4515 Telephone (909) 477 ALERT - ARCA/MCA · (909) 477-4515 Telephone (909) 477-4516 Fax...
Transcript of 4515 Telephone (909) 477 ALERT - ARCA/MCA · (909) 477-4515 Telephone (909) 477-4516 Fax...
Airconditioning, Refrigeration and Mechanical Contractors Association of Southern California, Inc. 3602 Inland Empire Boulevard, Suite B-206, Ontario, CA 91764
(909) 477-4515 Telephone (909) 477-4516 Fax [email protected]
Office Staff
ALERT
Second Quarter 2012
Peter Buongiorno, President Barr Engineering
David Miles, Vice-President
Weatherite Corporation
Gary Lumsden, Secretary Allison Mechanical
Dee Kennedy, Treasurer
Couts Heating & Cooling, Inc.
Robert Lake, Past-President EMCOR Service
Mesa Energy Systems, Inc.
Richard J. Sawhill Executive V.P. ARCA/MCA Southern California
Robert Carder, Board Member
Air-Ex Air Conditioning, Inc.
Casey Condron, Board Member Wittler-Young Service Company
Mike Gallagher, Board Member
Western Allied Corporation
Scott Limbacher, Board Member Stater Bros.
John Mueller, Board Member
Jackson & Blanc
Greg O’Neill, Board Member Air Conditioning Solutions, Inc.
Ken Westphal, Board Member
ACCO Engineered Systems
Rose Bayus, Office Manager
Debbie Sawhill, Special Projects
Board of Directors
Office Staff
Service Training Center Updates
The Joint Journeyman and Apprentice Training Center (JJATC) is
expanding the curriculum for its journeyman continuing education
program (CEP). The first year had forty-five journeyman enrolled in the
new CEP program, and saw this number increase to fifty-seven for the
second year. With respect to the other journeyman training programs,
the training center experienced an increased participation of 20% (205 to
246).
The non-conventional classes offered in the CEP program have proved
to be attractive to the journeyman. This increase in participation has
allowed the Journeyman Training Committee (JTC) to continue its
expansion to include three forms of training; the traditional journeyman
training program, the CEP programs, and Online Blackboard Courses.
The online training will have several diversified topics designed to
interest all journeymen.
The Mechanical Equipment Serviceman (MES) and Tradesman
training classes are currently under review by members of the MES/T
Training Committee. The daytime training was moved back to evening
classes this past September. The move was made too enable greater
flexibility for participation by MES and Tradesman employees working
in the service department.
On June 6, 2012, the Service Managers Roundtable will be held at the
Orange County Training Center. The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m.
and conclude no later than 2:00 p.m., with lunch being provided. The
expansion of hours from a normal Service Managers Roundtable is to
allow a discussion with members of the training committees, who will
also attend the meeting. The purpose of this discussion is to explore the
training needs for the contractors who employee MES and Tradesmen. It
is the intent of these training committees to incorporate the ideas
generated at the June 6 meeting into the training programs beginning
September 2012.
Please plan on having a representative
of your company attend this June 6 meeting.
Second Quarter 2008 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 3 Second Quarter 2012 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 2
Pete Buongiorno, president
The economic climate throughout Southern California continues to struggle even as
we hear of possible signs of recovery elsewhere in the country. Our ARCA/MCA
Southern California representatives are keenly aware of the difficultly in bidding and
securing jobs. The ARCA/MCA Southern California board of directors, as well as
each industry committee, has been attentive to the needs of Association member
companies by maximizing the value of the contributions paid to the various industry
programs. These industry programs (such as the training centers, the health and
welfare funds and the pension funds) provide the infrastructure that assists a company
to be successful.
The different training committees work with union representatives to ensure
valuable training programs to assist contractors and their employees to be the best
trained workforce in the industry. While the media is constantly covering issues related to problems in health
plans and pension plans around the country, we are fortunate that we have been successful in sustaining our
programs with minimal increased cost to the contractor. With medical costs continuing to soar and minimal
return on investments, sustaining our industry benefit plans will be an ongoing challenge. The board of
directors, committee members and the contract negotiation committee will make the decisions necessary with
an outlook to a better future.
