Window Cleaning & The Big Film Rip Off

Hire us and your windows won't get broken.

Film welfare program forces legitimate businesses to pay for the rip off (by Ken Braun): The Michigan House of Representatives voted to kill Michigan's film subsidy earlier this month. The state's corporate welfare for filmmakers program was launched by Gov. Granholm in 2008 and then trimmed back by Gov. Snyder shortly after he was elected.

In a 2010 analysis of the original program, the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency noted that "significant confusion appears to exist" regarding the program's costs and benefits. That confusion has kept the taxpayer ripoff alive.

Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese was the sort of businessman who wouldn't have been confused at all.

At the age of 18, Tommy employed several associates to help him operate a successful New York City window washing company catering to small entrepreneurs with large storefront windows. His sales pitch to the mom and pop shops was simple: Hire us and your windows won't get broken. Not by any coincidence whatsoever, this enterprise would become the Lucchese crime family.

It's easier to denounce the broken window business plan when it's linked to a violent gangster. But the morality becomes fuzzy when the friendlier faces of filmmakers are busting businesses.

Tommy created jobs that wouldn't have otherwise existed by taking cash from hard working small businesses and giving it to his gang. The enriched hoods then spent the wealth in clubs, and on fancy restaurants, hotels and elsewhere, creating what some might today refer to as a "multiplier" effect for the economy.

But to believe Tommy was a job creator in any ethical or economic sense is to confuse him with his tax-paying victims. Just as the window washing conferred no benefit on the mom and pop shops, film subsidies are an economic loser for the real business people forced to pay for them.

The film subsidy represents "lost revenue," according to the SFA report, and it does not "generate sufficient private sector activity" to offset that cost. The report projected $262.5 million would need to be drained from Michigan Business Tax coffers to fund the film subsidies for fiscal years 2009-2011, but that this would produce just $159 million in net improvement for the state economy.

If a Michigan businesses resisted this rip-off and refused to pay, then the state would have used force to collect the money. Without tax collectors on his side Tommy had to enforce his "taxes" and collect the cash in person. On the flimsy distinction of a tax law codifying the rip-off hangs the blurry morality some use to justify the film subsidies.

A story reporting on the "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" film project wrapping up in October noted fans "don't have much time left to capture selfies with actors like Ben Affleck (Batman) and Henry Cavill (Superman)."

That one film hit the taxpayers for $35 million. As noted earlier in this space, that's the equivalent of taking the total income taxes paid by 21,000 average Michigan workers and yet having their government give them nothing in return but those photo ops.

The film welfare scam remains politically popular because it causes those famous pretty people to come to Michigan. If we were more honest about the program, we'd have sent the media along as we made the crime fighting duo go door to door to every Michigan business and personally demand the $35 million they took from us.

"Hello small entrepreneur: I'm here to take a lot of your money and give it to my movie rather than your schools and roads, but would you like a selfie with Batman?"

That dose of reality might have induced more of us to at least demand they touch up the windows.

The author, Ken Braun was a legislative aide for a Republican lawmaker in the Michigan House and worked for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He has assisted in a start-up effort to encourage employers to provide economic education to employees, and is currently the director of policy for InformationStation.org.

Tight Arse Companies Just Don't Want to Pay

"The fact that the Lenox Township offices were designed with some very high and hard to reach windows is creating a lack of solid bids to wash and clean them this spring." It's a common problem - companies are just too tight arsed to get the job done professionally or with safety in mind. Not a problem for professional window cleaners, not even high for the professional window cleaner! Click to enlarge.

Lenox laments lack of bids to clean complex windows: While the Lenox Township offices hold the distinction of being the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-, or LEED-, certified town hall in the state of Michigan, at the moment, the sky-high windows are proving to be a bit troublesome. A recent board of trustees meeting had officials discussing the difficulty they are having in hiring a cleaning firm to spruce up the windows throughout the building.

The $4.2 million facility completed in 2008 includes 19,500 square feet and was designed by French Associates in Rochester. The Lenox offices have many green building features, including the natural light produced by so many large energy efficient windows. “These are not easy windows and this is the problem here, we have to have specialty equipment come in and just, well, the design doesn’t add to maintenance here,” Supervisor Ronald Trombly said.

