Masonry Magazine September 1972 Page. 27
Colorado MCA Holds 5th Annual Seminar
Members of the Colorado Mason Contractors Association have been urged to "band together and work in a positive vein" to have unacceptable government regulations changed. The urging stemmed from "Mike" McKevitt, U.S. Congressman from Colorado's First District, who addressed more than 100 contractors, suppliers and industry representatives during CMCA's fifth annual summer seminar at Snowmass-at-Aspen.
The one-day Saturday conference was devoted to a panel discussion in which McKevitt answered questions on four vital subjects-OSHA, minority requirements on federally financed jobs, the loss of semi-skilled employees to welfare, and the increased cost of construction caused by the necessity of complying with rigid regulations.
Speaking on OSHA, a subject of major concern to contractors nationally, Congressman McKevitt said that basically OSHA started out well enough with the thought in mind to help save the lives of the American working man and woman. But now there is what he called an "overkill." Several contractors expressed the opinion that the regulations apparently were not drawn up by their peers but by persons unfamiliar with the construction industry. They also felt that the information currently available on compliance is too complicated for the layman to understand.
In response to this McKevitt said that revisions to the law were presently being considered, mainly because of the "tremendous amount of concern" that has already been voiced by contractor organizations and union people alike. He urged the mason contractors to bring about needed changes by working through their associations and in concert with the unions they deal with. "I'm getting more letters of complaints on federal agencies than I am on social security, veterans benefits, and the like," he said. "The only way you're going to turn it around is to speak up and speak up as a group. If I can bring the input back, it will have a dramatic effect on Washington."
He added that the Findley Amendment presently being considered to provide a one-year moratorium to the small businessman employing 25 or less persons has gone to the Senate where the required number of employees has been reduced to 15. He described the action as one "just to give us a breather in the business world."
Other "badly needed" changes, according to McKevitt, are:
* A variance beteween light and heavy industry.
* Simplification of regulations for small businessmen.
* More emphasis on help for the small employer.
Involved in an impromptu discussion during the Saturday afternoon session were (from the left): Jack Bailey, president of CMCA: Steve Dach, Denver mason contractor; Fran Utiger, wife of Rudy Utiger, president of Clalite Concrete Products, Inc., and Congressman Mike McKevitt.
He felt that the following would come about in the way of revised legislation:
* A more humane attitude as far as enforcement of the law is concerned.
* A new provision which will allow for pre-inspection consultations by OSHA.
One mason contractor voiced an opinion shared by many others when he asked: "Why can't OSHA have 'instructors' rather than inspectors?"
Speaking on government regulations concerning minority hiring procedures, McKevitt said that many minority tradesmen "resent being put in categories." He felt that the Denver Plan for bringing minorities into construction jobs was "far superior" to the Philadelphia Plan and more flexible than the law itself.
CMCA executive vice president Mac Terry reported that the masonry trade in the Denver area "already has a high percentage of minorities in the skilled areas of their ranks, so the problem is not complying with percentages but knowing how to comply with all of the other regulations and overlapping agencies."
Attendance at the seminar, Terry reported, was twice the number as last year. CMCA's next planned event, he said, is a fall estimating workshop which will use a new handbook being published as a joint effort between the association and Jerry Pope, head estimator for Hensel-Phelps Construction Co. The outdoor steak barbecue held in the aspen grove on Saturday evening. One-hundred and eight sirloin steaks were served.
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