Pre
siden
t’s
Mes
sage
ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES
Eliminate the silos between construction and service Remember what make you successful when you first started Encourage imitative and accept failure without recrimination Support employee with appropriate levels of delegation Build a business, not a bureaucracy Create a structure that assigned employee’s responsibility for their own performance, then set performance goals and manage results, not task lists, methods or actions
BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICE
Create a profile of the types of customers that are good matches for your company Manage the business by focusing on services most important to continued success Fund for the future, especially technology Invest in development of high performers Have a succession plan in place for techs as well as key managers
MSCA Service Contractors Best Practices
Article
#5
Articles 1-4 may be
found in the 2011 Alert Newsletters
Welcome to the newest members of the ARCA/MCA Southern California board of directors
Mike Gallagher
Western Allied Corporation
Casey Condron
Wittler-Young Service Company
Fourth Quarter 2011 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 3 Second Quarter 2012 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 3
Actions you can take if your credit card number is stolen…
Contact the bank or credit union that issued your card.
Close the compromised account and open a new one with a different account number.
Change related passwords or PIN numbers.
Notify companies that have automatic payments tied to the closed account so you do not miss a
payment.
Log all calls, letters, and emails you have with your card issuer about the fraud in case you need
to file a claim or police report.
Contact one of the three major credit bureaus and place an Initial Fraud Alert on your credit file
if you suspect you have been, or are about to be a victim of identity theft.
If you determine that you have suffered identity theft, you can file an Extended Fraud Alert.
Most card issuers provide “zero liability’ coverage if you are prompt in reporting card fraud.
The Federal Trade Commission’s “Defend: Recover From Identity Theft” website has instructions
for completing and filing identity theft reports with law-enforcement agencies.
www.ftc.gov/consumer
Other useful websites are:
www.StaySafeOnline.org www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/be_crime_smart
William J. (“Mac”) Lynch
Becomes MCAA President Massachusetts-based contractor sees education,
efficiency as keys to survival
ROCKVILLE, MD—William J. (“Mac”) Lynch became President of the Mechanical Contractors
Association of America (MCAA) at the close of the association’s annual convention on March 22.
The convention was held at the Walt Disney World® Resort, Florida.
Mr. Lynch is the president of the William F. Lynch Company, Inc., a fourth generation HVAC, service, plumbing and pipe
welding contractor that serves the Worcester, Massachusetts area. Appointed to the Board of Directors in 2003, Mr. Lynch is ac-
tive in the association on both the national and local levels. At the national level, he serves on the Executive Committee and the
Board of Directors. He is a past chairman of the Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI) Committee and a past member of the Safety
& Health Committee. And, he is a graduate of MCAA’s prestigious Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI).
At the local level, Mr. Lynch served as president of the New England Mechanical Contractors Association (NEMCA) and the
New England Mechanical Service Contractors Association (NEMSCA).
On the personal side, Mr. Lynch has the support of his wife, Debbie, and his two sons who are extending the family company’s
legacy into a new generation. For relaxation, Mac pursues kayaking and other outdoor activities and enjoys visiting with his very
first grandson.
The Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc. (MCAA) serves the unique needs of approximately 2,500 firms
involved in heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, plumbing, piping, and mechanical service. We do this by providing our
members with high-quality educational materials and programs to help them attain the highest level of managerial and technical
expertise. MCAA includes the Mechanical Service Contractors of America, the Plumbing Contractors of America, the
Manufacturer/Supplier Council, the Mechanical Contracting Education and Research Foundation and the National Certified Pipe
Welding Bureau.
Fourth Quarter 2011 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 4 Second Quarter 2012 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 4
Keep your identity and your data safe!
We’ve all become conditioned to the term “identity theft”. A couple of years ago it
struck some of us with fear but now most of us are convinced it will happen to someone
else. Unfortunately, it remains a real threat and it’s as important as ever to do the little
things to protect yourself. The old rules for your personal information still stand: keep your
social security number very private, don’t use debit cards, use strong passwords and
antivirus on computers and many others (you can use a reference to the list I emailed earlier
here). But with changes in technology come new threats.
