MCAA’s Advocacy and Political Action Initiatives Are Worthy of Your Ongoing Consideration

To my fellow MCAA members and the leaders of MCAA’s local affiliates,

Effective public policy advocacy and non-partisan political activities go hand-in-hand with a broader suite of association member services at MCAA.

When MCAA’s Board of Directors re-instituted MCAA’s Political Action Committee over 20 years ago, they did so with a renewed commitment to building the profile of pipe trades union-signatory employers’ key role in the industry, and in policy deliberations in Washington, DC.

That foresight and initiative have paid off and will continue to do so into the future with our members’ and local affiliates’ ongoing commitment to that vision.

I and my fellow MCAA Government Affairs Committee members below are fully committed to that vision.

• Kevin Armistead, Armistead Mechanical, Waldwick, New Jersey
• Richard Bukovec, Diversified Piping & Mechanical, Inc., Mentor, Ohio
• David Cannistraro, J.C. Cannistraro, Watertown, Massachusetts
• Dennis Corrigan, Corrigan Company, St. Louis, Missouri
• Chuck Daniel, MCA of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
• John Ferrucci, F & F Mechanical Enterprises, North Haven, Connecticut
• Don Giarratano, Muir-Chase Plumbing, Anaheim, California
• Alex Hayes, Rock Mountain MCA, Denver, Colorado
• Mike Miller, Kirlin Design Build, Rockville, Maryland
• Marc Pittas, The Hill Group, Franklin Park, Illinois
• Dick Reigles, Reigles Mechanical, Grand Junction, Colorado
• Richard J. Sawhill, ARCA/MCA, Ontario, California

We ask you to join us in that commitment. Here are some key points to consider.

MCAA Is Playing A Critical Role in Multiemployer Pension Reform

Multiemployer pension reform is in the works – finally. It was a long and arduous road – and there’s more ground to cover. MCAA, together with our partners at the UA, were key and effective players in that process.

Your association has a seat at the table thanks to MCAA members’ commitment to participation in the policy development process and the political activity that goes hand-in-hand with that.

If multiemployer pension reform comes out in our favor, it will be guided in that direction by continuing MCAA participation. Your firm and our industry will be immeasurably improved as compared with what might have been with a failing multiemployer system adversely affecting all of our businesses. Together, MCAA and the UA helped avoid that catastrophe.

MCAA Member Involvement Was Responsible for Other Key Achievements

Looking back, our MCAA member involvement was directly responsible for some other key achievements and direct member benefits over recent years, including some few examples below.

• Keeping ill-conceived accounting disclosure rules relative to pension liability off our books – and staying vigilant about a recurrence of those problems.
• Eliminating flow-down withholding taxes on Federal projects and adding some small subcontracting bidding protections for Federal primes and subcontractors.
• Attaining market tax incentives for green building retrofits.
• Maintaining prevailing wage standards – key elements of industry reforms.
• Representing you vigorously in the health policy debate.
• Actively fighting to maintain high-quality industry apprenticeship training programs.
• Ensuring prevailing wage and labor law reforms in the coming years strengthen MCAA members’ market share.
• Advocating for a number of legislative and regulatory reforms to staunch the rampant abuse of worker misclassification in the construction industry.
• Supporting government initiatives to improve government responsible contractor selection policies for prime contractors and subcontractors.
• Gaining elimination of reverse auction procurement procedures in Federal construction contract selections.
• Advocating for collective bargaining and ERISA preemption of state, local and Federal paid leave mandates.

MCAA Continues to Advocate for Our Industry’s Best Interests

Looking ahead, there are larger general trends and market factors that will influence the direction of public policy, including workforce demographic challenges, rapid technological developments, and environmental challenges to our society as a whole and our industry in particular.  All of these trends will have some bearing on public policy choices in Washington, DC. Our MCAA member advocacy program and political action infrastructure must be maintained so that we – MCAA members – maintain our strong position to advocate for our industry’s best interests.

MCAA PAC Needs Your Commitment and Involvement to Keep the Momentum Going

Please consider your role in helping your fellow members shape our future with effective advocacy in Washington, DC. If you want to be part of your industry’s continued competitiveness:

1. Join our efforts by going to the MCAA PAC website and completing  the prior authorization form to allow MCAA PAC to send you solicitation material.
2. Reach out to your local affiliate Boards and ask them to do the same on your behalf.
3. Get your local association directly involved with lawmakers and political decision makers in their home districts, where your voice is heard directly and most effectively.

Call me to discuss how you can get involved.

Best Regards,

Jim Gaffney, Goshen Mechanical, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Chairman MCAA Government Affairs and Political Action Committees