laws – Concrete Products

Producer to lawmakers: Union election rule change approaches free speech infringement

July 11, 2011 Concrete News

Sources: U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce; CP staff

“Unions have the advantage of subtly working behind the scenes for months without an employer’s knowledge to persuade employees to unionize. It is only fair that an employer be allowed the current time frame to accurately communicate with employees,” observed Wisconsin ready mixed producer John Carew at a Congressional hearing on National Labor Relations Board-proposed changes to narrow the petition for representation-to-election window for prospective rank & file.

Carew Concrete chief to testify on proposed union election rule changes

July 6, 2011 Concrete News

Sources: Office of U.S. Representative John Kline (R-MN); National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

By Don Marsh

John Carew, president of Concrete Concrete & Supply Co., is one of five industry representatives or federal labor policy experts scheduled to testify July 7 at a Capitol Hill hearing titled “Rushing Union Elections: Protecting the Interests of Big Labor at the Expense of Workers’ Free Choice.”

NLRB formalizes proposed union representation election rule changes

June 29, 2011 Concrete News

Source: National Labor Relations Board; CP staff A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlines amendments to existing NLRB rules and regulations governing procedures in representation cases. If adopted after a public notice-and-comment process, Board Members contend, the changes would: Allow for electronic filing of election petitions and other documents. Ensure that employees, employers and unions receive and exchange timely information to…

RM producer provides lawmakers sharp critique of FMCSA Hours proposal

June 15, 2011 Concrete News

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; U.S. House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations; CP staff

In Capitol Hill testimony on behalf of NRMCA, Pennsylvania producer Rusty Rader detailed industry concerns over increased costs, fuel consumption and paperwork surrounding six changes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposes in Hours of Service regulations: requiring off-duty time immediately following the end of the driving window; possibly reducing driving time from 11 to 10 hours; mandating a 30-minute break every seven hours; limiting restarts of the 60/70 hour clock to once in seven days; including at least two periods between 6 a.m. and midnight within a 34-hour restart period; and, limiting on-duty time to 13 hours in a driving window.