Industry publication, December 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

...L.AJ6..Q.jk...... 1/7" 70" that the craft labor situation is easing because of the severe drop in construc­ tion activity in the metals, forest prod­ End Machining, ucts, petrochemical and other industrial Sawing, Expanding, markets, partly caused by the strong U.S. Flange Facing dollar that has made some of those indus­ tries noncompetitive with imports. “Out­ side of power, there is not a lot of IN THE SHOP demand,” says Ted C. Kennedy, chair­ IN THE FIELD man of BE&K Inc., Birmingham, Ala. Still, spot labor shortages are occur­ A global leader in portable, si ring in some areas because of a work powerful tools that deliver J force that is increasingly reluctant to safety and reliability. v travel, says Kennedy. “We have two pow­ Standard and custom erplant projects in northern Alabama with lots of applicants and another in tooling minimizes costs and Oklahoma that is going begging,” says improves production. Large Kennedy. When the contractor asked the inventory and unsurpassed Alabamians if they wanted to go to Okla­ service. Call today for full homa, they said: “No, we will stay here details. and wait for a job,” Kennedy explains. BE&K and other big nonunion firms P. O. Box 393 use per diems and other incentives to Wadsworth, OH 44282 lure workers to particular projects. While nonunion workers in powerplant and 330-336-4550 / www.H-STOOL.com T ij UNC. other markets almost always earn less than union workers (see table), incen­ tives can boost their pay considerably. Contractors are making incentive pay­ ments for living expenses, safety, atten­ M RontorPurH I dance, productivity and other things to attract and keep workers on projects, says Jeffrey M. Robinson, president of NAYLOR PIPE s I Personnel Administration Services, Saline, Mich. A PAS survey of large non­ p union contractors in the power market employing over 30,000 craft workers For Power Plant Piping. E indicated that they pay an average per diem of $44.18 to workers on about half Complete Line of C of their shutdown and outage work. “This adds about $5 an hour” to com­ pensation, but is not included in the offi­ Spiralweld Pipe Systems I cial wage-fringe number, says Robinson. “This is an owner-driven thing. They □ Seal Air □ Ignitor Air n Exhaust and Intake □ Stacks F don’t want to increase the wages” and want the flexibility to turn the incentive □ Scanner Air □ Abrasion Resistant Pipe Y on and off, he says. and Linings Of the contractors paying the incen­ tives, those for safety average 26^ per R hour, attendance 61 project comple­ tion 710 and production 640, according E to the PAS survey. Where workers are in short supply, L contractors are working with owners and suppliers to plan for more modulariza­ Y tion, prefabrication and constructibility to cut down on field work. Even “little For more info on our complete line of Pipe Systems, & things” like having fabricators not paint Call or E-maif us for our NEW SP-2 Brochure. the ends of steel that needs to be welded makes a big difference, says Kennedy. BE&K, TIC Holdings Inc., H.B. Zachry NAYLOR PIPE COMPANY Serving the Industry for Over 75 Years B Co. and other big nonunion contractors also are cooperating among themselves 1230 East 92nd St. • Chicago, IL 60619 Phone: 773.721.9400 • Fax: ^3.721.9494 E-mail: [email protected] U to keep local skilled craftspersons busy in an area, even though the firms are fierce Visit our Website: www.naytorpipe.com Y Powerplant Construction«3I

NYC-WTC_000141974