New Twist of Prevailing Wage - Cinema West v Baker

[Ian Wilson]

The project to build a movie theater falls under prevailing wage, partly because the theater has use of a City parking lot built with public funds.

Hmmm...

So, if I build an "in-fill" house on a street maintained by public funds...

[Jim Frame]

It looks to me that the court concluded that the theater and parking lot were functionally a single project -- that the theater wouldn't be built without the parking lot, the parking lot wouldn't be built without the theater, and neither would be built if the city didn't agree to make substantial contributions to the project.

The takeaway for surveyors: when in doubt, include a contractual clause specifying reimbursement for PW costs in the event a PW finding is made subsequent to contract execution.

[Dave Lindell]

The annual fee increases to $400 and the penalty for not registering is raised to $8000 effective July, 2017.

[Jim Frame]

They also created a $25K exemption, but that seems like a tricky business to me. It requires the surveyor to determine whether or not total funding for the project is under $25K, and if he gets it wrong he's looking at a big fine.

Since I regularly work on PW projects that are much larger than $25K I have to register anyway, but I can see how someone who doesn't want to pay the registration fee could get into trouble taking on what he thinks is an exempt project and getting a rude surprise later on.

[land butcher]

A result of the unions owning the politicians of CA.

As a result of this BS we will not consider any public works projects. Too damn much money up front for a pick the lowest bidder job, then the paperwork, a tax paid to the union, etc Not worth it.

[Jim Frame]

Too damn much money up front for a pick the lowest bidder job, then the paperwork, a tax paid to the union, etc Not worth it.

I think you're looking at the wrong PW projects. I typically do over $100k per year of PW work, almost none of it on a bid basis. I agree that the paperwork can be burdensome, but it's been well worth the trouble for me.

[land butcher]

A couple of local cities asked me to be on their bid list, but they told me right out they take low bidder and I am sure the rest around here are the same.

[pls5528]

In my opinion "surveyors" should Not be affiliated with unions and apprenticeships. It is a "Science", NOT a Trade. Any time of which I had with the Unions in the past, was relative to a non-professional level of what we do. "WE", are as professional as any civil engineers, and deserve the respect of the public (and within our own peers) as such. This is a different thread, but, it hit a nerve.

[Jim Frame]

In my opinion "surveyors" should Not be affiliated with unions and apprenticeships. It is a "Science", NOT a Trade.

Land surveying has elements of science, trade, art and profession. You're not going to learn how to look for monuments or brush a traverse line or drift a rebar into place as you drive it in a classroom. I think that apprenticeship, whether formal or informal, is the best way to learn field procedure, and I'm grateful for the time I spent in the Local 3 program. And I was fortunate enough -- though I didn't know it at the time -- to be forced out of a union gig after a few years due to a down economy, which resulted in exposure to aspects of the profession I might never have seen had I stayed on a union crew.

As a licensee of 23 years, I still appreciate the skills I learned at the feet of others. The fact that I spent about an hour this morning on my knees with a shovel and a digging bar, pulling handsful of dirt out of a hole beneath a fence rail looking for an old iron pipe, may not fit the concept of "professional" in the minds of some, but putting those skills to work is every bit as important as the act of stamping the resulting map.

[pls5528]

With all due respect Jim, I was not attempting to minimize the field work involved with this business. In fact, I learned most of that from seasoned party chiefs well before any of my exposure with the union counterparts. Having a secondary training with the Local 12 (after a college program geared towards engineering and surveying), I am using that comparison. The college programs were by far better, and, had field training exposure on the Saturday classes. relationship.It is indeed an important part of becoming an all around experienced surveyor. I actually had argued this point with Dr. Crossfield at CSF on an issue about that very thing on one occasion. The students have very little to no training on construction staking, and, his opinion was that that was not the focus of the program and had eluded to it as non-professional. What is the majority of work our business does?

[SPMPLS]

Jim,

I have been licensed for 30 years and I know your number is lower than mine. According to this list, you have been PLS 5435 since 1984.

http://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/pubs/num_land.pdf

You have been digging those holes longer than you thought, my friend.

[Jim Frame]

Oops! I dropped a decade. Wishful thinking, I guess.