Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.
Issue link: http://concrete.epubxp.com/i/114208
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS BUSINESS INTERESTS CONFRONT WHITE HOUSE'S NLRB MANEUVERS A sweeping federal appellate court action in late-January concerning National Labor Relations Board Members President Obama appointed during an administration-claimed, early-2012 Senate recess has clouded agency decisions pending additional court review. In mid-February, President Obama re-nominated to the NLRB Democrats Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, whose recess appointments were questioned by the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In response, Associated Builders & Contractors Vice President of Government Affairs Geoff Burr noted, ÒThe presidentÕs decision to re-nominate Ms. Block and Mr. Griffin to seats they are currently occupying in violation of the United States Constitution is a disappointing signal to employers, employees and unions. ÒSeeking approval of these controversial nominees is a counterproductive act that shows contempt for the SenateÕs role in providing advice and consent on presidential appointments. [The] action by the president reinforces the belief that the Obama administration is more concerned with having the NLRB carry out the narrow policy goals of powerful special interests than it is with having the board play its traditional role as a neutral arbiter of federal labor law.Ó The appellate courtÕs January 2013 ruling favored an employer/respondentÕs petition for review of a NLRB order and could nullify decisions Board Members have issued since January 2012. With support from ABC and other national business groups, respondent Noel Canning, a Yakima, Wash., Pepsi product bottler, challenged a) the existence of a quorum the Board required on an unfair labor practice complaint in which Teamsters Local 760 prevailed; and, b) the validity of the BoardÕs order based on the presence of three MembersÑBlock, Griffin and Terrence FlynnÑ President Obama appointed during the January 2012 Senate recess. ÒThe presidentÕs decision to bypass the U.S. Senate and appoint prounion activist members to the NLRB was a political, partisan act that had to be challenged,Ó Burr noted in response to the court ruling. In a statement on the appellate court ruling, NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce noted, ÒThe Board respectfully disagrees with todayÕs decision and believes that the PresidentÕs position in the matter will ultimately be upheld. It should be noted that this order applies to only one specific case, Noel Canning, and that similar questions have been raised in more than a dozen cases pending in other courts of appeals.Ó 8 | MARCH 2013 TAXPAYER GROUP PROBES FEDS' ALLIANCE WITH LEED DEVELOPER Through three Freedom of Information Act requests, the Taxpayer Protection Alliance (TPA) in Alexandria, Va.. is continuing to examine General Services Administration adoption of the U.S. Green Building CouncilÕs LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification system. GSA has mandated LEED Gold-level standards for all new federal buildings since 2010. TPA cites concerns about Òprivate, non-science based, non-profit organizations being involved in creating environmental standards that are then relied upon to dictate government policies and in turn cost taxpayers millions of dollars.Ó In a 2012 public comment letter to USGBC, the alliance noted how products such as plastic insulation, vinyl roofing, and LED lighting are discouraged through the chemical avoidance credits in the (forthcoming) LEED v4, which uses the European UnionÕs REACH regulations as a benchmark. ÒCredits for certification in this new standard could reward architects for rejecting modern technology and choose instead to use a thatched straw roof É LEED v4 is filled with requirements that pick winners and losers in the marketplace. The USGBC seems to have undue influence in mandating LEED standards and TPA wants answers.Ó D.C. TOPS IN LEED-PROJECTS With some of the country's priciest land and deep-pocketed building owners, the District of Columbia remains number one on U.S. Green Building Council's 2012 list of the top 10 states for LEED project certifications. The per-capita list factors 2010 U.S. Census data and commercial and institutional buildings certified under the LEED green building rating system. The District of Columbia logged 36.97 sq. ft. of LEED space certified per resident last year, followed by Virginia and Colorado, with 3.71 sq. ft. and 2.1 sq. ft., respectively. WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM