Vol. 9, No. 3 – February 1, 2010

In this issue:

Important Reminder

MLA Offers Estimating Workshop

Letter Sent to President Obama

Register for NLBMDA Spring Meeting

Big Labor's Out-of-Touch Agenda

Save the Date

Lumber News

NLBMDA Weighs in on HOME STAR Proposals

NAHB Forecasts 754K Housing Starts

New Higher Standard Set by SFI

How to Rehire Your Alumni

ProSales & Rader Solutions Want Your Opinions

Home Depot Laying Off 1,000 Employees

Don't Ignore Possibility of Employee Fraud

Today's Quote

Dates: February 1 - April 30

IMPORTANT REMINDER!!

Post your OSHA 300A Injury and Illness Summary form by Monday, February 1, 2010 at a central location where employees can see it, like at the time clock, on the bulletin board, or in the break room.

If you have more than 10 employees and are not a service or retail type industry you most likely must comply with this regulation. Employers not exempt from OSHA's recordkeeping requirements must prepare and maintain records of work-related injuries and illnesses.

MLA OFFERS ESTIMATING WORKSHOP

MLA will be conducting an Estimating and Residential Material Takeoff Workshop, March 9-10, 2010, at the State Fair Community College Campus, Sedalia, Mo.

In today’s highly competitive market, the success of a material supplier relies heavily on the ability to generate quick and accurate estimates. The ability to estimate the material costs of a project is an essential skill for those in the lumber business. This class emphasizes the basic skills needed in estimating material costs.

Whether estimates are being generated by hand or by computer, there are basic principles that must be understood to produce a quality takeoff. The basic math of quantity takeoff methods dealing with length, area and volume and the basic business math of calculating the costs for material profit margin, add-ons, and discounts are some of these essential basics. The class will use residential, small commercial and agricultural plan sets as examples and projects.

Who Should Attend: Sales/estimating staff, management personnel, or anyone involved in reading blueprints. It is especially useful to those with minimal skills in reading blueprints.

Registration Fees

Members: $445 for one person - $425 each for two or more from same company

Nonmembers: $545 for first person - $525 for each add’l from same company

Fees include lunch, breaks and handout materials. But, don’t delay – a $50 per person surcharge will be added for registrations made after February 10.

Click here for more information and a registration form.

LETTER SENT TO PRESIDENT OBAMA AND OTHERS

Last week, 41 national organizations signed a letter to President Obama and Congress urging reinstatement of the depreciation bonus and increased Sec. 179 expensing levels. Signatories, including the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, represented a broad cross section of the business community. This letter sends a powerful message.

The attached has been sent to the White House, House and Senate leadership, Ways & Means and Finance, and all House and Senate offices. It was also sent on an individual basis to key staff this past weekend.

If you have relationships with people on the Hill or in the administration who are (or should be!) interested in this issue, please be sure to forward them a copy. Given the ongoing discussions about jobs legislation, time is of the essence.

We’ll keep you posted about developments and opportunities to influence the process going forward.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE NLBMDA SPRING MEETING & LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE

March 15-17, 2010

Washington Marriott

Washington, DC

Click here for online registration

This is a critical time for the LBM industry in Washington. All dealers need to make their voices heard on the key issues impacting the industry. Join your colleagues for NLBMDA’s Spring Meeting and Legislative Conference taking place on March 15-17, 2010, in Washington, D.C. This year’s conference will be bigger and better than ever before. In addition to association committee and board meetings and Washington Briefing Breakfast with a Congressional keynote speaker, the conference will also feature a special session with political analyst Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report and NBC News analyst. Charlie will discuss the latest political trends and outlook for the mid-term elections.

There will also be concurrent sessions on some of the current federal issues impacting the LBM industry. Further, the conference will be taking place jointly with the North American Building Material Distribution Association (NBMDA) and the Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA), providing a wealth of business networking opportunities.

