The 2023 NECA Financial Benchmarker Report presents a detailed analysis of key financial data within the electrical construction industry. Using the information within this report, electrical contractors can compare and analyze their own company’s financial performance statistics to identify business strengths, weaknesses and performance improvement opportunities. This report also provides a valuable industry standard for your use during audits, claims, change order negotiation, or with a banker/bonding agent. The report is $45 for NECA Members and can beaccessed here. Be sure to login with your NECA ID to get the member pricing.

Once again, NECA, MCAA and SMACNA have partnered together to host the 2024 MEP Innovation Conference. Immerse yourself in educational sessions, collaborative roundtable discussions and hands-on exhibitor demonstrations that spotlight cutting-edge technologies that can improve NECA contractors productivity and profitability.

• Dates: January 29 – 31, 2024
• Location: Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
• Cost: $1,295 for NECA Members  |  $400 for Guests

You can view the conference schedule by clicking here. If you are interested in registering for the conference, click here or contact Scot VanBuskirk with the Chapter office.

Did you know that September is Suicide Prevention Month? Further, male-dominated industries tend to have more suicides. The macho, tough-guy, and stoic nature of construction workers can even discourage those who are most at risk for suicide from seeking help. Men, especially white men in their early 20’s through their 50’s, account for the bulk of suicides. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 97 percent of the U.S. construction workforce is male and according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 38 percent of construction workers in the U.S. in 2018 were between the ages of 45 and 64.

Moving from jobsite to jobsite can create an environment in which workers are not as connected to their families, each other, or a workplace community. Coupled with working long or irregular hours, sleep patterns can be impacted, causing sleep deprivation and mental and physical exhaustion.

The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) has created tools and resources which can be used to help integrate suicide prevention into your company’s culture as a safety and health priority! Items available include a social media toolkit, toolbox talks, posters, OSHA suicide prevention resources, QR codes for CIASP’s website, and logos. You can view and download all their Suicide Prevention Resources by clicking here.

The construction industry dedicates a week to raising awareness about the unique challenges workers face in construction that lead to suicide and what we can do to prevent it. During Construction Suicide Prevention Week, the industry calls attention to the higher-than-average suicide rate in the construction industry and provides resources to help prevent those deaths. Use these resources to plan activities with your workers during the week of September 4 – 8, 2023. Learn more here.

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.