CDW
files suit to block NLRB’s new rule
Last week, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW)
along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit in federal court against the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The CDW is seeking an injunction against
the NLRB’s newly amended rule that would shorten the time frame for a
unionization election. The NRLB’s new rule was published on Dec. 22 and is
scheduled to take effect on April 30, 2012. The CDW’s suit aims to block the
NLRB from enforcing that rule. In a recent news
release, the CDW calls this new rule the NLRB’s “ambush election” rule,
saying it is “limiting employees’ opportunity to hear from employers and make
an informed choice.”
CDW Chairman Geoffrey Burr said, “Instead of putting
fairness first, the NLRB bowed to special interests by abandoning longstanding
rules governing union-representation elections for this new rigged system where
employees have less information and employers have fewer legal rights and a
diminished due process.”
In a news
release, NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce said, “this rule is about giving
all employees who have petitioned for an election the right to vote in a timely
manner and without the impediment of needless litigation.”
Canadian
province’s new rule puts some contractors out of business
As of Jan.
1, 2012, a new regulation in Ontario, Canada, requires that any electrical
contracting company doing work in the province have a “master electrician”
working for the company.
According
to an Ottawa Citizen article, the requirement may put some
experienced electrical contractors out of the business.
Contractor
Doings
Electrical
construction
Cooper
Electric of
Cincinnati celebrated its 65th year in business with a news release
noting that its client return rate “currently sits at well over 70%.”
Integrated
Electrical Services: FY2011 ended Sept. 30 for Integrated Electrical Services with $481.6 million in
revenues, up 4.5% over FY10. The company’s backlog at Sept. 30 was $175 million,
down from $219 million on Sept. 30, 2010.
Mister
Sparky of Cherryville: The Star of Shelby, N.C. reported that Mister Sparky of Cherryville,
which serves the greater Charlotte area, was named Franchise of the Year at the
annual Mister Sparky meeting held in November.
Strategic
Connections Inc. was ranked No. 12 on the “Fast 50” list of local companies named by the Triangle
Business Journal of North Carolina. The company said it has 60 employees
and does low-voltage and electrical contractor work.
OZZ
Electric: Cleantech
Europe II, an equity investment fund, has put an undisclosed amount of money
into OZZ, a Canadian electrical contractor.
Line contractors
MYR
Group replaced
an existing $75 million revolving credit facility with a new $175 million
credit line.
Pike
Electric said
it will be a subcontractor to Fluor on the proposed 800-mile HVDC transmission
line from Oklahoma to Tennessee (the proposed Plains & Eastern Clean Line
LLC project). According to Fluor’s news release, the project “will make
possible an estimated $7 billion of renewable energy projects that otherwise
may not be built due to limitations of the existing electric transmission
grid.”
Solar
work
BASS
Electric: San
Francisco-based BASS Electric issued a news release in November saying that it
was installing 688 solar panels on the headquarters of the San Francisco Public
Utilities Commission—a LEED Platinum building.
Cupertino
Electric was
named “Generation Supplier of the Year” by northern California utility company Pacific
Gas & Electric, for its work on two utility-scale PV projects that have
been completed. The projects total 35MW in capacity.
PowerWorks
Electric of Mooresville,
N.C. entered the solar market in the middle of 2010, but has already worked on
“more than 5MW worth” of solar projects, according to the Charlotte Business
Journal. The contractor has another 1.6MW under construction. PowerWorks
Electric’s completed projects range in size from 100kW to 1.5MW.
SHAKA
& Vergona-Bowersox Electric: Vergona-Bowersox Electric of Boca Raton, Fla., an electrical contractor with
more than 30 years of experience, reportedly won an $8 million contract to
install solar systems in Florida schools earlier this year. Now, it has
involved SHAKA, “a leading globalization and corporate strategies firm,” in the
deal, according to a news release.
Stout
& Burg Electric: Tustin Calif.-based electrical contractor Stout & Burg Electric said it recently
completed the electrical work on a 4,970-panel, 1.13MW solar arrow at the FedEx
Distribution Center in Rialto, Calif. SunPower Corp. chose Stout & Burg to
do the job.
© 2012 The Electrical Distributor. All rights reserved.