The Monday Welcome Reception will once again feature the popular Silent Auction to benefit the NLBMDA Legislative Action Fund, which supports the industry’s government relations efforts in Washington. If you would like to donate an item for the auction, click here to download a contribution form.

The early-bird registration rate ends on February 12, so don’t delay!

Click here to download a complete conference brochure.

Big Labor Still Pushing Their Out-of-Touch Agenda

Union Bosses Ignore the Lessons from Massachusetts, Continue to Push EFCA

While politicians across the country are reassessing their agendas based on Tuesday’s rejection of big government and higher taxes by the voters in Massachusetts, the labor bosses in Washington remain committed to passing the jobs-killing Employee Free Choice Act.

Andy Stern, head of the SEIU, saw Tuesday’s election results as meaning that “every member of Congress and the Administration must act with a renewed sense of purpose to show working families whose side they are on and deliver meaningful change to every American.”

The Hill quotes an AFL-CIO source, regarding Senator-elect Scott Brown’s victory, “"If officials go running to the center like some are calling for, and away from what they campaigned on, they learned exactly the wrong lesson from this election."

Brian Worth, chairman of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, stated, "Despite yet another rejection of their job-killing agenda, Big Labor still demands that Congress pass the mis-named Employee Free Choice Act.”

"Shoving this unpopular, anti-worker bill down the throats of the American people is exactly the kind of thinking that compelled the people of Massachusetts to take this Senate seat away from Democrats for the first time in almost 40 years,” Worth continued.

CDW has released national polling that has consistently shown that the vast majority of voters, including those in union households, oppose job-killing proposals such as card-check and government-mandated binding arbitration. To view CDW’s research, please visit http://www.myprivateballot.com/.

Source: Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, January 20, 2010. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is a coalition of workers, employers, associations and organizations who are fighting to protect the right to a federally supervised private ballot when workers are deciding whether or not to join a union.

SAVE THE DATE

March 9-10 – Estimating & Take-Off Workshop, Sedalia, Mo.

March 15-17 – NLBMDA Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C.

March 23 – MLA Area Meeting, Garden City, Kan.

March 24 – MLA Area Meeting, Hays, Kan.

March 25 – MLA Area Meeting, Kansas City, Mo.

March 30 – MLA Area Meeting, Wichita, Kan.

March 31 – MLA Area Meeting, Oklahoma City

April 1 – MLA Area Meeting, Joplin, Mo.

April 6 – MLA Area Meeting, Jonesboro, Ark.

April 7 – MLA Area Meeting, Hot Springs, Ark.

April 20 – MLA Area Meeting, Moberly, Mo.

April 21 – MLA Area Meeting, St. Louis, Mo.

April 22 – MLA Area Meeting, Jefferson City, Mo.

Call the MLA Office – 800-747-6529 – for additional information or email: mail@themla.com

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES

NLBMDA Weighs in on HOME STAR Proposals… As work continues behind the scenes to craft a HOME STAR program to provide incentives for energy-efficient home improvements, NLBMDA lobbyists have met with Hill and Administration staff to relay our concerns about some of the provisions in early drafts. NLBMDA is advocating for a simple and easily administered rebate program that would enable all small and independent building material dealers to participate, not just big box retailers. The HOME STAR program, and a correlating BuildingStar program for commercial buildings, may be considered as part of a “jobs” package the Senate will take up in the early part of the year. Click here to contact your members of Congress and urge them to support a HOME STAR program that is fair to all dealers.

Source: NLBMDA E-Update, January 19, 2010

NAHB Forecasts 754K Housing Starts by 4Q10, 1.22M by 4Q11… The pace of housing starts will speed up this spring, slow and perhaps reverse course at mid-year, and then re-accelerate next winter and into 2011, the National Association of Home Builders' chief economist forecast yesterday. Click here to read full article.