Deputy Supervisor Jeannette Ventimiglia told officials she received several quotes for the window-cleaning contract so far, including a recent one that had the company concerned about how they might be able to safely reach the highest windows. “The ones giving him the most difficulty are those really tall ones, the small windows way up there because the roof on the outside is slanted and there’s nothing for them to secure themselves so they don’t fall, so those windows are extremely difficult to get to,” Ventimiglia said.

A second, higher quote from another company was presented to officials and Ventimiglia said the firm didn’t express any concerns, and in fact, said they could reach all the windows for cleaning. She also noted two other companies who were supposed to come out for a quote, but haven’t yet. “I don’t know what you want to do – wait for our meeting in two weeks and hopefully by then we will have some more (quotes)?” Ventimiglia said. “Otherwise we’ll have to wait until August,” offered Trombly.

Trustee Chris Boyd wondered if officials should consider not worrying about the high windows for now and just skip those and do the lower ones at considerably less cost. “I’m just looking at this and the price of this, can’t say it really surprised me because of all these windows, but it is still quite expensive,” Boyd said.

The lack of consistent bids for the contract, including several firms not showing up as promised to bid on the project concerned Trombly, who said after a while officials just have to go with what information they have in order to proceed with the work. “This is a very unique building and it’s very difficult to get to some of these windows,” Ventimiglia said. “There’s very little area to put anything to get up high and just makes it very difficult, slanted roofs, everything.”

The higher windows have never been cleaned on the outside before, according to Trombly. Clerk Jodi Kethe said it definitely needs to be done. “I don’t particularly care for the price, but I also know that the cleaning company, what she’s proposing, isn’t good enough being the windows have never been washed,” Kethe said.

Ventimiglia then asked if perhaps officials just want to do the lower-level windows now, get more quotes and then decide at the August meeting how to proceed with the rest of the project. “I think the best bang for the buck is getting them all done at once in a package deal that way we have a date when they’ve all been done and we go from there,” Trombly said. “Start piecing them out I don’t think it will accomplish what we need to.”

Treasurer Karon Ottenbacher said that because they’ve waited this long, she suggests just getting all the quotes together and looking at the issue in August. Kethe then made a motion to table the matter until all the bids come in; the board unanimously approved the motion. The next regular board of trustees meeting is set for Monday, Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Frozen Tinting & Ideas To Work In The Cold

Too Cold to Tint – Winter Weather Preventing Window Film Installations - If you live east of the Mississippi, chances are you’ve been impacted by the recent onslaught of winter weather. From snow and sleet to freezing rain, schools and businesses in the East and Midwest have been closed multiple times since the start of the New Year. For window film companies, the consistently frigid climate is preventing many installations.

“Because of the cold weather and the cold temperatures we were prohibited to install film,” says Ed Golda (pictured), president of Michigan Glass Coatings in Auburn Hills, Mich. “When we sprayed the glass it froze and you can’t install film over ice. It was challenging. With the weather conditions and snow days, residential customers had their minds on kids and trying to get to work. The last thing on their mind was window film … Everyone is just in survival mode. It’s been a brutal winter.” “We’ve had two days where all of the installers were off. We’ve gotten shut down other days when the glass was frozen,” adds Steve Pesce, president of New York Window Film Co. in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Even south of the Mason-Dixon line, typically warm-weather companies are feeling the chill. Matthew Erbrick, owner of United Home Solutions in Alpharetta, Ga., says his shop has had to close and reschedule work as a result of the weather. “People were very cooperative. We did have to work on Saturday and Sunday which we don’t typically do this time of year,” he says. “It was only a day-and-a-half we had to make up because of the snow. It did affect us—minimally fortunately.”

In the Midwest, Northeast and South, snowy weather is continuing to promise slow working conditions for window film companies. “They’re talking like it’s an apocalypse,” says Erbrick. “We got a little snow, but now they’re talking ice. We’ll probably have to reschedule and work to catch up.” As far as the weather goes, Erbrick says it’s relatively unpredictable. “In Georgia, you just never know until March, but in 1992 we got hit in April with 10 inches of snow, so you just can never tell,” he notes.

