News 2009 

PUBLIC NOTICE RE:  PREVAILING WAGE

ABC received the following notice from James L. Salkeld, Director of Labor:

An objection has been filed with the Arkansas Department of Labor to its determination of certain prevailing wage rates for building construction certified July 1, 2009.  The objection applies to the Plumber/Pipefitter rates established for the following counties:  Pulaski and Saline, Conway, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Perry, Pope, and Yell.

Pursuant to Arkansas Code Ann. § 22-9-313, a public hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 22 at 10 AM in Room 305 of the offices of the Arkansas Department of Labor 10421 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR for the purpose of allowing all interested parties the opportunity to present evidence relevant to the wage determination and the objection.  Copies of the rates and the objections may be obtained from the Arkansas Department of Labor by writing to the address above or calling (501) 682-4536.

PREVAILING WAGE REVISIONS

On July 27, 2009, the Arkansas Department of Labor reissued and filed certified copies of its determination of the prevailing hourly rate of wages for bulldozer operators only on heavy construction projects pursuant to Arkansas Code Ann. §22-9-313 in selected counties.  Below are the revised pages - remember the only change is for bulldozer operators.

Ashley, Calhoun, Chicot, Ouachita and Union
Conway, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Perry, Pope and Yell
Crawford and Sebastian
Faulkner and Lonoke
Miller
Pulaski and Saline


The Arkansas Department of Labor is seeking assistance on a critical issue concerning required grounding electrodes for new construction sites utilizing poured concrete footers.  This could also apply to remodel jobs where an electrical upgrade is part of the project.  Complete text of the letter from the Labor Department is below.

Letter 

2009 Certified Prevailing Wage Rates are Here! 

Click Here for Building Rates by County
Click Here for Heavy Rates by County


New Insurance Deal.


Labor Law Posters. ABC has entered a deal with osha4less.com to make these posters available to our membership at a special discount price.



2008

Drug Testing. Bobby Sims of a'TEST Consultants, Inc. spoke to ABC's Safety Committee 12/10/08 with helpful information about Drug Testing.  A copy of his presentation is here.

New Construction Stormwater Permit. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality finalized the renewed stormwater permit October 31. Other forms of interest on this topic: Response to public comments, Stormwater Inspection Form, Authorization to Discharge Stormwater Under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and the Arkansas Water and Air Polllution Control Act.

Prevaiing Wage Survey for 2009.  The Arkansas Department of Labor will be conducting this survey until January 31, 2009 for the rates to be certified in July 2009.  The survey form and instructions are available here

David Holmes of the  North Texas Chapter came to Little Rock August 27 to conduct a seminar on the annual Excellence in Construction competition.  It was full of wonderful information on how to increase your chances of winning at both the State and National level.  2009's Arkansas competition will more closely follow the ABC National entry form, and thus eliminate the need to make a lot of changes in your entry to enter the National competition.  Highlights of the presentation are here.

Carlos Reynolds has been named the new Area Director of the Little Rock OSHA office, replacing the recently retired Paul Hansen.  The OSHA Partnership Agreement is expected to be approved on or near October 1.

Alan Dobson of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C gave a presentation on Lien Laws for a Western Region breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Fort Smith August 21.  Here is a copy of his presentation. 

ABC has recently instituted a series of educational lunches. If you weren't able to attend the Transportation Law lunch, here's what you missed. This presentation was made by Jess Sweere of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon, & Galchus P.C. For questions, contact Mr. Sweere

We now have 2008 Prevailing Wage information available.  The information posted previously was the proposed information - following are the Certified Rates as of July 2, 2008:

Building Rates by County
Heavy Rates by County  

A new OSHA ruling regarding cranes went into effect July 15. Read the directive here. Specifics about inspections can be found on Page 4.  


Publications

ABC of Arkansas distributes a monthly newsletter, "The Merit Shop Report," to all ABC members as well as some architects and engineers featuring information on political activity, events, and issues that affect our industry. For information regarding "The Merit Shop Report" or advertising rates, contact Danielle Woodall

New in 2009 is the EIC Award Winners Publication, sent to all ABC Members, plus engineers and architects, and other interested parties.

ABC National produces a monthly magazine called "Construction Executive."  "Construction Executive" offers members an opportunity to monitor progress and issues throughout the nation.