Small construction firms singled out in health care bill

By Buck Wargo

Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 | 3 a.m.

The health care legislation making its way through Congress has caught the attention of Las Vegas’s small contracting companies, which are worried changes may put them out of business.

Language added at the last minute to the Senate bill approved on Christmas Eve singles out small construction firms for harsher treatment for not providing insurance than any other industry, says Brian Turmail, a spokesman for the Associated General Contractors of America.

Under the health care legislation passed in the Senate, construction firms with as few as five workers would be subject to health care fines, he says.

“In this economy, it will knock a number of companies out of business,” says Steve Holloway, executive vice president of the Las Vegas chapter of the Associated General Contractors. “It will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

The construction industry is pointing the finger at unions as the force behind the amendment, saying they want to get rid of small companies that don’t provide health care.

Employers who use union workers provide health care for their construction workers, Holloway says. Most larger construction companies that are nonunion provide health care for employees as well, he says.

Some of the smaller mom-and-pop companies that can’t afford to provide health care will be affected the most, Holloway says.

In Southern Nevada, about 65 percent or 6,500 of the 10,000 construction employers are nonunion, Holloway says. Seventy-five percent of those companies have fewer than 50 employees, he adds.

The large general contractors want as many subcontractors as possible to draw from for their projects, he adds.

“There is no open support (for the penalties) by the employers, even the ones who might stand to benefit,” Holloway says. “The construction industry is lobbying against it and trying to get this taken out of the bill.”

Turmail says it’s unfair for small construction firms to be singled out in the health care legislation while other firms are exempt.

“Somehow they are saying contractors are less likely to provide insurance than any other category of employer,” Turmail says. “That is fundamentally flawed and an insult to contractors across Nevada.”

Turmail says the nature of inserting the amendment at the last minute was wrong because it didn’t give the industry a chance to state its case. Many senators didn’t even know it was in the final bill, he says.

“We ultimately look for Senate and House leaders to make sure the right thing is done for construction workers,” Turmail says. “It is hard to understand how an economy like Las Vegas can stand deeper job cuts in the construction industry.”

The specialty construction workers who pushed for the amendment make up 16 percent to 17 percent of construction workers, Turmail says.

“The people who suffer the most are the workers,” Turmail says. “You are in an environment in which construction firms are bidding to smaller margins and taking losses to keep their guys busy.”

Canadian company to locate here

Montreal-based Foliot Furniture will open a facility in Las Vegas in May, employing more than 200 permanent workers.

Foliot will produce casegoods and upholstered furniture in a 309,000-square-foot building near McCarran International Airport. The factory is expected to open May 31.

Foliot will also have 100 to 150 seasonal positions beginning this summer.

Builders name board

The Southern Nevada Home Builders Association has named its board of directors for 2010.

Nat Hodgson, vice president of construction and customer service at Pulte Homes and Del Webb Communities, will serve as president. He marks the first representative of a publicly traded homebuilding company to serve in that position.

Frank Wyatt of Pinnacle Homes is first vice president. Greg Oberling of Warmington Homes is second vice president.

Diana Bossard of B2 Development Services remains as treasurer, and Tony Stipanov of Southwest Gas continues as secretary.

Builder board members are Ernie Belair of Richmond American Homes, Mark Bivins of Inspiration Homes, Cindy Bowen of R/S Development, Rocky Cochran of Pardee Homes, Bill June of Beazer Homes, David McEntire of Amstar Homes, Frank Pankratz of EHB Cos., Brian Plaster of Signature Homes, Tom Warden of Howard Hughes Corp. and Scott Wright of Pulte Homes.

Wyatt was named builder member of the year by the association, and Ken Williams of Camco was recognized for outstanding service to the association.

Bob Campbell, a retired builder, was honored for 50 years of membership. The association started in 1954, and Campbell served as president in 1968. Campbell, who still attends board meetings, helped form the state association, which he served as the first president. He was recognized for bringing the National Association of Home Builders convention to Las Vegas for the first time in 1980.

In other news

SalesTraq will hold its year-end recap Crystal Ball Seminar from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Jan. 21 at the Suncoast. The firm will unveil its December housing statistics, review 2009 and look ahead to the Las Vegas housing market in 2010.

Featured speaker will be Rita Brandin, senior vice president and director of development for Newland Communities Western Region. She oversees the development of Symphony Park, the mixed-used project in downtown Las Vegas. For more information, go to www.crystalballseminars.com.

Brian Wargo covers real estate and law for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at 259-4011 or at [email protected].