Some dealers have a brighter outlook when it comes to improving conditions. “It’s the same as every other year, so it’s nothing new around here,” adds Pesce. “I’m expecting this whole thing to blow over by next week and get warmer. This is one of the few times I can remember where it’s consistently snowing … that’s the only difference.”

For Golda, though, the hits his company has felt since the start of the year have been some relatively tough blows. “I had to let one of our installers go on unemployment. It’s tough. Thank God we diversified into graphics and security films … the air temperatures are just brutal. This has been an extraordinary winter, as we all know,” he says. “The problem is once January is gone, that’s it. There’s no way to get it back. Only the tough will survive. “You keep a positive attitude and keep trucking and hope for a decent February, but the cold just won’t go away,” Golda adds. “When the sun is shining, it does help, at least it starts warming up the glass. But a cloudy overcast day, it’s very difficult.”

To try and maintain business during this time, Golda says his company works in a variety of creative ways. “We’re trying to book out in advance as well as work with the sun when it’s on the East side, then follow it to the West,” he states. “We also try to do a lot of graphics job inside buildings. If we’re in the hallways putting up graphics it’s a little easier because the interior temperatures are 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. We also try to make introductions and set up business for later on down the year. It’s tough but you have to do what you have to do.”

Left Out in the Cold – Dealers List Their Top Cold-Weather Selling Strategies: When the temperatures dip, sales for window film companies have a tendency to follow. So just what can your company do to maintain sales during colder weather? According to several dealers in winter weather-prone states, falling back on traditional marketing strategies helps. “For me a lot of it is referral and repeat business,” says Dave Mow, sales manager for Advanced Solar Solutions in Clawson, Mich. “I keep in contact with all of my customers. Our main source of advertising is the Internet.”

“Work on Sundays,” adds Mark Fravel, owner of Columbus, Ohio-based Quality Window Tint, “which helps because most people in the winter time will wait until they’re off on Saturdays. You can always work on Saturday or Sunday and take Monday off.” “The main thing we continue to use is word-of-mouth. We have longstanding relationships with construction companies that still need to have work done,” states Jennifer Shepherd, inside sales for flat glass at Absolute Perfection in Sykesville, Md. “We don’t cold-call, but we do rely on repeat customers coming back to us. We also do email promotions … such as $100 off.”

Setting yourself apart from the competition is another area in which dealers say they reel in winter time business. “Security films are always a big request,” says Mow. “The new low-E coated films are starting to get more requests, especially in our climate. “We also have [film] which offers summer and winter [heat control] benefits,” he adds. Mow, whose company serves the commercial market, primarily recommends architectural film dealers “go to glaziers unions, architects and glass companies” to try and find additional work. You really just have to take the initiative,” adds Shepherd. “We have really great customer service; if someone contacts us we get back to them immediately.”

84 Year Old Window Washer Cleans Up

Niemisto washes windows for 80 businesses located in the downtown area.

84-year-old man making downtown Marquette "Someplace Special" one window at a time -  Through out the year, TV6 highlights members of the community who are making a difference. This week's "Someplace Special" report highlights a man who has been taking care of downtown Marquette for the past 30 years. As tourists and locals move in and out of the shops on Washington Street, there is a man who spends his time traveling from window to window, making sure they are squeaky clean.

His name is Philip Niemisto, and for the past 30 years, he has made it his mission to keep downtown Marquette, and a part of the city he calls home, a beautiful place for everyone to enjoy. "I had to figure out some way to get some money in, so I went into the place where I was already working, Ben Franklin's, and I found some old window tools and I came out, started cleaning, and pretty soon people across the street started calling to me, and so I thought to myself, looks like this might be my new career," said Niemisto.

Niemisto washes windows for 80 businesses located in the downtown area. "They're not really your customers; they're sort of like your family. You get to know each one of those people in the stores. They got some problems--they tell you about their problems--you know, back and forth, and so it's kind of like having a family down here," Niemisto said.

