LECET Market Lines
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Volume 1, Issue
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Market-Related
and Other News of Interest to Laborers and Signatory
Contractors
- A service of the
- Laborers-Employers Cooperation
and Education Trust
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In Workers' Compensation, ADR
Spells Relief
- The latest figures from
the state of California confirm that alternative dispute
resolution (ADR) programs can significantly decrease
workers’ compensation costs while speeding claims resolution
and reducing litigation. The California
Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’
Compensation reports that in 1999 (the latest year for which
complete figures are available), contractors participating
in the state’s eleven ADR programs incurred, on average, a
28.7 percent loss ratio. The 1999 loss ratio
for contractors participating in the program established by
the Southern California Laborers’ District Council was 13.8
percent.* The
lower the loss ratio, the lower the workers’ compensation
costs.
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- Working with State
Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF), the Southern California
District Council of Laborers has created the Alternative
Dispute Prevention and Resolution System (ADPRS). Under the system, a
neutral ombudsman guides injured workers through the
workers’ compensation process, answers any questions, and
tries to resolve any disputes. Disputes the
ombudsman is unable to resolve go first to mediation, and
then to binding arbitration.
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- The program has been
highly effective at reducing workers’ compensation costs and
enhancing the competitiveness of signatory contractors. Now the District
Council and LECET are using the program as a tool to
increase Laborers’ market share throughout Southern
California.
They have produced a brochure that explains the
program to both contractors and Laborers, and are
highlighting the program and its benefits as they meet with
contractors.
Copies of the brochure are available from Tri-Fund
Field Coordinator Chad Wright at (626) 433-2180.
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- In states like California
that allow it, workers’ compensation ADR systems can get the
attention of contractors who might otherwise never consider
working union.
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In this Issue
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LECET
Market Lines
jobs,
increase market
share, and
advance shared market-related
interests.
Copyright (c) 2002
Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education
Trust. All
Rights
Reserved. | | |
- *Please note that the
California figures have some statistical limitations that
are explained in detail in the full report, available at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/DWC/carveout99.htm
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| Television Miniseries Highlights "Great
Projects"
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Great Projects: the
Building of America, a four-part miniseries that aired on
PBS stations in July, celebrates America’s infrastructure and
its impact on everyday life.
Sponsored by the American Road and Transportation
Builders Association (ARTBA), the U.S. Department of
Transportation, and others, the miniseries explores the taming
of the Mississippi and Colorado Rivers, the electrification of
America, the building of New York’s bridges, and the
construction of Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel.
The series features historical footage and quotes,
commentary from leading academics, and interviews with men and
women who benefited from the projects.
When rural farmers talk about the ways in which
electrification improved their lives, the message is clear:
great projects transform lives.
Consider using the series
to augment ongoing legislative and educational campaigns. It soon will be
available on videocassette and DVD from http://www.shop.pbs.org/.
For more information, visit
the following websites:
- CTTS
Training “Webcasts” Now Available
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- In mid-February, LECET
hosted the first-ever CTTS Exchange webcast. This live,
real-time, on-line training enables participants to log into
a dedicated website and watch an instructor lead them
through the fundamentals of CTTS Exchange, LECET’s unique
project-tracking software. Throughout the
webcast, students can review the process and ask questions
of the instructor.
LECET is now hosting CTTS webcasts as requested by
CTTS users, usually once a month. For more
information, or to participate in the next webcast, contact
LECET’s Computer Services Manager Katey Bailey at mailto:katey@lecet.org
Fifth Annual Computer
Services Conference Highlights Mobile
Computing
From laptops to handheld
computers, and from personal data assistants (PDAs) to
internet-ready cell phones, mobile and portable information
technology is spreading throughout the construction
industry. Many
new devices can help Laborers and contractors increase market
share. LECET’s
fifth annual Computer Conference, held in May, highlighted
several of these new technologies. The conference also
updated participants on the latest technological developments
at LECET, the Laborers-AGC Education and Training Fund, and
the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America. Workshops explored the
use of paperless office technology, and recent refinements to
CTTS Exchange and the Site for Tracking, Analysis and Research
(STAR). First
held in 1998, these annual meetings showcase information
technology services, address vital and timely computer-related
issues, and encourage and de-mystify the use of
technology.
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LECET’s on-line resources
clearinghouse at http://www.lecet.org/
continues to offer authorized users access to the latest
ideas, programs, and materials developed by LECET and its 29
affiliates throughout the United States and Canada. New arrivals
include:
Mold is Gold, a LECET PowerPoint
presentation about the growing
microbial remediation
market and the relevant training offered by
Laborers-AGC
(Construction Marketing Clearinghouse:
www.lecet.org/Clearinghouse_Public/LECET/microbial/Mibrobial%20Remediation.pps).
Build
It Union, a Philadelphia LECET video marketing
Laborers
and contractors to key industry decision
makers
(Advertising/Communications Clearinghouse:
www.ldc-phila-vic.org/video/index.htm).
A
Prevailing Wage Law Studies clearinghouse that offers
academic
and legal studies of prevailing wage laws.
This publication is available via fax and
email.
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