COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON LICENSES AND INSPECTIONS Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, October 6, 2010 11:15 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN WILLIAM K. GREENLEE COUNCILMAN BILL GREEN COUNCILMAN JACK KELLY COUNCILMAN JAMES KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN BILL 100539 - An ordinance amending Section 9-3300 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Erection, Use and Inspection of Tower Cranes," by revising the certification requirements for the operation, signaling and rigging of tower cranes, all under certain terms and conditions. - - - 2
Good morning, everyone. This is the Committee on Licenses and Inspections. I'm Bill 5 Greenlee. I'll be chairing this today, as Councilwoman Sanchez, the Chair, is out on other business. Just for the record, we have a quorum: Councilwoman Reynolds Brown, Councilman Green and Councilman Kenney, who has been appointed to this Committee. Mr. Dunvey, will you please read the title of the bill before us today.
Bill No. 100539, an ordinance amending Section 9-3300 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Erection, Use and Inspection of Tower Cranes," by revising the certification requirements for the operation, signaling and rigging of tower cranes, all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. Mr. Haigler, please. 3 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning. If you could identify yourself for the record and proceed.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman. My name is Otis Haigler. I'm Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Licenses and Inspections. Today I'm here to provide testimony on Bill 100539, which, if enacted, will amend Section 9-3300 of The Philadelphia Code related to the operation of tower cranes to extend the period for the certification of riggers and signal operators from October 9, 2010 until December 31, 2010. The proposed bill will have no 20 impact on the operations of the Department of Licenses and Inspections. Therefore, we offer no objections to its enactment. Thank you for the opportunity to provide this testimony. 4 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539
Mr. Haigler, next time try to shorten your comments. Okay? Please. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Brock. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good morning. Please identify yourself for the record.
Yes, sir. My name is Charles Brock. I'm the Director of the Carpenters Training Facility in Northeast Philadelphia. It's an apprenticeship program for five trades. We have approximately 637 students there now. I'd like to speak in support of 5 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 the amendment to the bill. It would give us more time to have our program certified by NOCA, third-party body. We have a 32-hour rigging course, which I have the textbook that we use, which is printed by our International Training Committee. It's a 32-hour course that also involves a DVD, which we've purchased, has a virtual crane on it. So our hand signalers can see how the crane is moving and use the proper signals to make sure they know what they're doing. Also, at the end of the course, we have a -- we rent a crane, actually bring them out with an operating engineer, and they have four hours for 12 guys with hand signals and voice commands, and then they take a test. And then the other half of the class comes out and they flip over that way. So it's a pretty involved training course. We believe -- we have a letter from our Training Center that Councilman 6 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 Kenney's Chief of Staff has. I don't know if she's given you a copy of that. But we've been working for about two years to get our program approved by NOCA, and we're very close to having that. We also spend about $5 million a year on training our members, apprentices and journeymen, and we have a very nice program there, and we're in 10401 Decatur Road. If anyone would like to come up and see the program, we're more than happy for you to tour the facility, and also let you know that on the first Friday in May, we have an open house, and you're more than welcome to come to see some competition from our graduate apprentices and our facility then. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Brock? 7 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 (No response.)
Oh, you do? Okay. And would the record please reflect that Councilman Kelly, a member of the Committee, is also present. Councilwoman Brown.
Yes. Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for your testimony, and we on this side of the table are always pleased and thrilled to hear when efforts are underway to further train citizens of the City so that they can continue to grow, and, of course, the more training you have, the more money you earn. I am concerned for sure, but interested in knowing of the population of the class participants, what efforts are made to ensure that the training class looks like Philadelphia in terms of 8 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 women and people of color?
Well, we have -- we test once a year, and anyone that is of or above is eligible to come take the 6 test, and then if they can find a 7 sponsor, they're into the program. We 8 reach out to -- I can't think of it off 9 the top of my head right now. 10
Yes. We send 13 information to the schools and we're 14 online, and we send out information to 15 them also. We have our open house, and 16 we have pamphlets that if people stop in, 17 we give those out to them.
How often do you have your open house and what time of year is that?
It's once a year and it's the first Friday in May, and we announce it through different newspapers. The Public Record is one. I know in the Northeast Times I believe is another. We 9 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 have a list of publications that we send it to and schools also.
Could you share that information going forward with members of this body as well?
That would be a signatory contractor, either the GBCA or with IFCA, the General Builders Contractor Association or the Interior Finish Contractors Association. And they would send a letter to the schools saying they want to sponsor the apprentice that's passed the entrance exam.
And the apprentice entrance exam is also sponsored by your organization?
Okay. Are -- I don't know the update, so I won't pose that question. I will say, however, for the record that there 10 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 continues to be a strong interest by members of this body to look to members of the labor community across the board to strengthen and grow the ranks of people who are women and people of color, and from where I sit and from the little I know, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done in that area. I don't know the work effort of the Carpenters, but what we do know, having had numerous meetings and questions and hearings on this matter, that our City can still do better when it comes to ensuring that the building trades look like Philadelphia.
Thank you, Councilwoman. I'm sorry. Did you want to testify?
I don't want to testify, but -- 11 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539
Identify yourself for the record if you're going to say anything.
Guy Pigliacelli. I'm the counsel representative for the Carpenters Union. Just to expand a little bit on the Councilwoman's question, I'm the counsel representative for the Philadelphia Convention Center, the expansion, and the Carpenters have met all their goals on that particular project as far as female participation, carpenters, and people of color.
Excellent. I appreciate you putting that on the record. That's actually the question I wanted to ask, but I couldn't remember the current numbers, so not knowing, I did not want to put that out there. So that's encouraging to hear, because that was Council's last major push because of the scale of that project to help encourage the building trades to 12 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 do their part. So we're thrilled to hear that report.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for allowing me to be part of the Committee today. I just wanted to offer formally for the record a letter from the General Building Contractors Association here in Philadelphia, which is in support of the amendment allowing the National Commission for Certifying Agencies or the successor agency thereto. They are in agreement with the language. They believe that it strengthens the bill, and I just want to put it in the record formally.
Thank 13 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 you, Councilman. That letter will be part of the record. Any other questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Anyone else here to testify on this bill? (No response.)
That will conclude the public hearing of the Committee on Licenses and Inspections. We will now go into our public meeting, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that Bill No. 22 100539 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and a request made for rules suspension to allow for first reading at our next 14 10/6/10 - L&I - BILL 100539 Council session. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and seconded. All in favor please say aye. (Aye.)
Hearing none, the motion carries and Bill No. 13 100539 has been reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation, with a rules suspension to allow first reading at our next session of Council. That concludes the business of the Committee on Licenses and Inspection and the meeting stands adjourned. Thank you all very much. (Committee on Licenses and Inspections concluded at 11:25 a.m.) - - - 15 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on October 6, 2010, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. -------------------- MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)