2008 Winter Conference

Commissioner Steve Sviggum, Department of Labor, updated the contractors who attended MEA's business luncheon about proposals being considered for overhauling the current workers comp system, changes that were made to the Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate requirements, and the DOL's outlook for 2009. He encouraged people to reach across party lines to discuss their business needs with their legislators and to be active participants in the political process.

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2008 Summer Conference

It started with good news. Northern Minnesota has $6 to $7 BILLION in new construction projects in varying stages. According to Senator David Tomassoni of Chisolm, if everything works out as planned, almost all construction workers in the state will be busy in northeastern Minnesota. While Minnesota is missing the energy and defense industry—it is encouraging to learn how valuable our mineral deposits have become to India, China, and other countries. Plus—who knew they would discover copper deposits in Aitkin? It was an upbeat way to end a full day of committee work on Thursday. We emerged from our conference rooms into a sunny afternoon, good news from the Senator, and a delicious dinner hosted by Federated Insurance in Breezy Point’s new dining room overlooking the lake.

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2008 Spring Conference

Tammy Miller... CEO from Border States, gave an excellent talk about how to “Survive the Downturn in Construction.”

While reports from McGraw Hill show the decline for total construction during the first two months of 2008 at 34% in the Midwest compared to 18% nationally, it is helpful to focus on the fact that the value of new construction starts during the first two months of 2008 actually increased 1% compared to the prior year, if we exclude residential building, which declined 41%.

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2007 Winter Conference

Three hours of solid gold ideas and information were contained in the following three highly informative talks:

• How to Sell your Business Without Really Trying—given by Wyatt Zaun. More on this topic is discussed in Judi Rubin’s column on page 2.
• Insure Against Design-Build Disasters—given by Bob Anderson, Federated Insurance.New Enforcement Rules & Top 10 NEC Changes—given by John Schultz, Electrical Licensing & Inspection Unit.

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2007 Summer Conference

Thanks to all of our members, contractors, product/service members, inspectors, OSHA consulting, families, and staff for making the Summer Conference productive, successful, and fun. Many of our contractors brought their families so it was especially fun to see all the children. The children had a great time at the scavenger hunt, bingo, swimming, and playing games while spouses enjoyed activities like wine tasting and shopping. Contractors and inspectors shopped at the product show, got free continuing education credits, and accomplished a lot on behalf of the industry as you can see from the following report.

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2007 Spring Conference

The MEA 2007 spring conference was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bloomington. On the agenda was strategic planning and election of new officers and board members. Initial drafts of the new strategic plan for MEA will be reviewed by board members and committee chairs with a final draft scheduled to be available for the 2007 winter conference.

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2006 Winter Conference

Avoiding fines and avoiding problems were the focus of the MEA 2006 Winter Meeting as we discussed dangerous contract clauses with attorney Doug Seaton of the Seaton, Beck law firm. He provided new information about minor changes in contracts that can save big dollars. Bob Anderson of Federated Insurance explained how to avoid losing your insurance coverage by having your agent review contract clauses that ‘shift liability’ with the underwriting before you sign the contract. For example, some clauses make subcontractors responsible for the work of the other contractors. Insurance companies may refuse to cover projects such as residential buildings with a high risk of mold. John Ploetz and Eric Seanger updated members about how to best compete for JOBZ and other prevailing wage projects. The discussion about what size a job needs to be in order to be truly profitable and the most common mistakes contractors make the first time they bid on one of these jobs. Tom Joicham, Assistant Director, MN Dept. of Labor updated us on the bill consolidating the Electrical Licensing and Inspection Unit into the Dept. of Labor. Supervision of unlicensed workers, new insurance amounts, rules regarding the master of record and other information were covered. At this point, it appears that our major concerns have been resolved. We will know for sure when we see the final language.

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2006 Summer Conference

Copper, metals, and PVC prices were discussed by Gary Brusacoram . . . The importance of using escalation clauses in contracts was discussed. Keeping owners and general contractors informed of the enormous increases and the 24-hours price quotes given by distributors. While some have experienced delays while their generals check on the validity of their concerns, none have lost projects so far. Increased security and insurance are the main two defenses against the rash of materials and equipment thefts caused by these spiking prices. It is a serious matter when an entire semi-trailer is stolen from a job site and a hole is cut into a storage building causing losses of over a quarter of a million dollars.

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