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Ontario Erectors Association

The latest news from IMPACT (Jan 29 2021)

Due to safety concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 North American Iron Workers / IMPACT Conference has been changed from an in-person to a virtual event.

The conference will still be held February 15 – 17, 2021, and registration for the new virtual platform is now open! If you have already registered, you do not need to do anything. You will receive an email with instructions on how to log into the conference in the week before the event. We hope you’ll join us!
Register Now
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Reporting COVID-19 to Iron Workers Safety & Health Department
The Iron Workers (IW) Safety and Health Department has developed reporting tools to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 on jobsites in the U.S. and Canada. They have been distributed to partner contractors and Iron Workers local unions and district councils.

Please call 1-833-355-SAFE (7233) or email safety@iwintl.org from the United States or Canada for immediate assistance with workplace safety incidents, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please click below for an editable PDF form to report suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases to the safety department via e-mail. Please note that this form is for internal use only.

COVID-19 Case Reporting Form
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Webinar: CARES ACT 2.0 – PPP, EIDL, ERTC
Hosts Matthew Lescault and Cassandra Langley from Lescault and Walderman, Inc. will discuss the new stimulus package and how it impacts our member organizations. Topics will include the expanded Paycheck Protection Program, changes to the Economic Injury Disaster Loans and the expanded Employee Retention Tax Credit. Register


Top 10 Canadian Construction Trends To Watch In 2021
After a turbulent 2020 forced the industry to adapt on the fly to a series of new on-site safety protocols and an abruptly altered building market, contractors are facing volatility in the year ahead. Mary Van Buren, the president of the Canadian Construction Association, shares the organization’s expectations and the top issues it’s tracking heading into 2021. Read more

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6 Takeaways From U.S. Chamber’s Q4 Commercial Construction Index
Despite concern over materials shortages, the overall Index score this quarter rose slightly to 60, up from 57 in Q3. “The industry is a positive indicator of where the rest of the economy is going, but its likely confidence won’t fully return until companies and workers have the confidence to get back to work safely,” said U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley. Read more.
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Ironworker Resources

California District Council Safety Hour
“Clarification and Compliance with the California Emergency Regulation: COVID-19 Prevention” This webinar on February 5, 2021, at 11:00 am Pacific, will feature former Cal-OSHA Chief Len Welsh who will review and clarify the emergency “COVID-19 Prevention” standard. Register.

Study Shows Union-Based Peer Training Successful In Promoting Opioid Awareness
Recent findings from a Massachusetts study done in partnership with MassCOSH, Iron Workers Local 7, the Massachusetts Nurses Association and the Teamsters Local 25 support the effectiveness of promoting opioid awareness through a union-based peer training model. Read the Study

Iron Workers & IMPACT In the News

Allied Building Metal Industries, Inc.’s 2020 NY Iron Awards
ABMI, Inc., an association of the NYC Metro area’s leading unionized fabricators and erectors, has selected the recipients of the 22nd Annual Industry and Scholarship Awards for 2020. Congratulations to this year’s recipients of The Larry Weiss Memorial Scholarship, The Jack Daly and Ed Simpson Iron Worker of the Year Award, and the Allied Safety Award. Read more

Famous Artworks Feel The ‘Bern’
It was more than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ inauguration on January 20th that caught the Internet’s attention. The image of U.S. senator Bernie Sanders, wearing mittens and a brown winter jacket at the inauguration ceremony, has spawned countless memes online. Lunch Atop A Skyscraper has to be our favorite – workers on the iron crossbeam are joined by a new recruit. Read more

Industry News

Proposed Infrastructure Bill To Be introduced
President Biden said proposals would “make historic investments in infrastructure, along with manufacturing, research and development and clean energy.” He added that it would produce “millions of good-paying jobs that put Americans to work rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our ports to make them more climate-resilient, to make them faster, cheaper, cleaner to transport American-made goods across our country and around the world.” Read more

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Canada’s Economy Ready to ‘Take Off Like a Rocket
Delivering his much-anticipated annual economic update during the opening session of the virtual Real Estate Forum in Toronto, CIBC World Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal had a message of hope for the more than 1,800 attendees. With a vaccine now on the horizon and two-thirds of Canada’s economy already chugging along in close to high gear, he said the country is poised for a strong recovery. Read more

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Steel Industry and Labor Urge Biden to Keep Steel Tariffs in Place
In a letter to then-President-elect Joe Biden, the American Iron and Steel Institute, Steel Manufacturers Association, the United Steelworkers union, The Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports, and American Institute of Steel Construction urged Biden to ensure steel tariffs and quotas, put in place in 2018 to protect national security, are preserved. Read more

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Broad-Based Weakness Pulls Construction Starts Lower in December
Total construction starts lost 5% in December, falling to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $784.3 billion. Nonresidential building starts fell 11% during the month, while nonbuilding starts were 5% lower. Residential starts were essentially flat over the month. Starts were lower in three of the four regions in December; the South Central was the only region to post an increase. Read more.

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How Much Federal Funding Will Each State DOT Receive?
State departments of transportation are set to receive funds totalling $9.8 billion as a result of emergency aid from the $900 billion COVID-19 relief measure passed late last year. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law Dec. 27. Each state’s portion will be based on the state’s share of obligation limitations within the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Read more.

Upcoming Events

California District Council Safety Hour – “Clarification and Compliance With the California Emergency Regulation: COVID-19 Prevention”, February 2, 2021, Online Webinar: CARES ACT 2.0 – PPP, EIDL, ERTC, February 5, 2021, Online2021 North American Iron Workers / IMPACT Virtual Conference, February 15 – 17, 2021, Online
Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People in Business, February 24 – March 31, 2021, Online

Industrial Info

IMPACT provides Industrial Information Resources’ (IIR) PEC reports, which identify specific project-related data, to IMPACT participants.