Electrical Association

The MEA Winter Conference Report

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.

NFPA 70E. George Cusick from Cooper Bussman gave members an overview of some of the changes in the standard. These changes are extensive and training is encouraged.

Hiring and retaining good employees. Eric Bolduc from Federated Insurance provided helpful information about how to evaluate prospective employees so that electrical contractors can have a better chance of hiring employees with good attitudes toward safety, teamwork, quality, and an interest in continuing to improve their knowledge and skills.

The Green Initiatives Panel discussion was moderated by Tim Geise of Werner Electric. Erik Ennen of the Center for Energy and Environment provided valuable information about how rebates can help contractors increase business during these tight times and help their customers save money. Rob Olson of EESCO United discussed how important the return on investment for lighting retrofits is for the customer and for energy conservation. Al Christianson of Energy Harvest Group explained where solar and wind are in their development, what the most practical uses are, and what to expect in the near future.

Green construction materials and methods were discussed as members toured the new LEED-certified Minnesota Energy Resources (MERC) building. We want to give a special thanks to Rory Lenton for coordinating the tour and Randy Ashford of the design firm TSP, Inc., for leading the tour.

The business committee meetings were held on Friday. The majority of results were reviewed at the MEA Board meeting on Saturday where the minutes of the last meeting, the year-to-date financial reports, and budgets for next year were reviewed and accepted.

• It is expected that the association will do slightly better than breaking even this year and next year.
• The loan and service agreements between MEA and ETN were approved.
• Tom Heng was nominated for Secretary of the MEA Board.
• MEA's employee policy was amended to allow regular part-time employees working 20-30 hours a week to participate in MEA's medical insurance plan by taking a payroll deduction for cost of the coverage.
• Funds were authorized for carpet, wall repairs and painting in the association's office building and for $3000 in consulting costs for new web software.
• The Membership Committee included a three percent dues increase and set the small contractor first year's dues at $199 for 2009.
• Apprentice classes are underway and the powerpoints are being improved and updated to the 2008 Code.
• The Education Committee recommended new topics for code and technical training. The new NFPA 70E will be included in the training offerings if possible.
• The licensing examination prep course has been completely updated.
• Royalty terms are being investigated in preparation for the possibility of recording educational courses for sale.
• ETN reports that the Electricians Training Course is updated to the newest code, standards for a registered apprentice program have been approved by the DOL, and a request to allow that program to use the same proportion of licensed and unlicensed electricians as in the state statute has been made.
• The Government Action Committee reviewed the results of the government action survey. The committee and the board will continue to work with the DOL to assure that the notice and processing of license renewals are being done in a timely manner, oppose sales tax on services, provide input on the definitions of new job classifications for prevailing wage, monitor Worker's Comp reform, support a change that would provide overtime after 40 hours a week, continue to ask for enforcement efforts to focus on unlicensed people doing electrical work, and monitor other bills that arise throughout the 2009 legislative session and take action as required.
• Bill Strusinski will be retained as lobbyist, and a second lobbyist is under consideration.
• The insurance Committee reviewed insurance and safety results.

Spouses had a wonderful time. Their activities were organized by Karen Kuntz and Mona Geise. The group attended a fun and inspirational program with Jill Swanson. After a fun and healthful breakfast, they learned how to determine their most flattering styles and colors along with how to get great bargains on fashions. They had a delicious lunch at Chesters, went on an art tour of the Mayo Clinic, and went to Jill's office for ideas about how to organize their closets for fast and simple use. This fun day was a gift of Tim Geise from Werner Electric. Many of the spouses attending this event are actively working partners in contracting companies and deserve a few hours of fun with the "girls."

The Holiday Dinner was hosted by Federated Insurance. The hit of the evening was the Trivia Game presented by John Kuntz's lively and intelligent daughters-Katie, Sara, and Kristin. Our thanks to the Kuntz daughters and their trivia game that had everyone competing!