efforts in this area. To contact Mills with tax-fraud information: phone 703-647-5591 and email herbert.mills@irs.gov. To contact Customs and Immigration Service: 1-888-464-4218 or ICE tipline: 1-866-347-2423.

8. Joe Morrissey, Delegate 74th, talked about his efforts to secure union work on upcoming construction projects. Dr. Bill Davis, a member of IBEW Local 26, discussed his work with Helmets to Hardhats as Southeast US coordinator. Terry Overstreet of Bricklayers Local 1 informed the delegates that the annual Southern States Apprenticeship Conference will be held in Virginia Beach, VA in June 2012 (next year it’s in San Antonio TX). Also scholarships are available based on an essay contest—for details email him at toverstreet@baclocal1.org.

9. Harvey (Bubba) Crone, director of CAPER, spoke about two new programs by the Virginia State Board of Education which impact public school students. A course in Economics and Finance will be required in high school beginning in the 2011-2012 academic year and an Academic and Career Plan will be created for each student with guidance from school counselors, and trade apprenticeship will be one of the choices offered. Courtney Malveaux, newly appointed Commissioner of Labor and Industry, presented some of his goals for that department: more jobs, more businesses, imporve safety, and resolve claims more quickly. His agency was empowered to charge a new fee for apprentices in state-certified programs by last year’s General Assembly, but he has resolved not to enact that charge.

10. Vance Ayres, President of Washington DC Building Trades, covered the importance of the upcoming elections including Maryland’s gubernatorial election, the Council’s efforts to secure project labor agreements, ongoing work with Helmets to Hardhats to recruit veterans into trade apprenticeships, and efforts with the offices of Senators Warner and Webb to update Davis-Bacon wage determinations, some of which are still based on wages from 20 years ago. Other presenters included: Norman Allen and Red Constable of the Allen Agency (retirement investment), Wayne Gold, Regional Director of National Labor Relations Board, Jim Touey. Labor Liaison for OSHA and former UBC member, Micheal Scheck and John Czerwinski of Scheck Industries, Mike Teegarden, Anderson & Strudwick (retirement planning), Tony Javarone of Morgan Smith Barney (Taft-Hartley investment), Joe Barilotti, Delaware Valley Real Estate Investment Fund, and Bob Blue Sr., vice president Dominion Resources.

11. Elected officers of Virginia State Building and Construction Trades Council 2010

12. SCENES FROM THE RECEPTION Neil Gray with Krystal Ball, Democratic candidate, 1st Congressional District Mark Ayers with Jerry Hufton, retired Ironworkers, and George Hindle