June 2008: President's Message

Tom Daniel President, Mason Contractors Association of America

The MCAA held its annual legislative conference the week of May 12. The conference was held in conjunction with NCMA (National Concrete Masonry Association) this year. Together, the two groups heard from or visited with numerous Congressmen and Senators and staff. I, personally, have seen the importance of this program over the last 15 years, as I have been a regular attendee at this event.

The impact our leaders in Washington have on our bottom line is extremely important to the well being of our businesses. This year alone, we addressed the following nine positions for the industry:

• School Construction
• 3% Government Withholding Tax
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform
• Alternative Minimum Tax
• Workplace Crystalline Silica
• Estate Tax
• Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors
• Military Construction
• National Energy Policy

The positions our industry presented to our representatives may be found on the MCAA Web site in full detail. Each and every issue could have a dramatic impact on many masonry firms, collectively. Their impact could be a extremely positive, or extremely negative, on our industry.

I would like to thank those who helped present our issues and encourage those who were unable to participate to see how they can get involved and have a positive impact without a tremendous amount of time or energy. Contacting your Congressmen and Senators with our positions is extremely useful in our fight in Washington. We have a never-ending battle of trying to keep our industry issues at the forefront of our members' minds.