The Alameda Electrical Contractors Trust and the Alameda JATC are hosting a blood drive, scheduled as follows:

• Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2023
• Time: 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM
• Location: ZNE Center (14600 Catalina Street, San Leandro)
• Click here to register

As you know, the need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in the community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds, and most of us will need a donation at some point in our lifetime. Should you have any questions about the blood drive, please contact Deanna Murchison at (510) 867-0487.

Union relations are an important aspect of your success as a project manager. Maintaining a positive relationship with both the local and its members is a big part of any project. Adhering to the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement is crucial for your company. Union Relations training will allow the project manager to identify how their role plays a part in union relations. Participants will be able to explain the importance of the CBA and essential provisions therein, as well as identify Category 1 language that may differ between locals. Participants will be able to summarize their role in interacting with the union, describe their company’s policies and practices, and identify historical past practices that are not in the agreement, but are common interpretations. Following this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the importance of understanding the local CBA
• Identify Category 1 language to determine what provisions will vary between locals
• Describe the important provisions of the CBA
• Summarize the PM’s role and interactions with the union
• Describe your company’s policies and practices
• Explain the importance of the superintendent and foreman in the union relationship
• Identify the impact union relations will have on a job.

This course is available in the NECA Learning Center.

• Log into the NECA Registration & Hotel Booking Website with your individual ID and Last Name. Note – please contact the Chapter office if you do not know your Individual ID.
• Once logged in, follow the prompts and register for the sessions you would like; including any pre-convention workshops, the full convention, just the weekend package, or the virtual convention (if you aren’t able to physically join us in Philadelphia).
• After completing your registration, you will have the opportunity to add a guest or book your hotel room. As a member of the NorCal NECA Chapter, you will automatically be placed into our room block at the W Philadelphia. If you are a member of multiple Chapters, you will be able to select the Chapter with which to proceed.

As a reminder, the NECA Now registration is open. Far from your typical meeting, NECA Now 2023 is a two-and-a-half-day Executive Leadership Conference focused on professional and personal growth. This year’s conference will provide attendees with the opportunity to gain insights on leadership development with presentations by top business experts. There will be thirty-two different breakout sessions to choose from throughout the conference organized into the following tracks: (1) Personal & Professional Development, (2) Business Growth & Change, (3) Mentoring, Recruiting & Retaining, and (4) Communication & Leadership.

• Dates: April 17 – 19, 2023
• Location: JW Marriott Hill Country, San Antonio, TX
• Event Details: https://www.necanet.org/necanow

The IRS recently issued the optional standard mileage rates for 2023, used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Effective January 1, 2023, the standard mileage rate for business use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be $0.655, which is a 3 cent increase from the second half of 2022. Click here for the IRS announcement.

Trades are the linchpin between the design-phase vision of the facility and its actual assembly through the many systems, equipment components and finishes. Trades, the specialty contractors, add value to a project through the assembly or installation of these systems, components and fixtures that allow the occupants and owners to use and enjoy their completed facility.

This handbook was developed as a resource. The content is intended as a user guide with practical resources, lessons learned by others, examples, and guidance to allow trade contractors and specialty construction firms operating to adopt lean principles and reap the workforce and business benefits that follow more readily. To enable their adoption, the emphasis in this handbook is on identifying and using methods to enable your craft workforce and colleagues across the firm to support the key tasks with which your firm adds value to your projects.

The handbook focuses on identifying and linking methods and techniques from the lean community with the common tasks and waste that trade contractors regularly encounter on projects. Click here to access the report.

NECA, MCA and SMACNA have partnered to host the 2023 MEP Innovation Conference. This three-day event, held in Austin, Texas, joins innovative thought leaders across the electrical, mechanical and sheet metal trades to improve MEP contractors’ profitability and productivity.

• Dates: January 11 – 13, 2023
• Location: Austin, Texas
• Registration Fees: $995

Attendees will engage in innovative presentations, collective roundtable discussions, and hands-on exhibitor demonstrations highlighting emerging technologies. The MEP Innovation Conference offers sessions for all levels of experience, open to all members of NECA, MCAA, SMACNA and their union counterparts.

Contractors from all three trade associations will lead the sessions geared towards operations, VDC, project management, estimating, training for BIM and more. These case studies will inform participants how new and innovative software, tools and technology are changing the industry and positively impacting contractors of all sizes. Innovation has become a key component across all trades. The MEP Innovation Conference encourages collaboration among the different trades to recognize the common problems and develop solutions where contractors reach the common goal together. Click here to learn more or to register for the conference.

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed legislation that will expand CalSavers, the state’s IRA-based retirement program, to cover virtually all California employers that do not sponsor their own qualified retirement plan. The new law, signed on August 26, 2022, and taking effect at the beginning of the new y ear, expands the definition of “eligible employer” to capture any employer in California with at least one non-owner employee. Click here to learn about SB 1126.