Heat and Frost Insulators News and Events

An update from Government Affairs Director Chip Gardiner:

Since last November when we first secured mechanical insulation tax incentives into the House Ways and Means GREEN bill discussion draft, we have been optimistic that the Mechanical Insulation tax incentives would be included as part of a larger infrastructure bill that the U.S House of Representatives would consider and approve. Our optimism was further increased when the Joint Committee on Taxation contacted us to get information that they needed to complete their economic/budgetary analysis for the Mechanical Insulation tax incentives.

On Feb. 19, Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Labor Management Cooperative Trust Executive Director Pete Ielmini joined Ed “Flash” Ferenc on America’s Work Force Radio to discuss mechanical insulation.

The Seattle skyline changed this summer, when crews finished construction of a new skyscraper on the Amazon campus. Named re:Invent, the 37-story high-rise is the third tallest building on the internet retail giant’s main campus. Checking in at 1.2-million-square-feet, the high-rise can hold up to 5,000 employees.

The US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has developed a Subcommittee on Energy that will hear At Large International Vice President Tim Keane testify on Friday, September 20, 2019. The hearing is entitled “Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Solutions for the U.S. Building Sector" and will also include testimonies from American Institute of Architects 2018 AIA President Carl Elefante, FAIA, U.S. Green Building Counsel Senior Policy Counsel Elizabeth Beardsley and American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy Executive Director Steven Nadel.

Government decisions impact many aspects of our daily lives (the taxes we pay, our ability to secure work, the health and safety of our workplace, health care and retirement benefits), and as such, our union has, and continues to emphasize, the importance of electing candidates who support the union construction industry, specifically the work of the Insulators.

For the second year in a row, the Insulators’ contractor association, iSave, worked with a group of HFIAW Local Unions to create networking opportunities centered around major college football games.

With the support of Congressman Bob Dold, Republican from Illinois, as the new sponsor of the Mechanical Insulation Incentive Bill, we worked with his staff to identify a lead Democrat co-sponsor.

Congressman Bob Dold, R- Ill, and House Democrat co-sponsor, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, D -Ca, introduced the Mechanical Insulation Incentive Bill (H.R. 4165) to the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 3.

The Mechanical Insulation Incentive bill was originally co-sponsored by Representative Sanchez, and has since gained the support of Representative Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, in December of 2016, Representative Richard L. Hanna, R-NY in February of 2016, and most recently Representative Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill, on March 14.

Both Congressman Dold and Congresswoman Sanchez serve on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee and together, they are well-positioned to promote the tax incentive for mechanical insulation.