Did you attend? Our recent BJRP panel took place at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School on Thursday, June 21.  Representatives from Walsh Brothers construction, Harvard Business School, The Compliance Mentor Group, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, and Madison Park Technical Vocational High School shared their insights on best-faith compliance efforts and mentorship programs.  Special thanks to our sponsors:  Corwin & Corwin LLP, Klarity Financial, The Compliance Mentor Group and Madison Park Technical Vocational High School.

"[Students] get to see three different mentors on the job site in action and get to ask questions. It's another way of recruiting students and reaching out to community schools and finding emerging talent," states ASM Member and BJRP Panelist Nicole Richer, from the recent WBUR profile “Boston Is in a Building Boom — And Wants More Diverse Construction Workers”.

Join over 300 ASM members and their guests for the 23^rd Annual ASM Golf Tournament on July 16 at The International Golf Club.  Enjoy golfing on a beautiful, Tom Fazio-designed, 36-hole golf course while networking with industry colleagues and supporting a worthy cause... the tournament raises money for our ASM Scholarship Program!  See article below to find out the 2018 ASM Scholarship winners, and join us on July 16 to help celebrate their successes.  The Scholarship Awards will be presented during dinner following the golf tournament.

Be a sponsor!  Get your company’s name in front of the most elite subcontractors and show your support for ASM’s work by becoming an event sponsor!  Learn more here or contact us at mail@associatedsubs.com or 617-742-3412.

Hurry—Limited Spots Available! Make sure you don’t miss out on this exciting event. Register Today!

ASM is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2018 ASM Scholarship Awards Program.  Congratulations to:

• Marisa Enes (J.M. Electrical Company, Inc.)
  
  
• Ashley Frank (John F. Shea Company, Inc.)
  
  
• Gabrielle Frugard (Capital Engineering Company)
  
  
• Skyla Lewis (M.L. McDonald Sales Company)
  
  
• Olivia Stipo (New England MCA)

Each student has attained academic excellence while showing a commitment to community involvement.  Join us at the 23^rd Annual Golf Tournament on July 16 to help celebrate and honor these amazing young professionals.  Each will receive a $2,000 scholarship to further their education.

Marr Crane & Rigging received the 2018 Crane & Rigging Safety Award from the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA), a 1,300-member international organization based in Centreville, Virginia.  Marr is among 21-member companies receiving the Safety Award due to superior safety records and specifically, achieving an incident rate of less than 2.1 and an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of 1.0 or less.  The Marr Companies has an EMR factor of 0.62, a direct reflection of the multi-faceted safety program in place at Marr which places a strong focus on safety, pre-planning and training. 

(Photo caption:  David Marr Sr., President of Marr Crane & Rigging, and his son Dave Marr Jr., Project Manager, accept the SC&RA Safety Award on their team’s behalf.)

SC&RA is an international trade association with members from 46 nations.  The association’s members are involved in specialized transportation, machinery moving and erecting, industrial maintenance, millwrighting, crane and rigging operations, manufacturing and rental. 

ASM Member C/F Data Systems, a leader and pioneer in construction accounting solutions, announced the immediate availability of ScanLinc, its new STRUCTUREmobile App for flooring contractors.

ScanLinc allows users to scan barcodes of materials and Bin Locations.  With ScanLinc the user can track location changes, quantity changes, and even issue cuts, all from the barcode-scanning device.  All scans are instantly updated into STRUCTURE Blue for verification and processing.

“Flooring contractors know that proper inventory management is key to running a profitable business.  ScanLinc allows flooring contractors to stay on top of their inventory, all from a scanning device,” said Eric Goldstein, President, C/F Data System.  “Providing flooring contractors with the tools to keep their businesses running efficiently is what we’ve been doing since 1979.”

