MCAA Regional Report, Region C

Words: John JacobMichigan - Ed Davenport
Ohio - Greg Schuerman
West Virginia - No State Chairman

Government Affairs

While Michigan saw an active legislative year with the repeal of prevailing wage, technical amendments to the wage and fringe benefits act as well as changes to the minimum wage and paid time off laws, Ohio saw no action with regard to construction industry issues.

Of the almost 100 bills introduced into the Ohio Legislature that pertained to the industry only one passed — and it was merely an unfunded piece of legislation encouraging the use of new technology in schools. Both states are now focused on 2019 as new governors develop their own administrations and agendas. The association will be closely watching new appointments and budgets for signs of what 2019 may bring for the construction industry in terms of opportunities and challenges.

Ohio Masonry Association (OMA) now has staff monitoring legislative activity at the Ohio State House. OMA plans to be more visible with Ohio legislators and state agencies like the Ohio Department of Commerce and the Ohio Department of Administrative Services to promote the interests of the masonry industry and construction interests in general. In addition OMA also plans to communicate and develop closer working ties with other construction industry trade groups, such as AIA of Ohio, AGC of Ohio, and other state construction industry associations.

Workload Forecast

In checking with Ohio employers and area architects, the masonry industry expected verifiable growth in 2018. Estimates from various architectural firms and Bricklayer Locals range in the 10% growth range over 2017. Projections for 2019 also appear to be good, possible as good as 2018, which includes continued strength in the hospital and school construction sectors.

Workforce Development

Manpower is still in high demand and looks to continue unto 2019. Turnover in new employees seems to remain a problem, with percentage of loss of new employees as high as 50%. Drug testing is also having a toll on retaining employees, with percentage of positive test as high as 10%-15%.

Regionally, recruitment efforts are focused primarily on cooperative relationships with various apprenticeship programs and private state-wide construction workforce development organizations to promote mason tenders and bricklayers as a career.

A focus for 2019 is to further develop relationships with officials at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to maximize the resources available to find non-traditional and minority employees for the masonry industry.

Masonry Marketing Activities

Ohio has only four masonry promotion associations. The Ohio Masonry Association (includes Tri-State Masonry Institute a Southwest Promotional partner of the OMA), and the International Masonry Institute are the only full-time masonry promotion associations. There are two smaller associations, Mason Contractors Association of Northeast Ohio and the Cincinnati Brick Council, which contribute very little to the promotion and marketing of masonry, due to either budget, makeup or participation.

The Ohio Masonry Association, and the International Masonry Institute present accredited programs to designers, end users and installers throughout the year. The Ohio Masonry Association provides access to NCMA and BIA AIA programs.

The Ohio Masonry Association and Tri-State Masonry Institute host awards programs. Tri-State Masonry Institute holds one each year and the Ohio Masonry Association holds one every other year.

The OMA has been awarded a marketing grant from PCA for 2019 in the amount of $29,000.

College and Universities

The Ohio Masonry Association participated as a judge of the Bowling Green State University Architecture Program’s Tenth Annual Design Competition.

Economic Conditions Forecast

Forecasters are predicting a strong economy to continue for the construction industry in the Great Lakes Region. Predictions are that the competition for a qualified workforce will continue to be a challenge across the broader industry and more acutely in all segments of the masonry market.

The focus of OMA will be to expand to contractor education in the area of efficiency and productivity: “More with Less”. OMA has expanded its educational offerings to include: webinars; bulletins; as well as live seminars.