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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced last week the creation of the new Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI). The new DOL office will “will promote greater understanding of federal labor laws and regulations, allowing job creators to prevent violations and protect Americans' wages, workplace safety and health, retirement security, and other rights and benefits. As part of its work, OCI will work with the enforcement agencies to refine their metrics to ensure the efficacy of the Department's compliance assistance activities.” Last week, President Trump nominated current National Labor Relations Board member Mark Gaston Pearce to serve for a third term. Seen as a controversial choice to continue serving on the Board, Pearce, a recess appointment by President Obama, has helped to issue new rulings that have increased employer burdens and titled rules in favor of union organizing. Registration for NRMCA’s Fall 2018 Safety Course from October 16-18 in Glendora, CA, is now open; please note that this course will sell out very soon. This 2.5-day course teaches participants about OSHA safety compliance beginning with why safety is so important and details the reasons why an effective safety program actually saves money through loss prevention and control. Participants learn about electrical safety, machine guarding, fall protection, hazard communication, confined spaces, personal protective equipment, firefighting and evacuation, maintenance shop safety, chute handling, fleet safety, pre-trip inspection and more. Click here for location details, registration options and staff contacts. Registration continues for this year’s Environmental Certification Course to be held in Orlando, FL, November 27-29. Course attendees will be educated on industry-specific environmental issues that affect ready mixed concrete production, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, Discharge Permits, Stormwater Management, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Solids Management, Hazardous Materials, Dust Control, Recycling, Spill Prevention Plans, Air Quality Management, Noise Management, Environmental Auditing and much more. 
The 56 conferees for the 2018 Farm Bill were scheduled to meet for their first public meeting on Wednesday, September 5. NRMCA continues to look for mass timber provisions that may be included during conference and has sent letters to all conferees asking that they oppose the inclusion of these provisions (see related item under the Buildings section). Because the House and Senate passed different versions of the 2018 Farm Bill, the conference committee is appointed to iron out differences between the versions and recommend a unified bill. This can be a difficult process, especially when the versions contain dramatically different provisions, such as the House-passed bill’s work requirements for welfare. If your Member of Congress is part of the conference committee, you can ask him or her them to oppose any mass timber building programs. To find out who your Member of Congress is, click here. To find out who is on the conference committee, click here. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
Buildings
The Build with Strength (BWS) Monthly Advocacy Report has been updated; each month it outlines the state and local measures BWS is actively tracking and working on for the ready mixed concrete industry. There is no shortage of pro-wood industry activity at the state and local level. Stay informed, organize and activate! Click here to access the advocacy report. For more information, contact John Loyer at jloyer@nrmca.org.
In October, the voting members of the International Code Council are poised to make a momentous decision that could normalize tall wooden structures, up to 270 feet, in our communities. What is now a case for special consideration, given the known risks of cross-laminated timber, will become commonplace and put residents and communities at risk. 
Pavement
NRMCA’s Luke McHugh and Phil Kresge recently met with construction staff for Wawa, a chain of more than 800 convenience stores throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, DC. NRMCA offered enhancements to its Mid-Atlantic pavement specification and discussed increasing the amount of concrete pavement throughout future store locations. Wawa asked NRMCA to review its Florida concrete pavement specification and to return in the coming months to speak to a much larger in-house group. Wawa currently builds about 50 new stores annually. NRMCA will work with Wawa to see if suitable projects can be identified. For more information, contact Luke McHugh at lmchugh@nrmca.org. Government Affairs
As Congress returns from August recess, Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) is set to introduce the NRMCA-supported Disaster Savings and Resilient Construction Act. This legislation incentivizes rebuilding after a natural disaster with resilient construction – FORTIFIED standards or equivalent – by offering tax credits for individuals and companies that do. This legislation has been introduced in each of the past several sessions and NRMCA continues to advocate for its inclusion in a larger tax package. You can see past versions of this bill here, an information page here and a Frequently Asked Questions page here. Stay tuned for action alerts to urge your representative to cosponsor this important legislation. For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org. 
November 5 – 9, Silver Spring, MD November 14 – 15, Dallas November 27 – 29, 2018, Orlando, FL Fall/Winter, Cheyenne/Casper, WY November 29, Kansas City, KS December 4 – 6, Silver Spring, MD December 11 – 14, Austin, TX *Sold Out 2019 January 8 - 10, Orlando, FL January 15 – 17, Silver Spring, MD January 15 – 18, Tucson, AZ January 22 – 24, Kissimmee, FL February 19 – 22, Charlotte, NC March 19 – 21, Silver Spring, MD Calendar
*Please note that e-mail and direct links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's Web site. September 6, Phoenix September 29 – October 1, Metro Washington, DC October 9 – 12, Silver Spring, MD October 16 – 18, Glendora, CA October 17, Las Vegas, NV October 17 – 18, Milwaukee October 23 – 24, Springfield, MA October 30, Okemos, MI 
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