About C/F Data Systems… Located in Weymouth, MA, C/F Data Systems develops and sells integrated Project Management, Job-Costing, and construction accounting software - including its flagship offering STRUCTURE Blue, a leading construction accounting platform.  For more than 39 years, C/F Data Systems has been helping specialty contractors to increase, efficiency, improve the business processes, and drive profitability.  For more information, visit http://www.cfdatasystems.com or call 781-337-9900.

On June 14, John, David & Joseph Cannistraro, along with the Honorable Martin J. Walsh, Mayor of Boston, celebrated the grand opening of The FID, Boston’s new center for Fabrication, Industry & Design. 

While the company’s corporate offices will remain in Watertown, MA, the grand opening furthers the planned relocation and consolidation of Cannistraro’s manufacturing and warehousing operations from Wilmington, Watertown and Stoughton to Boston’s Seaport District.  

The FID sits at 25 Fid Kennedy Avenue:  a 3.5 acre site with a two-story, 157,000 square foot building in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park.  Cannistraro rehabilitated the property for use as a prefabrication and assembly plant for plumbing, fire protection, HVAC piping, and sheet metal systems for installation at construction sites throughout the region.

Historically known as “Building 16,” 25 Fid Kennedy Avenue was built in 1940 by the U.S. Navy as a multi-trade heavy machine shop.  The open, steel frame structure and forty-ton overhead crane capacity facilitated large-scale metal fabrication and assembly supporting the U.S. efforts in WWII.  “The renovations at 25 Fid Kennedy Avenue preserve the legacy of its industrial Art Deco architecture and utilitarian use,” explains John Cannistraro.  “We are proud to showcase the craftsmanship of local tradespeople, and to advocate continuous improvement and best practices within the construction community.”

In addition to providing jobs for Boston residents, the move enables Cannistraro to apply green building technologies, Lean manufacturing principles and modular building methods.  A significant amount of flex space within the facility will be available for innovative projects in collaboration with industry partners.  

LAN-TEL Communications, Inc., a leading provider of integrated public safety/security solutions and structured cabling, debuted its Mobile Access Command Unit (MACU) at the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade in March.  LAN-TEL is the only private company in New England to have a MACU equipped with an exterior shooter detection system and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped for all-weather situations with thermal imaging capabilities for assistance at public events and gatherings.

In addition to the exterior shooter detection, LAN-TEL’s MACU offers the following:

·   Search and rescue operations with UAV

·   Video surveillance

·   Search and rescue in weather related disasters

·   Public Safety Center

LAN-TEL continues to be the City and the Commonwealth’s go-to Low Voltage contractor and relied-upon security system provider for the City of Boston, having provided hundreds of wireless video security system installations throughout the city and integrating them into area headquarters.  LAN-TEL Communications, Inc., is the industry leader and trusted provider of structured cabling systems, integrated public safety and security solutions and IT infrastructure services.  For more than 26 years, LAN-TEL has offered an unparalleled level of client service, support and innovative technologies to New England’s largest corporations, buildings and municipalities.  Visit us at http://www.lan-tel.com or on Facebook or Twitter, or call us at 1-800-551-8599.

E.M. Duggan honors long time employees Bobby Jones and sisters Doris Matthews and Shirley Nolan. The beautiful Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy served as the backdrop for plumbing foreman Bobby Jones’ retirement party.  The Duggan family wanted to give a fond farewell to Jones, who worked at Duggan for forty years.

In June, E.M Duggan also remembered beloved sisters known at Duggan as the dynamic duo, Doris and Shirley.  The two worked in the accounting department with a combined sixty-five years between them.  When Doris passed away in 2016, Duggan created a room in her memory.  The Duggan family lost Shirley in February.  Since the sisters were inseparable, E.M. Duggan transformed the room to honor both women.  Their presence and years of service left an indelible mark at the company, and their conference room is a wonderful reminder that being a part of E.M. Duggan means forever being a part of the family.

Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Inc. (Griffin Electric), a leading area electrical subcontractor, recently held its 16^th annual Apprentice Competition at the company’s headquarters in Holliston, MA, in addition to its four regional offices in Pelham, AL, Duluth, GA, Charlotte, NC and Durham, NC.

Over 350 apprentices were separated into teams and competed in varying events in order to test their electrical skills and knowledge.  Skills challenges included pipe bending; branch circuit wiring; and low voltage links.  Knowledge-based events tested apprentices’ know-how on the pricing of construction tools and materials; electrical, code and safety questions; and industry-based survey questions, all mirrored to popular gameshow formats.  Students were also provided with the opportunity to learn about new and proven products from vendors such as Milwaukee, Klein and Caddy, with the option to purchase tools onsite.

Each challenge was scored and tallied for final scores of the day, with prizes and medals given out to the three highest-ranking teams.  Every participant in the competition received a commemorative event t-shirt and a $25 Home Depot gift card, in celebration of Griffin Electric’s 25^th year of sponsoring an In-House Apprenticeship Program.

Area dignitaries were invited to join the festivities, with guests in attendance from the New Hampshire Office of Apprenticeship, Massachusetts Division of Apprentice Standards, and New Hampshire Electricians’ Board.

Each spring, Griffin Electric hosts this friendly competition to test skills and build camaraderie with its students and celebrate the hard work that apprentices, instructors, and coordinators dedicate to the Griffin Electric Apprenticeship Training Program.  Griffin’s in-house educational program has been instrumental in providing students with the necessary skills and knowledge to achieve their Journeyperson licensure and to elevate their competencies within the electrical trade.

About Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Inc. - In the electrical contracting business since 1978, Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Inc. proudly celebrates its 40^th anniversary in 2018.  Headquartered in Holliston, MA, the company also has regional offices in Pelham, AL, Duluth, GA, Charlotte, NC and Raleigh-Durham, NC.  ENR (Engineering News-Record) ranked Griffin Electric 23^rd in its 2017 listing of the top 50 national electrical contractors and 1^st in the state of Massachusetts.  The company employs approximately 1,400 individuals.

Massachusetts has a law that was supposed to prevent unfair risk shifting, but it has been gutted by a series of court decisions over the past 25 years.  Courts have defined "caused by" so loosely that subcontractors can now be held 100% responsible for accidents where they were only 1% at fault.  To make matters worse, the subcontractor can be forced to insure the general contractor, in case indemnification doesn't cover everything.

House Bill 2369 fixes the law so that everyone who contributes to accidents pays their fair share of the costs.  The bill clarifies that subcontractors can't be required to indemnify or insure general contractors for anything more than what was caused by their own negligence. 

While Representative Tom Golden, your ASM Board, Staff and Lobbyists have moved this issue forward, we can’t get it across the finish line without your help!  A letter has been prepopulated in VoterVoice that you can send to your legislators with the click of a button.  More than 50 of your fellow subcontractors have sent letters, but we need 100% participation in order to get this bill signed into law!

Simply click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/IssyU10UT4yHKYw-CZ4l-A

As of today, below is the status of some of the major bills we’re tracking.

Wage Theft:  A bill with strict vicarious liability, stop work order provisions, and virtually no safe harbor provisions (other than paying the claimed unpaid wages for your downstream contractor’s employees) has passed the Senate unanimously.  The Business Coalition will continue to fight for a fair wage theft bill that actually addresses the root problem of wage theft, versus just making an upstream sub or contractor pay.  Timing, or lack thereof, may be on our side, as well as the fact that the current bill is even more restrictive and detrimental to law-abiding MA businesses then at the beginning of the session.  The ball is now in the House’s court. 

