Partial Victory? Union leaders now expect a bill to pass which will require faster union elections. The new bill is also likely to force companies to enter into binding arbitration on a collective bargaining agreement, if a union is approved.

Union Stats: In St. Louis, over 85% of residential plumbing is done by union contractors...In the United Association (the UA is the national union and includes all piping trades) 8% of the members are sprinkler fitters; 25% are plumbers; and 67% are pipefitters/HVAC technicians.

Infrastructure Update: Our friends at The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority continue work on improvements to the region's water systems. In June the MWRA board (which includes Local 12 Business Manager Kevin Cotter) awarded a $4.9 million contract for design of a 12-inch thick cast-in-place concrete lining for a 2+ mile long wastewater tunnel in West Roxbury. Tunnel serves over 125,000 homes and businesses. Over the decades, its walls have corroded due to hydrogen sulfide. J.F. White Construction of Framingham is expected to be involved with the tunnel's inspection and reconstruction. The ultimate project cost: about $90 million.

Water Prices: Water will become an increasingly expensive resource -- even in places like New England, where you would think we have plenty of fresh water. But even communities like Brockton are now using desalinated sea water -- because they can't get enough water from reservoirs, lakes and streams.

Money: There is money to be made in the water business. Across the world, private water companies are growing. In the US, 14% of the water is provided by private water companies. According to National Public Radio (NPR), water from privately managed systems costs 13 -- 50% more than that delivered by public systems.

EPA SAYS: One-third of all residential water use goes for landscaping.

Coil Problems: HVAC NEWS reports that drywall manufactured in China sometimes contains sulfur -- and this may be causing corrosion on copper coils in equipment around the US.

Copper Prices: According to Engineering News Record (ENR), the price of copper tubing stabilized in the early summer, after falling during the winter. ENR says that copper tubing was selling for $1.70/ft. in Boston -- but for only 76-cents in Baltimore and Cincinnati. Detroit had the highest prices: $2.85/ft. These price variations seem very odd.

Foreclosures Decline: Some good news: The number of properties that have been foreclosed in Massachusetts in 2009 is lower than a year ago -- by almost 30%. The bad news is that the number of homes heading towards foreclosure continues to rise. Economists say that with people losing their jobs, and then running out of unemployment benefits, the number of actual foreclosures could go up again...Nationwide, 1 in 10 mortgages were past due or in foreclosure in 1st qtr.

Stimulus: The government's stimulus money is going mostly to horizontal construction (roads and bridges) rather than to vertical construction (buildings). Consequently, not many plumbing jobs have been created. However, some of the new energy conservation grants present opportunities for plumbing and heating contractors. That money will work its way into the economy more slowly than the road-building funds.

Opportunity: Under the Obama stimulus plan, water heaters, boilers, central AC systems, heat pumps, etc. qualify for a 30% tax credit. If you are in the P/HVAC business, this can be a selling point when working with customers.

China's Stimulus: Some complain that the government is spending too much to stimulate the economy. Others say it is too little. The Chinese, when confronted with their own economic downturn, decided that BIG stimulus was the way to go. Huge construction projects are now happening in China. Here's a number to keep in mind: China will spend $730.6 billion on railways alone over the next 11 years. This is about equal to the entire US government stimulus.

Bluestone: Professor Barry Bluestone worked his way through college as a UAW worker at a Ford plant in Michigan. Today he is a dean at Northeastern, and one of the nation's leading labor economists. In a recent Boston Globe article, he says that 35% of US workers belonged to unions in 1955, but only 14% do today. He faults public unions for resisting what he considers useful changes: teachers unions opposing charter schools; police unions fighting for details on construction sites; MBTA workers resisting reform of the state's outdated transportation system; etc. Bluestone is a strong supporter of unions, but believes they sometimes promote narrow, short-term interests at great cost to their long-term health. He warns that in the public sector, union workers will be replaced with private contractors.

Best-Seller: There is a new book about working in the mechanical trades, and it is selling very well. Shopcraft as Soulcraft was written by Ph.D. Matthew Crawford, who once headed a think tank in Washington. Now he runs a motorcycle repair shop in Virginia...The author makes a strong case for jobs that require the use of one's hands. Skilled trades involve cognitive challenges because they demand unique, creative solutions. By contrast, he says, many white-collar jobs have been reduced to rote tasks that leave little room for actual thinking.

High Costs: High costs of printing have recently forced World Plumbing Review to go entirely online.

Good Movie: It's not Good Will Hunting, but if you like films about Southie, you should check out a new documentary "The Greening of Southie" which appeared on the Sundance Channel in April. It is about the construction of the Macallen Building near the Broadway subway station. This was a union-built job, and plumbing contractor J.C. Higgins had a role constructing energy-savings systems in the building. You can see parts of the film online at www.thegreeningofsouthie.com.

Construction Films: The rise of the internet and web sites like YouTube make it possible for our industry to showcase itself to a wider public. A 6-minute film on the plumbing industry in Boston can be viewed at our web site. Features key people in our industry: John Cannistraro, Sr., the founder of J.C. Cannistraro; Local 12 Business Manager Kevin Cotter; highly-regarded plumber Hank Fandel; and Gregg Petersen, 2008 winner of the UA's New England Apprentice Contest.

Tours: If you want to see the results of an amazing construction project, consider taking a tour of the Deer Island Treatment Plant in Boston Harbor. It's an impressive place, built by over 3,000 construction workers in the 1990's. Tours are available from April to November. Contact the Deer Island Tour line at (617) 660-7607.

Have Wrench, Will Travel: In a time of high unemployment in the trades, a few bold plumbers may soon be working in Iraq or Afghanistan. Local 12 has been contacted by an engineering firm, Kelly, Brown, and Root (KBR) that is ready to hire skilled construction workers for foreign assignments. See www.kbrjobs.com.

Congratulations: To Local 12 Training Director Rick Carter, whom Gov. Patrick appointed to the Massachusetts Plumbing Board. The board continues to operate at high degree of effectiveness under the direction of contractor and Chairman Paul Kennedy, of P.J. Kennedy in Dorchester. Paul serves on a large number of non-profit boards.

Plumbing Engineers: The Boston Chapter of ASPE (American Society of Plumbing Engineers) testified at the State House on a bill that would reinstate the professional registration of plumbing engineering. Senate Bill 181 would again require that plumbing drawings be stamped by certified plumbing engineer. These days, the drawings are stamped by a mechanical engineer. Write your senator and rep to support Senate 181.

Final Score: From the front page of the New York Times: an article on "potty-parity" at the two new baseball parks in New York. The city uses the 2003 International Plumbing Code (IPC). The IPC -- like the Massachusetts Plumbing Code -- now requires more toilets for women, so there won't be those long lines outside the ladies' room. The final score from Yankee Stadium: Women: 369 toilets. Men: 98 toilets and 298 urinals.