Source: ProSales Business Update, January 20, 2010

New Higher Standard for Certified Wood Fiber Content Set by SFI… Non-profit Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) released a new standard for its forest certification program for 2010-2014. The program promotes responsible forest management in North America. Changes to the program for 2010 include an additional five core principles, seven more objectives, five more performance measures and 12 more indicators than the 2005-2009 Standard. The standard requires third-party auditing, and took effect on January 1, 2010. Program participants have one year to implement these changes.

Source: LBM Daily, January 25, 2010

How to Rehire Your Alumni… You may have heard me say before that I am big on bringing back alumni (but only one time) or former employees who left on very good terms. You can make that return work well. First of all, it is important to thoroughly re-interview them just like you interview everyone else, although you may not ask the exact same questions. Find out why they are leaving their current job. Was it a lack of satisfaction, recognition, promotion, or co-workers? Also ascertain the reasons they left your company in the first place, and be sure these issues are all addressed. You also want to be sure that they are still a good fit for your firm, as people can change if they are gone too long. Finally, make decisions on whether you want to continue their benefits as if they never left, or start them at the beginning again.

Source: Bob Losyk, MEd., M.B.A., C.S.P. is a Certified Speaking Professional, master trainer, author, and President & CEO of Innovative Training Solutions, a Greensboro, N.C. consulting firm. For more information on Bob’s keynotes, seminars, best practices facilitation, panel discussion leader, and products, please visit his websites at www.boblosyk.com and www.getagriponstress.com or call 1-800-995-0344.

ProSales and Rader Solutions Want Your Opinions on Lumberyard IT Systems… ProSales and Rader Solutions, the company run by “Rader’s Edge” columnist Chris Rader, have launched a new online survey to get a sense of how your company feels about the software systems you’re using today. What works well? What frustrates you? Please tell us – and please forward this to your company’s IT expert so we can get the best information possible. All participants who provide contact information will get the invaluable written comments AND become eligible to win a $100 gift card. We'll collect results through Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Source: ProSales & Rader Solutions, January 29, 2010

Home Depot Laying Off 1,000 Employees… Home Depot Inc. is laying off about 1,000 employees companywide, according to an internal memo.

Home Depot is not cutting jobs because of poor financial performance, Blake told employees. The changes follow Home Depot’s decision to move to a centralized human resources structure, Blake said. The company is also cutting costs in its real estate and construction functions because it is not building as many new stores.

It has no plans to close stores except for three pilot project locations, Blake said. The pilots include a smaller store with a more limited selection of products in Wilson, N.C.; a temporary hurricane recovery outlet in Waveland, Miss.; and a clearance outlet in Austell, Ga.

Source: NRHA eNewsletter, February 1, 2010

Don’t Ignore the Possibility of Employee Fraud

Did you know that most cases of employee fraud are not committed by professional criminals – but rather by good, hardworking people who, due to unexpected circumstances, feel they have no other option?

Are you overlooking the risk of employee fraud? A recent study titled “2008 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse” published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) provides evidence that businesses should not ignore this threat.

Report Highlights

Here are some alarming statistics presented in the study:[1]

U.S. organizations lost an estimated 7 percent of their annual revenues to fraud.
Average loss was $175,000.
Median loss suffered by organizations with fewer than 100 employees was $200,000.
Small businesses are especially vulnerable due to their inability to proactively detect fraud.
Lack of adequate internal controls was the most commonly cited factor that allowed fraud to occur.
Occupational fraudsters were generally first-time offenders.

In an uncertain economy, the threat that employees may steal from employers becomes more and more real.

Prevention – What Can Be Done?

Here are some methods of prevention that can help stop employee fraud:

Send a strong message from top management that dishonesty of any type will not be tolerated.
Provide strong internal controls that keep your finances up-to-date and can quickly help identify any fraudulent practices.
Tighten up hiring practices so only the best candidates make it in your company.

Contact your Federated representative for additional information on ways to help keep your business safe from the growing risk of employee fraud.

This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association’s recommended insurer.

MLA is proud to endorse….