As Senator Tarr stated regarding an amendment to limit vicarious liability to those who “knew or should have known” about the claimed wage theft:  “We're trying to remove this poison pill which prevents it from being credibly considered any further in the process.  That's the issue of vicarious liability.  I'm not sure we're using the appropriate term so everyone can clearly understand. In the context of this bill, some employers -- not everyone, so already we violate arbitrary and capricious -- you are guilty if you are an employer.  It doesn't matter if you knew about a violation or should have known.  If you are an employer in Massachusetts, you're guilty.  We all know that is indefensible.  You live in Massachusetts, the state of guilt by association.  If you have a subcontractor you are liable for everything they do with respect to wage theft.  If you knew or should have known, you're liable to the fullest extent of the law.  But conversely, that a lead contractor who did not and could not have known there was a violation should not be liable… It's also perplexing to understand how it expedites payment if we attach liability to someone who's not responsible.  We continue to hear these things but we don't hear any reason that we should adopt as written the you are guilty if you are a Massachusetts employer provision of this bill. In the absence of that, clearly this measure of vicarious liability, the guilt by association provision, we don't address any of the main purposes of the bill.  The provision is a poison pill and the bill won't go any further.  If it did, there would be lots of litigation that would prolong employees being able to get all the other protections indefinitely.”

Indemnity:  We Need Your Help to Pass Indemnity Reform.  See article above for more details.  As of today, just 5% of ASM Members have clicked the link and sent messages via the automated VoterVoice system.

Don’t Delay:  Click the link below to log in and send your message to your MA Reps:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/IssyU10UT4yHKYw-CZ4l-A

Paid Family & Medical Leave:  A “Grand Bargain” was presented by the Legislative Working Group Members, including AIM and the Chamber.  This Grand Bargain addressed Paid Family and Medical Leave, Minimum Wage, Premium Pay for Retailers and Sales Tax Reduction.  While some of the provisions that adversely affect MA businesses have been modified slightly, the overall bill will require MA employers to support paid family and medical leave, both financially and staff wise.  It remains to be seen as to whether the Raise Up MA Coalition will “accept” the Grand Bargain, or if they are going to pursue the more aggressive ballot initiative.  Either way, it seems relatively clear that some type of Paid Family and Medical Leave program will be coming to MA in the very near future.

An ASM Member recently inquired… Whether the filed sub-bidders or the general bidders on a project that requires prequalification are responsible for payment and performance bond premiums?

While the statute is not crystal clear and there are, as of yet, no decisions on this issue from an appellate court, it is likely, based on the wording and intent of the statute and the single superior court case addressing this issue, that other courts may find that a filed sub on a prequalification project is responsible for the bond premiums while a filed sub on a non-prequalification job is not.  The basic rational is expressed in the Superior Court decision and is that in the context of a prequalification project the sub-bidders know prior to bid that payment and performance bonds are required and that amount can be accounted for in their bid.  In a non-prequalification project, bonds are not required unless requested by the general bidder which would only occur after the filed sub-bids have been submitted.  Therefore, in this context a filed sub-bidder cannot be expected to carry the cost of a bond premium in their bid since they have no idea if one will be requested of them.

G.L. c. 149, sec 44E (provisions for general bid) requires the GC to “check off” if it requires bids from the sub-bidders it carries and provides:  “The undersigned agrees to pay the premium for the performance and payment bond furnished by the subcontractor as requested herein and that all of the cost of such premiums is included in the amount set forth in item 1.”

Presumably in the context of prequalification a GC would not “request” such bonds since they are required as a condition of prequalification.

G.L. c. 149, sec. 44F(2)(form of sub-bid) provides:  “….and if requested to do so in the general bid by the general bidder, who shall pay the premiums therefor, or if prequalification is required pursuant to section 44D3/4, furnish a performance and payment bond….in the full sum of the subcontract price.”

This section requires that the GC pays the premiums if it requests the bonds in the general bids.  There is no such payment requirement attached to the prequalification clause suggesting that the premium must be paid for by the filed sub-bidder and should be carried in its bid.

The single Superior Court case addressing this issue held that “the new statute specifically requires any sub-bidder that was required to pre-qualify for bidding to cover the cost of the payment and performance bond on the project.”

