Sources: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.; CP staff
“An Introduction to Product Category Rules (PCR), Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and Other Aspects of Sustainable Process and Resilient Materials” will be held December 8 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville (Fla.) Riverfront, host venue of ASTM Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates standards development meetings.
Read MoreSources: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Geneva; CP staff
WBCSD Cement Sustainability Initiative’s (CSI) new Product Category Rules (PCR) for unreinforced concrete offer producers a common methodology to prepare Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for their mixes. CSI membership includes all multinational companies with integrated North American operations: Argos, CRH, Cemex, GCC, Heidelberg, Holcim, Lafarge, Taiheiyo, Titan and Votorantim.
Read MoreSource: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.
NRMCA has become an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Program Operator, a designation enabling it to help members meet new requirements in LEED v4, International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and the Architecture 2030 Challenge for Products. EPDs are third-party verified reports published by product manufacturers that provide quality assured and comparable information regarding the environmental performance of their product.
Read MoreSources: 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.
Read MoreSources: 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.”
Read MoreSource: 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…
Read MoreSources: 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.
Read More