As promised, here is some of the video I shot of the Crane Rodeo Regional Qualifier in Houston, Texas on September 12.  The event was one of several held across the country to allow crane operators to qualify for the National Championship in October.  There they competed for prizes and bragging rights, showcased their skills, and helped raise awareness for the upcoming OSHA regulations which will require all operators to obtain minimum certifications.Operators who competed in the rodeos were judged on a system which penalized for errors such as hitting the ground with the hook, swinging the pipe out of the designated travel zone, or knocking over a barrel; and also for the time it took the operator to complete the task.

“AWCI members are good people, but sometimes bad things happen to good people,” begins this eight-minute video about a program called AWCI Cares.  The informational video explains how members of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry (AWCI) who are met with unexpected financial difficulties may be eligible to receive assistance.The “CARES” stands for Caring Action Relief in Emergency Situations, and many members of AWCI are unaware that this program exists.  It is designed to provide members and their families financial aid following unexpected expenses such as medical bills, funeral expenses, home loss through fire or natural disaster, or to fill the gap when workers’ compensation insurance does not cover all necessary expenses.

Last week I visited the offices of Camarata Masonry Systems, Ltd to interview their president, Kevin Camarata, about what the craft of masonry is all about.  The following is a transcript from part of our conversation. -EMEM: How did you get into the masonry business?KC: It was by happenstance.  In college I worked during summers in construction as a laborer for a general contracting firm because I could make more money doing that than anything else, then basically I just grew to love it.  I was working for a general contractor after college when a friend of mine contacted me.  He ran an engineering personnel placement service, and he thought that I would be a good fit for a relatively young stone contractor out of New Orleans.  I interviewed and was hired.So your experience before going to work for the contractor in New Orleans was in all different kinds of construction?It was primarily general contracting and carpentry, specifically, for the general contractor.Did you have any training outside of the job?  

An owner of a New Jersey residential roofing and construction company pled guilty this week and may face serious prison time for stealing over $450,000 in unpaid workers’ compensation premiums and state income tax.  Herlindo Garcia-Merlos was president of Orients Construction Company, Inc in Trenton, New Jersey until March 2009, when he began doing business as Melrose Construction, Inc.  Yesterday, he pled guilty to two counts of second-degree theft by deception for reporting false information to his companies’ workers’ compensation insurance carrier and to the state of New Jersey tax office regarding the wages he himself earned.  He also failed to file corporate tax returns for his companies over the five years covered by the investigation which led to his arrest.A press release from the office of New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa quoted Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi who said:“This defendant was responsible for making sure that he had adequate and lawful workers’ compensation coverage for his companies.  By providing misinformation to his workers’ compensation carrier, he not only failed in this responsibility but also defrauded an insurance company out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The cost of such fraud is passed on to consumers through increased premiums.”