The Labor-Management Council of Greater Kansas City

Thanks to Truman Medical Centers for inviting area leaders to a presentation from Michael Leavitt, past secretary of Health and Human Services and Utah governor. He pointed out that the challenges changing health care are being driven by forces far beyond the Affordable Care Act, and organizations that are unable to adapt to be more collaborative and patient-driven will not survive. Leavitt outlined seven standards health care groups will need to meet. He also noted John Bluford's outstanding leadership as TMC's CEO. Bluford is retiring and is being succeeed by Charlie Shields.

The LMC's Construction Industry Committee next meets at 8 a.m., Thursday, June 11 at Mark One Electric Co., Inc.

Congrats to former LMC Board member Hon. Judy Morgan, Missouri state representative, who will be honored tomorrow night by the Missouri Association of Social Welfare in Kansas City. And to Turner Construction Co. for being listed in Ingram's magazine as one of the area's best companies to work for.

Legislative Sessions See LMC Success

The 2014 Missouri and Kansas legislative sessions are now complete. The LMC’s agenda, particularly in Missouri, posed significant challenges to success. Fortunately with the leadership from LMC members and a number of outstanding area legislators, the session proved quite successful from the LMC’s perspective. Here are the results for our issues:

•The LMC supports reasonable and effective economic development incentives. While the LMC supports ensuring that tax credits and other incentives are cost effective, we want to preserve those tax credits crucial to economic development such as the historic tax credit, tax increment financing and enact an angel tax credit and data center incentives.
Result: No changes in tax credit caps were enacted, and a data center incentive was passed on the session’s last day. The bill containing the data center incentive is likely to be vetoed.

•The LMC opposes legislation to impose “right-to-work.”
Result: No “right-to-work” bill passed. A referendum bill was perfected in the House but never made it to a final vote; no Senate bill was filed.

•The LMC supports maintaining and increasing Medicaid eligibility and adequate provider reimbursement.
Result: While the legislature did not implement Medicaid expansion, it did restore many of the Medicaid cuts made in 2005.

•The LMC supports state funding for a comprehensive transportation plan.
Result: The legislature placed on the (likely) November ballot a three-quarter cent tax to fund transportation needs.

•The LMC supports Prevailing Wage in its present form.
Result: No substantial changes to prevailing wage were made. A bill allowing for volunteer labor on public projects passed, with safeguards. A bill to prohibit prevailing wage requirements on MHDC projects in disaster areas passed the House but did not advance in the Senate.

•The LMC opposes TABOR (taxpayer bill of rights) that would further restrict the rights of legislatures and local governments to adopt fiscal policies of their choosing.
Result: The House passed a “TABOR-lite” bill but it did not advance in the Senate.

•The LMC endorses retention of the Missouri Plan for judicial selection and the similar policy that exists in Kansas.
Result: No changes to the judicial selection plan advanced.

•The LMC supports development of a statutory framework for public employee collective bargaining in Missouri to reduce uncertainty for workers and for public employers.
Result: No changes in public employee bargaining rules advanced.

•Support Missouri HB 1945 to allow state government to use the design-build process for appropriate projects.
Result: HB 1945 passed out of committee but did not advance to the House floor.

•Support the state funding of the fifty percent match of donor funds on projects requested by the state’s universities in the 2014-15 budget.
Result: The 50-percent match for the proposed projects was funded.

•Support the use of bonding to finance Missouri infrastructure and building projects.
Result: A bonding program was passed.

Watch: Education/Kansas City School District (transfer issue and others), unemployment insurance, workers compensation, utility rates & energy capacity, construction bidding rules, and enforcement of worker classification rules.
Result: A bill changing the transfer rules passed, and the Dept. of Education approved new procedures for addressing problem districts and schools; maximum unemployment benefit weeks was reduced; and no legislation passed to make substantial changes to workers’ compensation, utility and energy capacity, construction bidding rules and enforcement of worker classification rules (the House passed a bill to impede enforcement of classification but it did not advance in the Senate).

Kansas
•The LMC supports reasonable and effective economic development incentives.

•The LMC supports continued funding for the comprehensive transportation plan.

•The LMC endorses retention of the Missouri Plan for judicial selection and the similar policy that exists in Kansas.

•The LMC opposes immigration reform proposals that would put the burden of I-9 verification on contractors for subcontractors. Verification responsibility should fall only on the direct employer of those workers.

Watch: Kansas “driveway” tax (proposed requirement for impact study if increasing user fees), impact of renewable standards on utility rates, proposed state OSHA plan, property taxation of cement plants and trespassing legislation.

Result: With the exception of legislation clarifying property taxation rules for cement plants, no significant changes were made in the LMC’s issues in Kansas. A bill to study potential state OSHA program did pass, results are expected from the Dept. of Labor in January 2015.

Local
•The LMC opposes elimination of the Kansas City, Mo. city earnings tax until an alternative is in place.

Watch: Bidding practices in local governments, particularly regarding design build in KCMO and Johnson County (KS), KCMO Development Code, Jackson County implementation of PACE.

Result: No significant action; the KCMO earnings tax comes up for renewal in 2016.

Federal
•Support construction of the Keystone pipeline project.
Result: Administrative authorization has been delayed; congressional action has stalled

Note: we also support a longer-term federal transportation bill.
Result: A reauthorization bill has been passed out of Senate committee

Watch List:
•Oppose a benefits tax in federal health care reform; Any future stimulus funds include significant vertical construction projects.
Result: No action on the benefits tax or additional stimulus. The Administration has proposed an infrastructure investment program.

