MCAA Regional Report, Region I

Alaska
No State Chair.

Idaho
We were extremely busy in 2006 as bricklayer hours were up 26% over 2005. 2007 looks to be another strong year in our area for masonry construction.

Montana
The construction economy in Montana is holding its own. We are currently very busy building large scale commercial projects, large scale private residences, and large scale government contracts in all corners of the state. I don't see the bubble bursting anytime soon and continue to look for additional qualified help to assist us in meeting the demands of work available.

Oregon
Although the residential market has slowed commercial construction remains strong and should post an increase over last year. The Architectural community has continued an aggressive campaign of adding staff in 2006 and this is an indicator of a strong building climate. There is a continued demand for retail and condominium projects and public school construction should increase in 2007.

Washington
Business activity continued upward in 2006 compared to 2005. Bricklayer hours were up about 10% and it is expected that hours will increase in 2007 5% or more over 2006 totals.

Economic forecasts predict that 2007 will see some increases in commercial construction. Office building activities in Seattle and Bellevue are continuing to rebound from the lows experienced in 2004-5. Educational construction remains active but has peaked while high rise condominium and mixed use projects expand in each of the major cities in the Puget Sound area, Seattle and Bellevue being the most active markets. Mass Transit projects and city revitalization programs continue to produce many masonry projects throughout the area.

Increased pressure on the market is coming from the Vancouver British Columbia area as they prepare for the 2010 Olympics.

Design firms in Western Washington continue to be busy and are adding staff. This should lead to solid construction activity for the foreseeable future. The Governor has proposed a budget with record amounts for education. Much of the budget will be for construction in the k-12 and College/University arenas. Material availability and lead-time requirements remain OK with the usual increase in lead-times expected during the peak summer and fall construction cycle. At this time, no material shortages are expected to impact Western Washington projects.

Alaska
No State Chair.

Idaho
The Masonry Industry Promotion Group continues its successful promotion of university education at Washington State University (WSU). A hands-on demo for third-year architecture students is followed by a seven week masonry design competition and culminates with a lunch banquet and cash awards for the best designs.

The undergraduate masonry design course for structural engineers has become a popular part of WSU's regular engineering curriculum. Over 1,000 students have completed the class since we started in 1986. We also continue a yearly scholarship for graduate students in structural engineering with a research area in masonry. Fourteen students have graduated from this program and now hold positions with

Montana
No report as of this writing.

Oregon
The Masonry Institute of Oregon continued to promote masonry directly to architects and engineers through its AIA continuing education programs. The MIO also sponsored structural masonry engineering courses at Portland State and Oregon State Universities for a total of 50 engineering students The MIO in conjunction with the Northwest Concrete Masonry Association sponsored a Design in Masonry course at the University of Oregon. This course was created for the architectural students and will be continued on an every other year basis. The MIO continues to mail on a monthly basis, 160 NCMA Tech Notes to area engineers and architects as well as the Concrete Masonry Design magazine. Harold Friberg was chosen to be the Executive Director of the MIO in November replacing Steve Hubbard who had resigned. Harold brings 35 years of industry experience to the position from sales and management of a distribution company as well as a plant manager for a concrete block producer.

Washington
No report as of this writing.

Alaska
No State Chair.

Idaho
We currently have 64 apprentices going through the apprentice school and 27 more from Montana.

Journeyman are required to complete eight hours of upgrade training each year or they do not receive their annual raise.

Montana
As mentioned above the need for more skilled labor is of course always one of our challenges. We had nine consecutive months in 2006 where we had our crew of ninety, each working 5-8 hours of overtime per week. This alone gives reason to believe that all of us are in need of additional skilled workers. Our local bricklayers union has a ways to go in the area of recruiting young bricklayers. Our apprentice program is, however, showing some positive steps toward training. We are now merged with Spokane, WA Local #3, and share training with them. This year has had a marked increase in apprentices and I believe our numbers are up by 20 percent.

During our last Bricklayer and Laborer negotiations we were successful at getting money going towards masonry promotion. We are now needing to get a contractors' association together and form a promotion group to address how this money should be spent and used for promotion.

Oregon
Bricklayer manhours for 2006 continued the upward trend from the previous year registering a 4.6% increase. That was on top of a 9.5% increase for 2005 and demand should remain strong for the 2007 year. John Mohlis the Business Manager for BAC Local #1 resigned to take a position with the Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council. Keith Wright has now become the Business Manger for Local #1. Labor negotiations are slated for the spring of 2007 amid a tight labor market.

Our Joint Apprenticeship Training Program continues to successfully train and graduate journeyman bricklayers. This on-going program is managed by both labor and management representatives and is regulated by the State of Oregon.

Washington
Manpower availability is a major concern. Currently between 30 and 40 bricklayers from Locals 1 and 9 from Michigan are working on Western Washington projects. There could be a serious shortage of manpower during our peak building season this year.

Alaska
No State Chair.

Idaho
Masonry is most often the choice material for designing and constructing projects in our area. Our biggest threat continues to be tilt-up, with the thin brick inset system and the other systems that are trying to give the look of masonry for a cheaper price.

Montana
Currently our wall systems are beating tilt-up and pre-cast. We are finding that our costs are about 5-10 percent less.

Oregon
No report as of this writing.

Washington
No report as of this writing.

Alaska
No State Chair.

Idaho
No State Chair.

Montana
I'm not currently aware of any regulatory or legislative issue that may end up in Washington that have any bearing on my region.

Oregon
No report as of this writing.

Washington
No report as of this writing.

Alaska
No State Chair.

Idaho
No State Chair.

Montana
No report as of this writing.

Oregon
Oregon-OSHA is still focusing most of its efforts in finding ways for industry to voluntarily implement ergonomic best practices guidelines. Our local JATC program is currently incorporating a best practices guide for ergonomics in its training curriculum.

Washington
No report as of this writing.