By: Roger S. Brubaker, Meadow Valley Electric, Inc., 2020 Chair of the Board – ABC Keystone
Wow! It’s March already, and winter is almost over! Many of our contractor members have not skipped a beat with projects ongoing through the first quarter of 2020 due to the unseasonably warm weather. The staff at ABC Keystone have also been busy the past month, providing numerous training sessions including ASHE, Competent Person training, Project Management and Leadership, as well as reaching out to members at four Regional Construction Wake-up Call events.
By now you should have received a “STEP (Safety Training Evaluation Process) Safety Packet” in the mail from the Chapter office. I trust everyone, especially our contractor members, will take time to read and evaluate this important information. Your safety committee should be reviewing the 2020 STEP Application this month and registering the results. If you don’t have a safety committee, ABC can help with that. Take advantage of newly discounted safety training this year as a STEP participant. Safety pays in many ways!
Last month, I had the opportunity to attend our Young Professionals (YP) Committee meeting, and I was blown away by what this group is doing! They are organizing charity fundraisers, implementing a “LeaderTrak” process which allows members to obtain points for attending events, participating in educational opportunities, and growing their network. I am confident this group will succeed as outstanding future leaders of their respective organizations.
Political advocacy was an item discussed at the YP meeting and was also the keynote topic for our February Wake-up Call meetings. On the federal front, the PRO (Protecting the Right to Organize) Act was passed by the House on February 6, 2020. This Big Labor bill again discriminates against our merit shop values. The 2019 BLS (Bureau of Labor & Statistics) reports that union members make up only 10.3% of the workforce nationally! It’s time for the 90% to stand up and protect our right to choose to work and do business, free of intimidation or retribution.
Now that the presidential “Impeachment” proceedings are over (hopefully), we focus our attention on state government. April 7 is the date of the annual ABC PA “Free Enterprise Day” in Harrisburg, and I encourage as many members as possible to attend. This is an opportunity to meet with local lawmakers and let them know what is or is not working and advocate for change where needed. The current Apprenticeship Ratio would be a topic of discussion!
Our Board of Directors continues to work diligently behind the scenes reviewing our chapter financial statements, evaluating the current strategic plan and implementing action items, as well as assisting with membership retention and recruitment. I want to give a “shout out” to this team who volunteer their time and energy to ensure ABC Keystone continues to have the “It” factor! Our Chapter is one of the top performing in the country because of our great members, our super staff and these dedicated leaders. Thanks for all you do!
March events include a few of my favorites: Construction Wars, the annual Apprenticeship Mock Craft Competition and Career Fair, and we end the month with the Axes & Brews (what could go wrong?) Networking Mixer.
I look forward to seeing everyone at these exciting, upcoming events!
Warm Regards,
Roger Brubaker
Posted March 5, 2020