The LMC expresses sympathy for the family of Barry Wilkinson and Jeff Wilkinson. Barry's daughter (Jeff's sister), Tracy Wilkinson Russman, lost her husband last week. Services in Aberdeen, SD, where Tracy and Rich lived, were May 14. Barry is a past LMC co-chair and volunteer instructor for the Mid-Level Leadership Program, of which Jeff is a graduate.

Construction Committee Discusses KCMO Projects, Legislation and Workforce Issues

Construction Industry Steering Team Summary of Minutes

 8 a.m., Thursday, April 10, 2014, Mark One Electric Co., Inc.

Attending:  Sam Alpert, KC Borden, Troy Carlson, Brian Dietz, Don Greenwell, Jerry Helmick, Matt Johnson, Kevin King, Greg Lever, Dave Lovetere, Joe Mabin, John Tompson, Colleen White, Bob Jacobi.

•Introductions and thanks to Rosie Biondo and Mark One for hosting.

•The July 10 committee meeting will be cancelled.  The September 11 meeting will begin at noon instead of 8 a.m. and will be held at the Builders’ Training Center rather than Mark One for an investment summit.  The June and August meetings will be same time, same place.

•The KCMO Crime Lab/East Patrol project has been fully let and is progressing.  Brian Dietz, JE Dunn, thanked members of the steering team for their help in the project’s success.

•The Missouri legislature concludes its session May 16.  Transportation funding, volunteer labor on public projects, and school transfers remain in play.  Kansas completed its session and passed a bill for the Labor Dept. to study a potential state OSHA program, with results to be reported by Jan. 12, 2015, and clarified property tax issues for cement and other complex manufacturers.  Teh Governor also vetoed a bill to reform the tax appeals board; tax changes the past two sessions will likely increase the reliance on property taxes in Kansas and impact economic development.  The KCMO airport advisory group recommends a single terminal to replace the current airport.  The LMC and members will be active in educating the public on the facts for this issue; a public vote on bonds may take place within 1-2 years.

•Construction of the KCMO streetcar project is being delayed pending final finance arrangements.  Considerable information is being requested from subcontractors and trades for workforce compliance.

•Recruitment of women to the construction workforce remains a significant issue.  The Roofers are participating in an episode of Hiring America to showcase efforts to hire veterans.  Retention is also a key issue.

•The KCCP is working on several fronts and will soon be involved in the Jackson County courthouse annex project.  The Black & Veatch headquarters project is nearly complete.

•NICE held a successful iBuild Showcase last month with more than 1300 high and middle school students attending from 25 area school districts.  The 2015 iBuild is set for April 14 again at Bartle Hall.  Greg Lever thanked committee members for their support.

•The MCC MBE?WBE Expo will be held May 14 (flyer attached) and the Builders’ Association golf tournament May 19 benefitting its scholarship fund is now open to non-Builders’ members (attached).

•The next meeting will be held at 8 a.m., Thursday, June 12 at Mark One Electric Co., Inc., 909 Troost.

•M/S/C to adjourn at 9:25 a.m.

•Upcoming events include:

 *ASA Awards Dinner, May 8, Uptown Theater

  *SMACNA Associate Member Golf Tournament, May 13, Shoal Creek Golf Club

  *MCC MBWE Expo, May 14, MCC Business & Technology Center

  *SMACNA/MCA/ASHRAE Night at Sporting KC, May 14, 5:30 p.m.

  *KCMO Construction Workforce Board, May 15

  *Missouri Legislative Session ends, May 16

  *Builders’ Association Scholarship Golf Tournament, May 19, Milburn Country Club

  *KC CREW Luncheon on West Bottoms Development, May 20, 11:30 a.m., Mission Hills CC

  *OSHA Safety Stand-Down on falls, www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/resources.html

  *NAWIC Scholarship Golf Tournament, June 9, Adams Pointe Golf Club

  *Working Families Friend Golf Tournament, June 17, The National/Duece

  *Rockhurst University Freeman Golf Classic, June 23, Meadowbrook

  *Mid-America Labor/Management Conference, July 6-9, Camden on the Lake

  *LMC Golf Tournament, July 21, Oakwood Country Club

  *Investment Summit, Sept. 11, noon, Builders’ Training Center in place of CIC meeting

  *Working Families Friend cookout Sept. 11

  *Western MO & KS Laborers Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament, Sept. 12

  *KC CREW Golf Tournament, Sept. 18, Shoal Creek

  *LMC Public Officials Reception, Oct. 9, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

  *Builders’ Association/ASA/ASPE Contractors Expo, Oct. 30, Muehlbach Imperial Ballroom

  *iBuild Showcase, April 14, 2015, Bartle Hall

The Rockhurst University Jesuit Community held a Memorial Mass today for the Rev. Frank Murphy, S.J., a former Rockhurst professor and co-founder of the Labor-Management Council. More than 30 friends, family, Rockhurst faculty and others attended. Rockhurst President the Rev. Thomas Curran noted that Fr. Murphy lived the principles of worker dignity laid out in the "best-kept secret" of the Catholic Church, papal encyclicals on social issues through is teaching and community leadership. He noted Fr. Murphy's role in the LMC and recognized the presence of a fellow co-founder, Bill Dunn, Sr., its longtime counsel, Mike Fitzgerald, and Bob and Mary Jacobi. Fr. Murphy died March 21 in St. Louis.

The LMC's 17th annual Craig Whitaker Memorial Golf tournament is set for July 21 at Oakwood Country Club. Registrations for sponsors, foursomes, players, in-kind donors and volunteers are now being taken. Contact the LMC ([email protected]) for information and a form.