Unique Times, Unique Opportunities

I would like to first extend my wishes to everyone for a safe and healthy May. It sure has been a crazy month and a half. Everyone here at the MCAA and MASONRY office looks forward to the re-opening of our economy and office. Working from home for this time has been a challenge, but a rewarding one at that. We have been tested as an industry to remain essential and live up to the responsibilities of having a safe, productive job site that continues to move forward during this pandemic. I can say that from all accounts, you all have done a great job and made us proud to be a part of our industry.   

At the MCAA, we will continue to offer you as much guidance on directives that continue to come from the national government, whether it be from OSHA, SBA, or industry partners. If you have not had a chance to visit the MCAA COVID-19 resource hub as of yet, I would strongly encourage you to do so. You can find it at coronavirus.masoncontractors.org. We continue to post vital links, programs for your use, and adaption for this crisis.   

We are updating our Exposure Prevention, Preparedness, and Response plans as changes are passed down. Make sure you download and utilize the most up to date versions of the documents. As the versions change, we are noting the new draft on the plan. In addition, there are four other documents you should download: The Essential Industry Employee Notification Letter, A Checklist for Employers and Employees, Employee Notification of Exposure, and our Tool Box. The latter three documents are available in both English and Spanish, and these resources are free to everyone in our industry.   

If you do not receive the MCAA and MASONRY email newsletters, you have missed alerts regarding our ever-changing landscape. You can sign up today by going to masoncontractors.org/newsletter and entering your information. You will be updated as new information becomes available.   

You may have also noticed an uptick in the frequency of MCAA webinars. In April, we averaged a little over one webinar every day. These were offered for companies whose teams may not have been on the jobsite. These webinars are all also viewable On-Demand at masoncontractors.org/education/on-demand. These webinars are free to view, so please use them as a resource. They are a great opportunity to have employees brush up on a variety of important masonry details. You will also see a series of demo videos arrive on the MCAA site this month. We are posting these in an effort to provide additional educational opportunities for those learning the trade.   

In addition to these resources, we have added something new this past month, which we will continue to do after our pandemic. Those are our Facebook Live programs. You can check them out at the MCAA Facebook page. If you like our page, you will be notified when a live program is coming up. We look forward to serving our industry as our economy comes back from closure. It will be nice to see all our jobs get back to full strength in the months ahead. If you have any questions about our situation or need anything, please feel free to reach out to the MCAA today. That is what we are here for. You can contact me via email at jeffb@masoncontractors.org. Until next time, be safe.