Coalition for Fair Licensing
The Coalition for Fair Licensing is a stratgic partnership led by ABC Massachusetts and
the Air Conditioning Contractors of America New England Chapter.
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The Coalition supports licensing in the construction trades that promotes professionalism, safety, and protects consumers. We believe all qualified contractors have the right to compete on a level playing field and opposes regulations that would give any industry sector a competitive advantage based on labor affiliation or other characteristics.
** Click here to visit the official website of Board of Examiners of Sheet Metal Workers **
** Click here to read the proposed regulations from the Board of Examiners **
Frequently Asked Questions
How might the sheet metal industry be affected by the actions of the Board of Examiners?
Click here for an official postion paper published by ABC and ACCA.
Sheet Metal In the News
WORCESTER BUSINESS JOURNAL - OPPOSING VIEWS ON NEW REGULATIONS 3/15/10
INJUNCTION NOT GRANTED IN SHEET METAL CASE
State House News Service, 2/18/2010
Contractors seeking an injunction to prevent sheet metal industry regulations from taking effect Friday said Thursday afternoon that their bid has been denied. A coalition of "open shop" contractors claim the regulations will force non-union contractors to adopt unfair union journeymen-to-apprentice ratios and overly burdensome training requirements that could drive up construction prices. A government attorney representing the Board of Examiners of Sheet Metal Workers on Wednesday urged a Suffolk Superior Court judge to reject the efforts of contractors seeking to stop the regulations. The plaintiffs' attorney, James Rudolf, told Suffolk Superior Court Judge Geraldine Hines that his clients support being regulated, but the board should get the rules "right the first time." But Tori Kim, an assistant attorney general representing the seven-member board, said the plaintiffs did not have any standing in court and have failed to show "irreparable harm" from the rules taking effect. Charles Chieppo, who is working with the plaintiffs, told the News Service Thursday afternoon the injunction was not granted.
CONTRACTORS FILE LAWSUIT OVER SHEET METAL REGS
State House News Service, 2/16/2010
Claiming new state rules will drive up construction costs and layoffs and give unions an unfair advantage, sheet metal contractors on Wednesday will ask a Suffolk Superior Court judge to approve an injunction preventing the regulations from taking effect on Friday. The request for an injunction was included in a lawsuit targeting regulations promulgated by the new state Board of Examiners of Sheet Metal Workers. The plaintiffs are so-called open shop contractors aligned with the Coalition for Fair Licensing, which supports state licensing of sheet metal workers but says the rules were adopted by an "illegally constituted board" and would force open shops to adopt union ratios and training requirements. Aside from protesting "excessive" journeymen-to-apprentice ratio and journeymen qualification requirements, the coalition claims the board does not feature the statutorily required two wage-earning journeyperson sheet metal workers, two master sheet metal workers with at least 10 years of practical experience and one representative of the public. According to the coalition, Kevin Gill, president of McCusker-Gill and appointee in the master category, "has never performed sheet metal work" and neither of the two journeyperson members - sheet Metal Workers Union Local 63 Business Manager Michael LaFleur and Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 17 Business Manager James Wool - are wage-earning sheet metal workers. The coalition, noting the public representative is Francis Boudreau, business manager for the Insulators and Asbestos Workers Union, also asserts that his appointment violates a legal prohibition on public representatives from having been involving in pursuits regulated by the board during the past five years. Other plaintiffs in the suit include Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts, which was in the thick of privatization battles during the early 1990s, and the New England chapter of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America and the Massachusetts Oil Heat Council.
Patriot Ledger Captures Opposing Views on Proposed Regs
Springfield Republican Covers Sheet Metal HearingBoston Herald: Sheet Metal Board Approves New Regulations Herald Columnist Tackles Sheet Metal Board Governor Packs Sheet Metal Board with Union Members
Boston Herald Op-Ed by ABCMA President Greg Beeman and ACCA New England President Don Chaisson