LABOR

Toyota Drops PLA Plan For San Antonio Plant

Toyota recently announced it would not seek a professional labor agreement for construction of its new $800 million truck manufacturing plant in San Antonio. That decision paves the way for nonunion contractors to compete on an equal basis with union builders for plant contracts.
It was also a decision that was praised by local organizations that feared the truck maker would sign a union-only contract and exclude nonunion labor from the project. According to reports, about 95 percent of San Antonio's construction workforce is nonunion.
"Our biggest concern was that Toyota not discriminate against nonunion contractors," said Doug McMurry, executive vice president of the San Antonio chapter of the Associated General Contractors. "It sounds like that issue has been addressed. It appears they have made an extra effort to address local concerns."
The agreement also requires contractors to emphasize hiring local workers from Bexar County and 11 neighboring counties. Toyota vice president Jim Wiseman told the San Antonio Express-News that the agreement was a sharp departure from the union contracts signed by the company for previous U.S. projects.
"There is a much bigger emphasis here on using local construction workers," Wiseman said.
The manufacturing plant is expected to begin operation in the summer of 2006. Toyota began taking bids for design work last month and expects to let bids for site preparation in November or December.

BANKRUPTCY

Enron Files Chapter 11 Plan With Bankruptcy Court

Houston-based Enron Corp. recently filed its proposed Joint Chapter 11 Plan and related disclosure statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court with the support of Enron's Official Unsecured Creditors' Committee.
"This is a good day in what has been a very complicated process," said Stephen F. Cooper, Enron's acting CEO and chief restructuring officer.
The disclosure statement details the estimated recovery percentages for more than 350 classes of creditors. The recovery percentage estimates range from 100 percent for certain claims, such as priority claims, to zero cents on the dollar for holders of common stock.
The plan does preserve the rights of Enron shareholders to a contingent recovery in the extremely unlikely event that Enron's total assets exceed total allowed claims. Based upon preliminary estimates, Enron's unsecured creditors will receive between 5 percent and 75 percent of their claim, depending on which particular debtor the claim is against.
The plan, which covers Enron's 174 debtor entities, must be approved by 50 percent of the creditors and two-thirds of the dollar amount of claims for each creditor class in all debtor entities.
The bankruptcy court is expected to hold a hearing on the disclosure statement this fall.

ARCHITECTURE

EDI Architecture Captures Prestigious Aurora Award

Houston-based EDI Architecture Inc. recently captured a Best of State honor at the annual Aurora Awards for new home construction and design excellence.
The awards were part of the 2003 Southeast Building Conference industry gala held at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The nationally recognized Aurora Awards honor builders, designers, architects and other home building industry professionals in a 12-state region from Texas to Virginia.
EDI Architecture earned its top award for design of the Sonangol USA building in Houston, the U.S. corporate headquarters building for the National Oil Co. of Angola, Africa.
Curved glass surfaces and strongly articulated volumes were used to create a large corporate image on a small scale. High touch materials were used throughout the common area interiors to emphasize the color and luminescence common to the mineral deposits found in Angolan soil.
The ground floor houses an employee cafeteria, commercial kitchen, multipurpose room and technical training facility that can be opened to the cafeteria, and a private dining room for business entertaining. The client occupies the 7,246-sq.-ft. second floor, and the third floor is available for lease as tenant space or future expansion.

LEGISLATION

Perry Signs Electrical Safety, Licensing Act

The Texas Electrical Safety and Licensing Act was signed into law June 20 by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. This law will be administered by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and will take effect Sept. 1.
The bill provides portability for electricians throughout the state, allows for the enforcement of the National Electrical Code as a minimum standard and makes it a criminal penalty to do electrical work without a license.
All persons performing electrical work and all electrical contractors must be licensed beginning Sept. 1, 2004. Requirements include a completed application, payment of fees and meeting specific criteria for each type of license. There is a grandfather provision that allows a person meeting certain requirements to obtain a license without taking an examination; applications for the grandfather provision must be completed before June 1, 2004.
The IEC of Texas, a trade association representing over 430 independent electrical contractors throughout the state, was a vocal supporter of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) and Sen. Ken Armbrister (D-Victoria).