Identity theft and business fraud used to be separate crimes but with the proliferation of
smart phones they have morphed together. Most phones now have a lot of personal
information on them but also business info. Some can even connect directly to corporate
servers, banking, employee records, etc. Not just smart phones but iPads and other tablets.
An iPad has as much or maybe more information than a laptop but is it as secure? The
problem is that most people still just think of these devices as phones. But they are much
more than that. A thief with access to your mobile device might as well take your work
computer and network server and plug it in at his home to violate at his leisure.
Contractors have even more problems. Is your proprietary bid data at risk from a smart
phone or tablet? Can someone get in and change, steal, or delete your electronic drawings?
We have so much information on our mobile devices we now need to make sure that the
information inside remains safe. The simplest way is to accomplish this is to make sure you
use a lock code on your device. Everyone should be doing this but most don’t due to the
inconvenience. And that is just the first step. Many phones that connect to corporate servers
can be wiped clean by the server if missing. Is this enabled on your device? The Apple
devices and some others even give you the option of more than a 4 number password. You
can even set it to wipe your device if you have 10 wrong password tries. This is not
recommended for most because we have trouble remembering so many passwords as it.
And this is another problem.
The average person has between 5 and 8 passwords to remember. And some of them
must be changed every six months. We just can’t remember that many when they change.
Some people just use one password but I would not recommend using the same password
for a web store that you use for banking. Many websites can get their password files hacked
easily. Then your banking password is open to all. And those password programs aren’t all
so great either. One developer was hacked recently. I don’t know if any passwords were
compromised but it certainly would be my target if I was a criminal. The best thing you can
do is find a program that encrypts your passwords. Then you only have to remember one
password. And if someone gets that file without your encryption keyword it is of no use to
them.
As always with identity theft don’t get worried. Just take time to do the little things that
keep your identity and your data safe.
First Quarter 2010 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 5 Fourth Quarter 2011 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 5 Second Quarter 2012 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 5
IRS issues new guidance on
W-2 reporting of health plan costs
Journal of Accountancy
By Sally P. Schreiber - January 4, 2012
The IRS released new guidance on the requirement that employers provide information to employees on the cost
of employer-provided group health plan coverage (Notice 2012-9). The guidance comes in the form of 39
questions and answers. It supersedes Notice 2011-28 and makes changes to requirements that were issued in
Notice 2011-28.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148, requires employers to report the “aggregate
reportable cost” of “applicable employer-sponsored coverage” under an employer-sponsored group health plan on
Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. To give employers more time to update their payroll systems, the IRS made
this requirement optional for all employers for 2011 Forms W-2 due in 2012 (Notice 2010-69). The first time that
employers need to report these amounts is on 2012 Forms W-2 furnished in January 2013. Last year, the IRS
provided further relief for small employers filing fewer than 250 Forms W-2 by making the reporting requirement
optional for them for 2012 Forms W-2 (Notice 2011-28).
Applicable employer-sponsored coverage means coverage under any group health plan that an employer makes
available to the employee and that is excludible from the employee’s gross income under Sec. 106, but it
excludes long-term-care coverage, any coverage under a separate dental or vision policy, or any coverage
described in Sec. 9832(c)(1) (for example, accident or disability income insurance, supplemental liability
insurance, etc.). It also excludes amounts contributed to an Archer medical savings account (MSA) or a health
savings account (HSA), or salary reduction contributions to a health flexible spending account (FSA), although
special rules apply in determining aggregate reportable cost where the employer offers a health FSA.
The aggregate reportable cost generally includes both the portion of the cost paid by the employer and the portion
paid by the employee, regardless of whether the employee paid through pretax or after-tax contributions. The
amounts contributed to Archer MSAs and HSAs are excluded. Salary reduction contributions to a health FSA are
also excluded, but to the extent the amount of a health FSA exceeds the employee’s salary reduction
contributions for the year, it is included in the aggregate reportable cost.
