We are pleased to let you know that the next DMCC Quarterly Meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 14^th from 3:00-5:00PM. The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Downtown Mercy Area – 1050 6^th Avenue, Des Moines. DMCC members and all signatory contractors in Central Iowa are invited to attend. This meeting will serve as the formal business meeting for the year. 

Please RSVP to attend by clicking on this link.

Don’t miss out on your chance to hear from Attorney Lori Chesser of the Denton’s Law Firm at the next Des Moines Construction Council Webinar series that will happen in July.

Ms. Chesser is a preeminent immigration lawyer and advocate. With a degree in finance, she initially practiced corporate law. Recognizing the need for immigration services in Iowa, she developed that practice and has worked primarily in immigration law for more than 20 years. Lori assists employers, business owners, and individuals as they navigate the complex U.S. immigration system. Her clients range from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies in sectors including healthcare, IT, insurance, agriculture, chemical, higher education, churches, and other non-profit entities.

DMCC members will gain an understanding of the complicated issues surrounding immigration. You will have an opportunity to hear about the obligations and risks that contractors face, misclassification of illegal workers and steps to take when hiring workers in a legal fashion.



The webinar will be held on July 13^th at 10:00AM and is open to all DMCC members in good standing. A link to RSVP will be live on the DMCC website soon at www.dmcc.build.   

Union workers are continuing to strike at King’s Material in Cedar Rapids area over a wage dispute.

Jesse Case, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 238, said the Company’s last offer was unanimously rejected by the membership. “Workers are tired of living paycheck to paycheck in a market that is grossly underpaying their employees. Wages in the concrete industry in the Cedar Rapids market have remained stagnant for years and quite frankly, I’m surprised the industry has gone this long without a strike”, Case said.

The union claims drivers are currently paid a base rate of $22.45 an hour and workers say anything less than $25.70 means they have lost earning power over the past decade.

Iowa's News Now Reached out to Charlie Rohde with King's Materials when the strike began earlier this month, who says he's "extremely disappointed" with the news. "We have always paid our people toward the upper end of what the region pay scales and benefit scales have been." Said Rohde.

Negotiations between United Auto Workers and Case-New Holland fell through after multiple days at the bargaining table last week.

On Thursday, May 19, CNH Industrial proposed what it’s calling a final “all-encompassing” and “comprehensive” offer to UAW members in Burlington, Iowa, and Racine, Wisconsin. It claims that it was the union that walked away from negotiations.

UAW Local 807 President, Nick Guernsey said both parties were close to reaching an agreement. However, felt the proposal was nowhere near what was discussed in the days leading up to last Thursday.

“There was no sense in bringing this subpar proposal back to be voted on. We’re kind of at a standstill right now.” Guernsey said. “Pay has [come] up very little [and] insurance is actually substandard.”

According to Guernsey, CNH’s latest offer only increased 0.5% from its offer on May 1. Changes in insurance also meant members would pay an extra $1 per hour for what he said is a downgrade in health benefits.

“What the company wanted to give for a raise wouldn’t fill my truck up with gas for the week,” Guernsey said. “Then you want me to take a hit on our healthcare? So to me, that doesn’t make sense, to the members, it doesn’t make sense.”

This latest offer was a three-year contract when the union was looking for a six-year deal. Another demand from the union was better hours, as some members said they felt they were living at work.

“The company still says they cannot do nothing with overtime, they need the flexibility to control their business,” Guernsey said. “Unfortunately, in our business flexibility usually means they don’t know how to manage it.”

In a statement to TV6 News, CNH Industrial said the union refused to present its most recent offer to its members:

“Last week, CNH Industrial and the UAW resumed negotiations. After meeting multiples times on Tuesday (May 17) and Wednesday (May 18), the Company presented the Union with an all- encompassing, comprehensive document, which addressed all open and outstanding issues. Unfortunately, the Union declined to meet or allow the Company to present and explain its position and proposal and indicated that they would not allow their members to see the proposal. The Union then left and discontinued bargaining. While the Union indicated that they were ready to resume the negotiations at the beginning of the week, we were very disappointed in their decision to walk away.

CNH Industrial is proud of the comprehensive offer it made to the Union on May 19. The terms of this Final Offer include significant economic improvements for employees over the terms contained in the Company’s last proposal given to the Union on May 1. We hope that the Union shares the terms of the Company’s Final Offer with its members. After being on strike for more than three weeks, the CNH Industrial employees deserve to know what the Company has offered.”

Meanwhile, the bargaining team presented the members with the offer on Friday, but Guernsey said it wasn’t worth putting up for a vote.

“I can tell you, with astounding confidence that it was not only a no, but there [were] some colorful statements behind that word no.”

Leadership does not expect to resume negotiations until after Memorial Day.