A combination of donations and the money he earns from his window washing business also helps Niemisto with his flower garden. "When you plant flowers, you don't bury it right away. You just set it down and you can mix things back and forth. Otherwise if you bury, you got to come back in and rearrange." Niemisto said. He also added, he is not retiring anytime soon. "That'll put you in bed in a hurry or you're going to be laid out. You have to keep actively busy, going all the time. As a matter of fact, washing windows was a smart move because it forced me to walk everyday."

So if you happen to be downtown Marquette, look around for Mr. Niemisto because everyday, no matter what the weather, he is making Marquette someplace special. If you are interested in helping Mr. Niemisto maintain his flower garden right next to the Wild Rover Pub, there is a donation can inside Book World right next to the register. Full video here (no subtitles).

Friday Window Cleaning News

R.I.P Jeff Hardin, owner of Transparent Window Cleaning located in suburban Detroit, died last night. The incident was not work related. He suffered a massive heart attack. Jeff was 46 years old. Jeff had a long resume of trying to help improve our industry by helping window cleaners become educated about industry topics. He had served on the IWCA Glass committee as well as other IWCA boards, committees and what not. One of the things Jeff enjoyed was networking and sharing information with other window cleaners. He even went as far as to host gatherings at his shop for local “competitors” to come together and get to know each other. To those who had an opportunity to interact and talk with Jeff, you know that he was an exceptional guy of great character. The industry has lost an ambassador of professionalism that will be missed. Jeff is survived by his wife and his three children, ages 8, 12, and 14. A memorial fund has been set up to help with the expenses of the funeral and to provide for the children. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions directly to...
The Hardin Family Memorial
C/O Genisys Credit Union
4055 S Lapeer Road
Orion, MI 48359

Information regarding arrangements: Modetz Funeral Home 100 East Silverbell Orion, MI (248) 371-3711
Viewing Saturday, August 29. 3-8 Viewing Sunday, August 30 2-8 Funeral Monday, August 31 11am @ Modetz Funeral Home

Westview-Fairforest Fire and EMS commissioners plan to interview two finalists for a chief's position the week of Sept. 7-11, the district's board chairman said Wednesday. Chairman David Parks said (alphabetically by last name) that Cowpens Fire Department Chief Jamie Caggiano and Westview-Fairforest Interim Chief Scott Garrett are the two finalists. Each finalist will meet with the five commissioners next month. Caggiano said his father's time as a fire chief in Cherokee County helped him develop a love of providing "community oriented" fire and EMS service. "That fire district belongs to the community. It's not the chief's and not the firemen's," Caggiano said. "I want to provide that service and provide a safe and secure place for 15 or 16 guys or gals working there."Caggiano said he thinks one of his main strengths is his financial background, which includes budgeting for the fire department and owning a small business, Fish Window Cleaning.

What to do? City Hall costs a concern. Maybe there are ways to bring down operating costs, although that's easier said than done. This raises an obvious question: Why didn't someone think of window cleaning for a building that's made entirely of windows? The same goes for such needs as security, elevator maintenance and utilities, which also were over budget.

Newmarket-based ACS is one of the latest companies to join a leading edge scheme, designed to help industry improve its safety record. The firm recently received accreditation from SAFEcontractor, a programme which recognises very high standards of health & safety practise amongst UK contractors. Employing over 350 people and with a £3.4 million turnover, ACS is involved in all areas of the contract cleaning market but specialises in the bio-tech, food and university contracts. It has most recently added major players such as Newmarket Racecourses. The company’s application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business.
“I am delighted that our commitment to health & safety has once again been recognised," says Chris Broadley, Managing Director. "We take our responsibility for protection and wellbeing of all our staff and contractors seriously and we understand that in a modern environment health & safety is not something that any company should simply treat as an inconvenience.” SAFEcontractor accreditation is expected to enhance the company’s ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability is up for renewal. SAFEcontractor is applicable to most sectors although it is particularly relevant to food manufacture, property, facilities management, retail and leisure sectors, all of which are big users of contract services. Under the system, businesses undergo a vetting process, which examines health & safety procedures and their track record for safe practice.
Darran Hughes, Operations Director of SAFEcontractor, explains: “Major organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health & safety policies. “More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that ACS has done. The firm's high standard has set an example, which hopefully will be followed by other companies within this sector.” Employer-organisations that sign up too the scheme can access the database on which all approved contractors are listed, which enables them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site. These employers agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation. Over 120 major nationwide businesses, from several key sectors, have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for services such as building cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.

