NBC's Today Show quotes NGA on safety glass

In case you missed it, NBC's Today Show ran a story, April 17, on concerns about the safety of table glass in American homes.

Citing a study by Children's Hospital Boston and Consumer Reports, the segment stoked fears about the perils for young children exposed to non-tempered tabletop glass and related furniture. The NGA is quoted near the end of the segment supporting both the increased use of safety glass in homes and the rights of consumers to choose the glass that best suits their needs.

This is the latest example of an opportunity the NGA has had to comment on an important, breaking news story. While it is often appropriate for the association to speak on behalf of the industry when the media calls, we would prefer that our members be out front most of the time. Your "on the ground" perspective adds a further degree of credibility, and you can speak more directly to the actual impact economic or governmental factors have on your business.

Please let us know if you'd like to join a group of NGA member spokespersons that we can call upon from time to time. If you'd like to indicate a specific subject or subjects with which you're most comfortable, let us know that, too.

—David Walker, Vice President of Association Services, National Glass Association

Questioning workplace injury legislation

In the beginning of this month, the Texas Supreme Court upheld its decision that an injured employee of a contractor cannot sue a "premises owner," according to an USA Today article April 3. The court granted a rehearing, but stuck to its decision.

The court made the decision on the case of a turbine mechanic at an Entergy Gulf States plant in Bridge City, Texas. The worker was hurt in 2001 while repairing a leak on a hydrogen generator. Entergy covered the mechanic's injury with a workers' compensation policy that protected it from being sued. In its original 2007 ruling and again during the rehearing, the Texas Supreme Court expanded the immunity that was only applied to suits filed by direct employees to cover contractors as well, according to the article.

State legislators say they never meant the workers' compensation law to apply to contractors, and four lawmakers in December called for the court to reverse its decision.

The court was split 6-3 this time around; the 2007 ruling was unanimous.

Much debate has since been swirling around the issue. The Texas Association of Manufacturers applauded the decision, while Texas Watch, a consumer advocate group, called the ruling a kick in the teeth for workers and legislators.

What do you say as a glazing contractor? Does the court’s decision to protect companies from contractor lawsuits make sense or does it make it easy for premises owners to avoid responsibility?

By Sahely Mukerji, news editor/managing editor, Glass Magazine

Double Panes music video

You know an industry’s message is beginning to make it into the general public when parody music videos start appearing. Check out this hilarious music video called “Double Panes” about the benefits of insulating glass over single-glazed units (“This record’s going LEED Platinum. If you’ve got skinny windows, you better fatten 'em.”)

John Swanson at Window and Door did a bit of sleuthing and learned the video was made by Matt Harnack, an environmental filmmaker and graduate student at Stanford University. “Double Panes” is set to M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes.”

Thanks to Heather West at Heather West Public Relations for passing this along.





—Katy Devlin, commercial glass & metals editor, Glass Magazine

It’s up to you, Chicken Little!

—Bill Evans, president, Evans Glass Co., Nashville

The one thing we can always control is our attitude. How we interpret and react to people and situations influences their reaction to us. Most people suffer from what I call "Chicken Little Syndrome." They believe the sky is falling. If someone calls themselves a realist or pessimist they most assuredly suffer from CLS. They most assuredly look at the glass as half-empty.

The great majority of the news is reported negatively. Our economic crisis is reinforced by compounding negativity. The rare positive statements are followed by a grammatical conjunction and subsequent negative statement, i.e., "Durable good orders were up in February as compared to January, but down compared to last year." Forget the comparison to last year. Look at the positive that durable orders increased. Existing home sales are up and new home sales are up. Forget all statements that dilute these positive statements. I tell my sales and office employees to ignore anything that follows a “but" or "nor” conjunction.

One of my customers printed my philosophy and hung it in their office. “Have a fantastic day and if you’re not, fake it.” Fake it long enough and you will come to believe it.

I emphatically believe that when I change someone’s attitude from defeatist to optimistic, it will lead to a direct change in their spending habits. When people start spending more, the economy will recover quickly. A positive attitude will lead our economic recovery, not the infusion of huge sums of money.

This is my soapbox. I know that I must always repeat it continuously to everyone. Even those to whom I have espoused before need to hear it again. Join me in changing our economy by changing attitudes.

I fully expect to hear from people calling me Pollyanna. Pollyanna ignored facts. I acknowledge them. Employment is at approximately 91 percent; 96 percent is considered full employment. The fact that 91 percent of our population is employed is impressive. The fact that mortgage rates are very low is good for buyers. Gasoline is essentially ½ the price it was last summer. Savings rates are up. That means people have money to spend. Let’s encourage them to do it by creating a positive environment.