On Jan. 1, 2012, a revised version of the National Maintenance Agreements (NMA) went into effect. Established around 1971, the NMA is a national project labor agreement primarily used in industrial maintenance and renovation projects, such as in petro-chemical, utility, steel, and automotive plants.
According to the website of the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee (NMAPC), a labor-management committee that administers the NMA, significant changes have been made, including:
- Prior NMAPC approval is no longer required before a contractor or owner may implement a “4-10” work schedule;
- “Me-too” provisions regarding wages, work hours, holiday, and travel and subsistence payments have been eliminated;
- The manner by which second-shift and third-shift workers is paid has been modified;
- All subcontracting work on an NMA job must now be performed under the terms of the NMA or an approved, compatible agreement;
- Employers must now pay industry advancement or promotion funds approved by the NMAPC;
- The union membership requirement for employees has been reduced to eight days from 30 days;
- Jurisdictional dispute resolution process language has been changed to mirror the criteria set forth in The Plan for the Settlement of Jurisdictional Disputes;
- Arbitration costs must now be borne by the losing party or parties; and
- Failure to hold pre-job conferences may result in a $500 fine.