ACTION ALERT

March 23, 2007
Action Alert: To all TCIA Members—Slowdown in H-2B Visa Processing in Atlanta

Tree Care Industry Association Members were alerted to a potential problem in the processing of H-2B (Guest worker) Visas in the Atlanta, Georgia processing center. Read the alert...

February 7, 2007
Action Alert: Maryland members urged to weigh in on licensed tree expert law.

Proposed changes to the Licensed Tree Expert Law, SB 120, were heard in the Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 at 1:00 pm. TCIA urged Maryland members to weigh in on this proposed rule that would severely undermine the effectiveness of Maryland’s Tree Expert License Law. Read the alert...

April 5, 2006
Action Alert: Help Shape the Immigration Debate

A guest worker program to help fill vacant jobs in tree care must be part of comprehensive reform. We ask all TCIA businesses to urge the Senators in your state to support the Warner-Mikulski amendment that includes provisions for an H-2B visa program. The current return worker exemption, which for many small businesses is the difference between remaining open and going out of business, will expire Sept. 30 if Congress does not act.

We all agree that border security and national security are of real importance and should continue to be addressed. To that end,  it is critical that Congress create a legal program that allows workers to fill the jobs in the green industry. Just as important is the need for the government to take stock, and find out exactly who is in the U.S.   Shedding light on the undocumented, underground population will certainly assist  U.S. security agencies in identifying any threats.  The committee product introduced earlier this week is a consensus building document that begins to address both of these issues in a pragmatic and workable way.

Go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm,

find the e-mail addresses for your senators, and send them a personalized version of this letter today.

  Dear Sen. [YOUR SENATOR HERE]:

I run a company in your state and have some familiarity with the practical problems businesses face in recruiting the workers we need and in dealing with our complex immigration laws. I believe that any immigration legislation should contain three key parts: 

First, the legislation should provide for an efficient and effective new worker program, which would allow U.S. businesses like mine to recruit immigrant workers when U.S. workers are not available for certain jobs. 

  Second, the bill should provide for a process by which undocumented workers now in the country and holding down jobs could gain a type of permanent legal status which would allow them to stay in the country and continue to work. Of course, these workers would have to be screened for any kind of criminal record and would have to pay a fine for coming into the country without going through proper channels.

Third, the bill should, as part of a comprehensive solution, allow the country to gain better control over our borders to prevent illegal immigration, and also provide for better interior enforcement against unscrupulous employers. But new enforcement systems need to be workable and should not unduly penalize employers under overreaching requirements.  

An enforcement-only bill would impose requirements on employers that are extremely unreasonable and would be impossible to comply with. It also does nothing to address broader immigration reform issues.  

Small business needs the Warner-Mikulski amendment to become part of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform package in order for the program to remain a viable legal option to seasonal employers looking to follow the rule of law. Please support this amendment.

I know this is a very complex and emotional debate and these issues are not easy to deal with. However, I wanted to make my views known to you. Thank you for your consideration.

  Sincerely,

[Your name]

Dec. 7, 2005
Action Alert: TCIA Member Comment on Vertical Standard

Dear TCIA Member,

As you know, TCIA has been working on revisions to 1910.269; the OSHA regulations that govern work practices near electrical conductors. To date, TCIA has participated in multiple meetings with Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI’s) working group which included a meeting with David Wallis, the standard’s author; received feedback from 180 TCIA member companies in our survey process; reviewed comments from the Utility Line Clearance Coalition (ULCC) and other member input and held an open forum at TCI EXPO.

Our comments have been presented to and approved by our Washington, D.C. attorney and our Board of Directors in advance. 

We invite you to have input on the comments that TCIA will be submitting to OSHA on 29 CFR §1910.269 - the Vertical Standard.  You can download and print the comments that we intend to submit to OSHA by clicking on the link below:

TCIA 1910.269 Comment Form

The deadline for your input is December 16, 2005.

If your work brings your employees within 10 feet of electrical conductors, you are subject to the Vertical Standard and all its requirements. With its revision, OSHA is considering some controversial and potentially costly measures such as:

• Requiring automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on all work vehicles;
• requiring a minimum of two CPR/first aid-trained crew members on every affected crew, no exceptions;
• changing fall protection requirements for aerial lift operators to universally require a full body harness and fall arrest lanyard; and
• placing the utility in charge of overseeing safety on YOUR crews via the proposal’s “host-contractor” language.

We urge you to read these proposed comments and their implications carefully, as the resulting standard could affect your business.

TCIA’s Board of Directors establishes the official policy of TCIA with regards to legislative, regulatory and public policy issues, and they do this through an open process that invites and considers ALL members’ interests. Your Board and your staff would like to hear from you.

To be able to submit TCIA’s comments on time to the OSHA rule-making docket, we need to have your comments by 5 pm EST on Friday, December 16. Please send your comments to: peter@tcia.org

Fax: 603-314-5386 (attention Peter Gerstenberger)

Mail: Tree Care Industry Association, 3 Perimeter Rd., Unit 1, Manchester, NH 03103. Attn: Peter

Thank you for your ongoing interest in safety and professionalism in the tree care industry!

- Peter

U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Compensable Time

Nov. 16, 2005—Among the first disputes it has settled this term, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two class action suits dealing with what is compensable time. The defending parties in both cases were large meat processing facilities. Although TCIA doesn't feel the cases have direct relevance to tree care, understanding some detail of them may nevertheless help guide you in developing your policies concering when compensable time should start and end.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that the time spent donning and doffing protective gear is compensable because this activity is "integral and indispensable" to these employees' principal work activity. Further, the justices held that this activity starts the workday, and thus walking to the place of the work activity after donning the protective gear and walking back to the locker room before doffing are compensable time.

Further, the Court concluded that the time spent waiting to remove the safety gear at the end of the shift is also compensable because the workday continues until the equipment is removed (given that it is integral and indispensable to the employees' principal activity). The only time the Court found was not compensable was the time spent waiting to obtain the safety equipment before donning—as the workday had not yet begun.

ACTION ALERT

TCIA Compiling Comments for New Vertical Standard

Nov. 14, 2005—Do your crews face hazards from overhead electrical conductors? Are you concerned about the changing OSHA regulations that govern work practices within 10 feet of the wires? If either of these is an issue for your company, we invite you to participate in a special TCIA Member Caucus on 29 CFR §1910.269 (the Vertical Standard).

As you know, TCIA has been working on revisions to 1910.269. We recently learned that OSHA extended the comment period by 90 days, giving us an opportunity we didn't want to miss. A special special two-hour session was held on Thursday, November 10, 2005 from 1-3 pm in Room E-151 of the Greater Columbus Convention Center during TCI EXPO. Knowledgeable people were present who were able to address questions and concerns.

For those who were unable to attend, please download TCIA’s REVISED Vertical Standard Action Plan to help orient you to the issues. Then fax suggestions to TCIA, 603-314-5386, or email Peter Gerstenberger.

TCIA will use the input from this meeting and from other concerned members who contact us to further revise our draft comments, which will then be distributed to the entire membership for their review before we submit the final version to OSHA by January 11, 2006.

Thanks for your interest.

- Peter