Local woman blows whistle on cleaning company: Nobody was supposed to see Gloria Rodriguez. She said she usually arrived around midnight for the overnight shift at a prominent Boston restaurant to scrub floors, tables, and toilets until they sparkled. By dawn, she was gone. But once her paychecks failed to arrive on time - or bounced - Rodriguez suddenly became a public figure in an unusual campaign against the cleaning company Coverall and the restaurants she said they cleaned, Legal Sea Foods and the Cheesecake Factory. She told her story to churches, university students, state officials, and the media, and last month to the general counsel of Coverall cleaning company, who flew up from Florida to listen. As a result, Coverall decided to donate $40,000 to two nonprofits that aided Rodriguez and other workers like her, Centro Presente and the Chelsea Collaborative. The groups said they will use the money to pay 18 workers their lost wages today at a press conference in Boston City Hall. Each nonprofit will get $5,000 as well.
But it also opens a window into the complex world of the cleaning industry, where allegations of worker abuses are causing headaches both for employees of independent contractors and for the businesses that hire them. Complaints of abuses have prompted the state attorney general’s office to investigate the cleaning industry overall, said spokesman Harry Pierre. But legal violations, as the workers found, can be difficult to prove if a subcontractor disappears, making it hard to hold anyone accountable. Rodriguez said she was excited to get a cleaning job nearly two years ago with a local franchise of Coverall Health Based Cleaning Systems, a Florida sales and marketing company that sells franchises nationwide for $10,500 to $32,000 each. The corporation provides a brand name and training and helps franchise holders get contracts - but it is up to each franchise to pay its workers. Rodriguez said she cleaned for a month at the Cheesecake Factory and for more than two months at Legal Sea Foods in the Boston area and was paid less than she earned. Her husband also worked for two months and was not paid at all.

A woman told a court she has been put off sausages for life after seeing her neighbour pleasuring himself in his back garden. Denise Woodage complained to police after she allegedly saw Paul Darlow rubbing his genitals, mowing his lawn and cleaning his windows several times completely naked – apart from a pair of boots. Following complaints of similar behaviour in March last year, police installed a CCTV camera at Ms Woodage’s home, which overlooks Darlow’s back garden, which captured the incident. Darlow, 53, a married stepdad-of-two, was at his home in Churchwood Walk in Calcot on November 7, when he was charged with indecent exposure with intent to cause alarm or distress.
Giving evidence at Reading Crown Court yesterday, Ms Woodage said: “I would see him two or three times a month, naked, mowing the lawn or cleaning the window, always naked apart from a pair of boots. I saw him twice pleasuring himself, it made me feel sick, he has put me off men. “Put it this way – it has put me off my sausages for life.” But Darlow said the November incident was a one-off “moment of madness”, not realising anyone was watching him, and he was embarrassed and ashamed. Asked why he did it, he told the court: “It was lax judgement.” The court heard he told police in interview he swore at his neighbour because he saw her looking into his garden when he went downstairs in his boxers to chase a pair of cats away. He denied ever being naked or touching his genitals. But in court yesterday he said: “I did not know anyone was watching. Up until yesterday I was sticking to my story I gave in my police interview that I never did it, but when I knew there was CCTV I had to change it.” Darlow, on conditional bail, denies the offence. The trial continues.