Notice 2012-9 includes the following changes:
Expands the statutory exemption from reporting for federally recognized Indian tribal governments to include
employers that are tribally chartered corporations wholly owned by federally recognized Indian tribal
governments, until further guidance is issued.
Clarifies that the exemption from reporting for employers who are required to file fewer than 250 Forms W-2
applies for 2012 Forms W-2 (and for Forms W-2 for later years unless and until further guidance is issued). An
employer who was required to file fewer than 250 Forms W-2 for 2011 will be exempt from the reporting
requirement for 2012. If an employer filed fewer than 250 Forms W-2 only because the employer used an agent
to file the forms, the exemption does not apply.
Modifies the requirement for related employers not using a common paymaster so that they are required to
report the aggregate reportable cost on one employer’s Form W-2 or allocate the cost among the employers using a
reasonable allocation method.
Clarifies that the cost of coverage does not include amounts includible in income under Sec. 105(h) (excess
reimbursements for highly compensated individuals) or under the requirement that 2% S corporation
shareholder-employees include their premiums in income.
Notice 2012-9 also provides guidance on a number of issues not addressed in Notice 2011-28. These include
how to treat costs of coverage under employee-assistance programs or wellness programs; how to treat costs of
coverage under health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs); and how to calculate the reportable amount for
coverage when only a portion of the coverage constitutes coverage under a group health plan.
2012 Calendar April
11 7:00 am SCPT Administrative & Delinquency Committees
12 10:00 am ARCA/MCA Southern California Board of Directors
24 9:00 am IRBT Board of Trustees
25 8:30 am SCPT Board of Trustees
26 8:00 am P.I.P.E. Board of Trustees
May
2-4 MCAA National Issues Conference
(Washington, DC)
7-8 International Foundation Legislative Conference
(Washington, DC)
8 8:00 am ACRT Board of Trustees
28 ARCA/MCA Southern California office closed
June
6 10:00 am Service Managers Roundtable
14 10:00 am ARCA/MCA Southern California Board of Directors
27 7:00 am SCPT Finance Committee
Fourth Quarter 2011 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 6 Second Quarter 2012 ARCA/MCA Southern California ALERT Page 6
ACCO Engineered Systems
Glendale, CA
Air Conditioning Solutions, Inc.
Altadena, CA
Air-Ex Air Conditioning, Inc.
Pomona, CA
Barr Engineering
Santa Fe Springs, CA
Control Air Conditioning Service Corporation
Anaheim, CA
Couts Heating & Cooling, Inc.
Corona, CA
Graycon, Inc.
City of Industry, CA
Thermalair, Inc.
Anaheim, CA
Weatherite Corporation
Walnut, CA
Western Allied
Santa Fe Springs, CA
Wittler-Young Service Company
Los Angeles, CA
Allison Mechanical
Redlands, CA
Emcor Service/Mesa Energy Systems
Irvine, CA
Jackson & Blanc
San Diego, CA
The Mission of the Airconditioning, Refrigeration and Mechanical Contractors Association of Southern California, Inc. (ARCA/MCA
Southern California) is to exceed the expectations of the Association’s member companies. The Association will provide a link of
communication that will address, advance, and inform the Association membership of the latest updates on legislation, technology, and
issues pertinent to the Airconditioning, Refrigeration and Mechanical Contracting Industry. The success of the Association in achieving
this Mission is to be based on integrity and loyalty to its members. We will strive to be diligent and flexible by supplying services the
membership needs to be competitive in an ever-changing business environment.
ARCA/MCASouthern California Mission Statement
October 11, 2012 ARCA/MCA Southern California
Annual Membership Meeting Pacific Palms Resort
City of Industry, CA
www.arcamca.org
October 14-17 , 2012 MSCA Annual
Educational Conference Carlsbad, CA
Below are a few important
questions to ask your healthcare
provider upon your visit to further
your understanding and possible
treatment of your condition:
What is my problem?
What should I do about it?
Why is it important for me to
do this?
Is there a generic drug for this
prescription?
Important
questions to ask your
healthcare provider !