Daily Pacific Builder
March 6, 2007
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William Stronck, co-founder and president of San Carlos-based Gonsalves & Stronck Construction Co., Inc., was elected as the 2007 president of the Construction Employers' Association during the group's recent 20th annual general membership dinner meeting at the Concord Hilton.

Also elected were Chuck Palley, president of Cahill Contractors, Inc., as first vice president; Charlie Kuffner, president of Northern California of Swinerton Builders, as vice president; John Bowles, senior vice president of Webcor Builders as CEA past president/treasurer. Michael Walton, president of Employers Advocate, Inc., continues to serve as CEA's secretary.

Over 230 building industry executives attended CEA's annual banquet, along with the leadership of the Northern California Carpenters Union who were invited guests. Renowned sports broadcaster Jon Miller, "The Voice of the San Francisco Giants," was the keynote speaker.

The Construction Employers' Association is comprised of approximately 100 leading unionized building contractors who perform billions of dollars in public and private construction work throughout Northern California each year. CEA's membership list boasts some of the leading general building construction companies in Northern California.

"Just as many of us built our own businesses from scratch, CEA has grown over the years from a small organization with just a handful of members to the industry leader it has become today," says Stronck. "CEA members collectively reported about 7.5 million carpenter manhours to the Carpenters Trust Funds in 2005, about twice as many as the next largest association's manhours. I'm proud to take on the responsibility of guiding CEA through 2007, and look forward to more growth in our membership and in the value we provide members."

Stronck has more than 24 years of experience within the industry and worked in a variety of positions, including designer, project engineer, estimator, project manager and area project manager.

Throughout his career, Stronck has successfully managed the construction of more than $500 million dollars in projects. His preconstruction and construction work experience spans a wide variety of projects, including libraries, office buildings, seismic upgrades, schools, medical facilities, fire and police stations, a multi-purpose stadium and historical preservation.

Raised in San Francisco's mid-peninsula, Stronck earned his bachelors degree from the School of Architecture and Environmental Design at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He currently resides in Woodside with his wife and three children.

CEA offers a number of services and programs to its members including negotiation of union agreements, professional labor relations representation, legislative representation, quarterly safety forums, labor-management partnering, builder networking opportunities, a public works/prevailing wage compliance assistance program and many other benefits.

Since 1985, CEA has negotiated the Northern California Carpenters Master Agreement for the industry, covering some 30,000 carpenter employees and over 2,500 signatory contractors. It currently maintains offices in Sacramento and Walnut Creek. For more information on CEA, visit www.cea-ca.org.