IEC Oregon

2011 IEC Safety Calendar Contest

The Independent Electrical Contractors, Inc. (IEC) believes safety an important aspect of a business. All employees should return home safely to their family each day after work. Bad safety habits can destroy a happy family and ruin a successful business. For that reason, everyone should be constantly reminded of good safety procedures and what better way to do that than with a safety calendar.

IEC National is happy to introduce the 2011 IEC Safety Calendar Contest. IEC is producing a 2011 Safety Calendar that will be sent to all IEC members. Each month will display a drawing from and IEC member’s child. This is a great opportunity for your child to show their parents commitment to returning home safely.

Eligibility
Each participant must be a dependent child or grandchild (14 years of age or younger) of an IEC contractor member or employee or a contractor member’s company.

Contest
The drawing submitted for the calendars must be safety related. Drawings will be chosen based on the imagination, creativity, awareness of safety slogans, comments or safety practices. Examples of topics are proper use of ladders, electrical safety, vehicle safety, back safety, falls, etc. Also, children can give the poster a personal message i.e. “Daddy/Mommy, please wear your PPE,” “Be safe at work Mommy/Daddy, I need you,” etc. Each participant may submit only one drawing.

Important - The back of the poster must contain the printed name of the child, birth date, their parent’s or guardian’s name, and the name of the parent/guardian's company and IEC chapter.

Please put the following on the back of your drawing

Printed Name of Artist: _________________________
Date of Birth, (mm/dd/yyyy): _ _/_ _ /_ _ _ _
Parents Name: ________________________________
Name of IEC Contractor Member: _________________
Name of Local IEC Chapter: _____________________

Prize
There will be 13 monthly winners (one for the cover of the calendar and one for each of the 12 months). There will also be 52 weekly winners (one for each week of the year). The winning drawings will be used to create the 2011 IEC Safety Calendar. Each of the 13 monthly winners will receive a $50.00 gift card. The 52 weekly winners will each receive a $15 gift card. Each child that submits a drawing, but it is not selected for the calendar, will be notified of the decision and thanked for their entry. Additional copies will be made available at a nominal charge. The contest will be judged by members of the IEC National Safety Committee. Decision of the judges is final.

Remember, Everyone wins with SAFETY!

Please mail entries no later than June 30, 2010 to the following address:

IEC National
Calendar Contest
4401 Ford Avenue, Suite 1100
Alexandria, Virginia 22302

For more information on the contest, please contact IEC National at (800) 456-4324.

Here is a reminder why we continue
to work so hard politically

How bad are things in the Oregon Legislature this year?

Please take a moment and watch this excerpt from a hearing in the House Business and Labor Committee as Representative Kevin Cameron (R-Salem) speaks in favor of IEC's viewpoint on HB 2429 and HB 2699 which attempt to expand prevailing wage requirements to private construction projects that receive property tax abatements.

(Click image, or click here to view video.)

Concerning though is the manner in which committee chairman Mike Schaffler (D-Happy Valley) shows his lack of knowledge about the wages most construction employers actually pay their employees and his believe that those who don't adhere strictly to prevailing wage requirements should take their jobs "somewhere else."

Please call and write your legislators today and let them know that you do want businesses here in Oregon and that you oppose HB 2699 (expanding prevailing wage to projects in economically depressed areas known as Enterprise Zones).

Consulting Service Now Available

Are you working harder and enjoying it less? Are things just not going right at your company but you are too busy to put your finger on the problem? Or, are things ok but you would like to know if you could do better?

This new endeavor will be headed up by IEC Oregon member and Past President, Tom Taylor. Tom brings 40 years of experience in the electrical contracting industry to this position. “I hope to be able to help members look at their businesses from an outside perspective and offer confidential, meaningful solutions to problems and challenges they are having,” Taylor said.

As an introduction to this new service, IEC Oregon is offering one hour of Value Added Consulting free to members. If, after the complimentary consultation, you wish to continue further an hourly fee will apply. “Many times contractors don’t have anyone they can talk to about things,” Taylor noted. “They can’t pick up the phone and call a competitor so I hope to be that person they can call.”

If you are interested in Value Added Consulting through IEC, call Tom at (503) 805-2825 or email him at tom@iecoregon.org to schedule your complimentary session.

Here is a short and important video that sums up the "Employee Free Choice Act" or "Card Check." The more hits this two minute “Forced Choice” YouTube video gets the more likely it is to “pop up” when people search YouTube for key words like EFCA, Employee Free Choice Act, etc. So, please pass it along.

Here is a link to an ABC News 20/20 Feature comparing those who get a college degree and those who go to trade schools and become an apprentice. It offers some unique perspective on an old assumption. Check it out!