When Donnie Clark was cleaning the windows on an East Manteca home Tuesday afternoon, the process meant much more to him than just another job. With his Five Star Window Cleaning business taking up the majority of this time, Clark – who worships at Manteca’s Place of Refuge (formerly First Assembly of God) and just recently enrolled his sons into class at the affiliated Manteca Christian School – the task of sprucing up the country estate that has for the last several months been the home of Pastor Richard Brown was more of an honor for the local resident than it was a chore.
After all, it was Brown who that planted the seeds for what would eventually become Manteca Christian School when it was he who was at the helm of First Assembly – an institution that has a special place in the heart of the father who recently sent his son to attend classes there. “My son has what a lot of people would call attention-deficit hyperactive disorder, and he had nothing but problems when we had him enrolled in public school,” Clark said. “Once we put him in Manteca Christian School we noticed a marked improvement, and he really started to take to the faith-based curriculum that the school offers its students. “I’m eternally grateful for how much Manteca Christian School has helped my son.” And in a sense, he’s eternally grateful to Brown for laying the framework for what would eventually become his saving grace.
Tuesday’s free spruce-up session was a chance for Clark to say thank you to the man – who moved back to Manteca last year to deal with the debilitating Lou Gehrig’s disease clinically known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – who moved back to Manteca to live in-home where rent is being paid by the members of the First Assembly congregation as a thank you for the time he put into building the church into what it is today. With the mercury creeping up, Clark and another member of his crew spent the latter part of Tuesday morning going over all of the windows in the rural country home as a way to honor the man who inadvertently affected his life greatly through his actions when he was at the helm of the church – something he couldn’t have been more proud to be able to do.
With his tools in hand, Clark continued with making sure that Brown gets a clear view out of each of the windows inside of his new home, and has big plans on helping out other families in the community that might need assistance as well – knowing that nothing he does in the future will compare with helping a man that had such a big impact on his own family.“It feels good to be able to make a family happy, especially when it’s somebody like Pastor Brown that has done so much for this community,” Clark said. “We’re planning on continuing this and making sure that those who need assistance can receive it.” Five Star Window Cleaning is a licensed operator here in the Central Valley and is searching for needy families who could use their expertise. To contact them call 450-2756.

Cillit Bang used in clean-up at Dounreay: The BBC has today covered the use of Cillit Bang in the clean-up of the Dounreay Site. The press release issued by Dounreay Site Restoration Limited can be found below. Nuclear sites across Britain are showing interest in the discovery by workers at Dounreay that one of the country's best-selling household cleaner removes plutonium stains more effectively than many industrial clean-up products. The discovery came when a decommissioning team found their normal cleaning fluid was slowing down work to dismantle an experimental chemical plant used in the 1980s to recycle plutonium liquor.
One of the team suggested trying Cillit Bang, after watching a television advert that suggested it could strip grime instantly from a 2p coin. The idea was taken up by managers who ordered tests on the £1.99 household cleaner. These confirmed its effectiveness and the product is now playing a key role in keeping on the track the clean-out and demolition of the plant,a test-bed for the giant THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield. The nuclear site in Cumbria is among those who have been in touch with Dounreay to learn more about the discovery.

‘I’ll run till my leg drops off’: A WINDOW cleaner aged 65 who has completed 45 marathons for charity says he will keep running until one of his legs drops off. Tony Bell, of the Bramleys, Rochford, has done all the races in the past 14 years. In that time, Tony has run as many as four marathons a year, as well as completing countless other charity runs. He has also taken part in several ultra marathons – the longest a gruelling 50-mile event in South Africa, which he took almost 12 hours to finish.
Tony credits his window cleaning, as well as a tough exercise regime, for his incredible fitness. He said: “My job has supported the running as it has kept me active and outdoors. “Sometimes I’m dead on my feet at the end of a hard day and the last thing I want to do is go for a run, but I always go.” Over the years Tony has raised money for a number of charities.
His brother died of leukaemia aged just four and his sister died of cancer aged 36, and he said their deaths have helped motivate him. He said: “They both died young and that sort of gave me the spark. “Their memory is always in the back of my mind and I think it pushes me along.” His next undertaking is the Run the Beat Half Marathon in London, on September 27, and at just 13 miles it should be a stroll in the park for Tony. He is running in support of Little Havens Hospice children’s hospice, in Thundersley, and anyone who wishes to make a donation should e-mail TonyBell8@yahoo.co.uk Tony will also run the London Marathon next year, fitness permitting, and has no plans to hang up his running shoes. He said: “I will take each run as it goes. “You know in your heart when to pack something in, but I think I’ll keep on running until one of my legs drops off.”

WCR Nation Season 4 Episode #2 from chris wcr on Vimeo.