Additionally, the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General in its “Guide to Bonding Requirements Under Construction Reform” (April 2005) writes:  “If the public owner opts to use prequalification, payment

and performance bond premium costs are payable by the selected general contractor or subcontractors.”

While an argument can be made that: (1) the statute is ambiguous; (2) there is no appellate case law; and (3) if there is evidence that the general bidder “checked the boxes” and requested bonds of subs (even on a prequalification) that this would trump any prequalification requirement, these arguments are likely a big uphill battle.  I would suggest that the sub-bidders in this specific case attempt to get a copy of the general bid to see if the general bidder “checked the boxes” and requested bonds of the subs.  That may provide another arrow in the subs’ quiver.

However, I don’t think this necessarily puts an end to the issue on this specific Project.  The Awarding Authority in this case used a sub-bid form that was out of date and quoted language from 149, sec. 44F as it existed before 2004.  In 2004 the statute was amended to include language relating to the prequalification.

Compare:  149, sec. 44F (Pre-2004) (this mirrors what was used in the bid form) - “and, if requested so to do in the general bid by such general bidder, who shall pay the premiums therefor, furnish a performance and payment bond of a surety company qualified to do business under the laws of the commonwealth and satisfactory to the awarding authority, in the full sum of the subcontract price.”

With:  149, sec. 44F (Post-2004) – “….and if requested to do so in the general bid by the general bidder, who shall pay the premiums therefor, or if prequalification is required pursuant to section 44D3/4, furnish a performance and payment bond of a surety company qualified to do business under the laws of the commonwealth and satisfactory to the awarding authority, in the full sum of the subcontract price.”

Use of the pre-2004 statutory bid form is certainly misleading to sub-bidders since there is no carve out for prequalification and the language requires the GC to pay for bond premiums without limitation.  This would lead bidders to reasonably believe not to carry bond premiums believing that these amounts would be added by way of change order later by the GC.

I think that this argument is the strongest support for the subs being reimbursed for the bond premiums. Perhaps this would also allow the GC to seek a change from the Owner?  I am not sure of the dollar values involved here but the subs should consider taking all steps required of them to dispute/protest the RFI and submit requested changes.  If they were to proceed in that manner they must follow all timing and procedural requirements of their subcontract and the contract documents.

Special thanks to Corwin & Corwin LLP for helping ASM Members with Contract issues.  Other ASM Member Professional Hotlines include Employment and Insurance matters.  ASM Members can send their Hotline questions to mail@associatedsubs.com.

Acadia Insurance offers ASM members an easy and cost-effective insurance program to help you protect your business.  The program is specifically designed for subcontractor professionals and provides an all-lines coverage approach for the specialty trade construction industry.  Over $6 million in dividends has been paid to qualifying ASM Members.

Gould Electric will be offering Massachusetts Hot Work Safety Certificate Training in Woburn, Massachusetts and Concord, New Hampshire on various dates throughout July and August.

Why should you attend this training?  527 CMR1.00:41.7 requires that in order for an individual to be qualified as a PAI; perform fire watches; or perform, supervise, or delegate any activities of hot work activity, such individual must first provide documentation that he or she successfully completed training.  For more information, or to register for a training, go here.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), in conjunction with the Northeast Center for Tradeswomen’s Equity (NCTE), is pleased to announce that the Build A Life That Works campaign is a recipient of a 2018 Rosoff Award.  The Ad Club’s Rosoff Awards, now in its 22nd year, honors excellence in meaningful diversity practice and recognizes organizations and individuals who are successfully changing the face of some of New England’s largest companies and brands.  Launched by MGC and NCTE in November 2017, the Build A Life That Worksrecruit initiative seeks to inspire women to pursue a career in the union building trades as a viable path to equal pay for equal work, excellent benefits, and a better future.  This first-of-its-kind, statewide effort aims to increase tradeswomen in the building trades to 20% by 2020.