Masonry Magazine June 1996 Page. 8
Washington's Impact on Masonry
A look at the key legislation that will influence the way mason contractors run their business in the future.
By Thomas H. Joseph:
MCAA Director of Membership
Mason Contractors Association of America
Some fifteen months into the 104th Congress's second session, contractors from around the country are having their voice heard when it comes to revising or reforming stringent laws that the federal government has passed and enforced for years. Before the Republican take over of Congress in January 1995, many of the proposed legislation aimed to help small business contractors was buried by Congressional committee chairmen who were never going to allow debate or a vote. And with a past majority party of Democrats who were eager to please organized labor's agenda when it came to the workplace, business concerns were a big loser.
All contractors, be it subs or generals, have been on the defensive when it came to laws that place unfair burdens on the small business contractor. Laws dealing with special preference on race or gender pertaining to government contracts; hiring; striker replacement; and heavy regulatory interference. All of these laws have placed a heavy burden on the contractor and essentially limited the free enterprise ability of the business owner. According to MCAA Legislative Chairman Paul Clements of Masonomics, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky " In respect to the last couple of years, contractors are at the brink of meaningful reform and lessening of an unfair burden when it comes to an extreme and excessive interference in our business life. But what you see with the fighting in Congress is a last ditch attempt to save this entrenched bureaucracy." Clement's goes on to state that it will take a larger active coalition of business groups to defeat those who prefer to maintain the status quo.
Small business is at the forefront as several pieces of legislation are presently being offered and debated in Congress which will give relief to small business. The proposed bills have real meaning to mason contractors such as labor and employment relations, Davis-Bacon, OSHA Reform, Striker Replacement, Regulatory Fairness and Regulatory Flexibility Act, Estate Taxes and Product Liability. Some pieces of