HOLLYWOOD, FL — Members of the United Association (UA), the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), and the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) gathered here recently for the 2002 MCAA/UA Labor Relations Conference.

Ed Sullivan and Joe Maloney with the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) presented an update on recent building trades developments and new labor/ management initiatives. Maloney then joined MCAA immediate past president Smitty Belcher, the UA’s George Bliss, and Gen. Matthew Caulfield for a panel discussion on Helmets to Hardhats, the UA/MCAA program that targets recently discharged military personnel for high-skilled apprenticeship training in the building trades.

Steve Sartrom of Air Products and Chemicals, Allentown, PA, Roger Lane, DTE Energy, Detroit, MI, and CURT executive vice president Greg Sizemore were on hand to discuss topics including CURT’s efforts at gaining local user group acceptance of the UA/MCAA drug testing and treatment policy, and more stringent product qualification criteria regarding safety training.

The second day of the conference began with UA assistant general president Bill Hite’s report on the UA’s new market initiatives, followed by a presentation from the UA’s Don House and MCAA’s Barb Dolim on the new STAR program for HVAC technicians.

For more information, visit www.mcaa.org or www.uastar.info (website).

Publication date: 11/04/2002