Blacklisting Regulations Threaten
All Federal Contractors
The Clinton Administration shows no sign of backing away from its controversial proposal to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require federal contracting officers to blacklist contractors for new and uncertain reasons. AGC will be submitting comments on the proposed regulation before the November 8, 1999 deadline and encourages all federal contractors to submit their own comments with regard to the blacklisting regulations.
   The proposal would require such officers to take action against a firm whenever they found "persuasive evidence" of a "lack of compliance" with federal tax laws or "substantial noncompliance" with federal labor, employment, environment or antitrust laws, or "other consumer protections." It would also create a new requirement that all federal contractors have "the necessary workplace practices addressing matters such as training, worker retention, and legal compliance to assure a skilled, stable and productive workforce."
   Independently and in conjunction with other members of the business community, AGC is meeting with members of Congress and encouraging them to hold oversight hearings. Unless Congress strongly objects, the Administration intends to go forward.
   It is imperative that you contact your Congressman or Senator to express your opposition to the proposed regulations. Among the points that are most important for members and chapters to convey to their congressional representatives, and to the Administration, are the following:

• These "do as I say, not as I do" regulations would set an untenable standard that even the federal government could not meet. Unions and employees filed 5,704 unfair labor practice charges against the federal government in FY 1998. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 1,153 citations to the Federal Government in FY 1998.
• The proposal would corrupt the legal standards long used to decide whether a contractor is "responsible." Far from clarifying those standards, the proposal would cause great uncertainty. The necessary record of "legal compliance" is impossible to determine.
• The proposal would jettison any requirement for any connection between any legal violations and a firm's honesty, integrity or ability to perform the work.
• The proposal would shift the responsibility for making complex legal judgments from specialized agencies and the courts to contracting officers lacking not only the expertise but also the resources to make those judgments. It would put such officers in the untenable position of trying to interpret and apply legal standards far outside the scope of their training and experience.
• The proposal would intrude on the primary jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act and other specialized agencies, to which Congress has assigned the primary responsibility for enforcing most of these federal laws.
• The proposal disregards not only the purpose of routinely determining whether contractors are "responsible" but also the well-established and effective procedures for debarring unethical firms. In the process, it also treads on every contractor's right to due process.

For more information, including the memorandum sent to all chapters on July 9, contact either Loren Sweatt at 703-837-5360, Dirk Haire at 703-837-5313 or check the AGC Website at http://www.agc.org/legislative_info/action_items/blacklistingaction.asp. 

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AGC's Vic Weston Raises $100,000 
for Build Up! Tool Kits
An avid supporter of AGC and its programs, AGC member Vic Weston, president of Tri-State Road Boring, Inc., Baton Rouge, has been hard at work promoting AGC's Build Up! program in his home state of Louisiana. Earlier this month, Weston eagerly announced that Louisiana's Construction Educational Trust Fund (CETF) would contribute $100,000 to Build Up! for the purchase of Build Up! Tool Kits.
   AGC Executive Vice President and CEO, Steve Sandherr, quickly responded with thanks to CETF's generous donation. "Your purchase comes at a very opportune time, as we are preparing to order a second production of Build Up! kits," he said. "AGC chapter and member support of and participation in Build Up! has been overwhelming, surpassing our highest expectations."
   It seems that Weston's Build Up! dealmaking began after a presentation on the program by Sandherr during Louisiana AGC's Summer Conference in July. The presentation piqued the interest of several attendees, two of whom were CETF trustees, Louisiana AGC president Chris Stuart and past president Ronny Graham. After seeing the presentation, Stuart and Graham asked Weston, their fellow trustee, if he thought Build Up! was something CETF should explore. Weston says he didn't hesitate in saying yes. Once back home, the three approached a fourth trustee with the idea -- Louisiana past-president Pat Gootee, who, with Weston, makes four Louisiana AGC presidents on the panel of six trustees. The other two trustees were quick to agree that Build Up! would be a good investment. By the end of August, Weston says he knew the deal was done.
   According to Louisiana AGC's executive director of public relations, Amy Nolan, who is working with CETF on implementing the Build Up! program in the state, the next step is to develop a system for distributing the tool kits. Nolan and others envision enlisting the help of Federal Highway Administration personnel, Department of Transportation field engineers, as well as AGC contractors to make classroom visits.

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EIS Committee Completes First Online Survey; 
Studies Use of Electronic Systems by State DOTs
The Electronic Information System (EIS) Committee undertook a survey of the Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine their degree of development and utilization of electronic communication systems.
   The survey asked questions about the formats and electronic procedures from construction contract advertisement through bidding and project management. Since electronic formats provide the most economical and expedient delivery methods from initial concept through finalization of construction services, it has become the ultimate goal of most agencies to be totally electronic from design through construction.
   The purpose of this survey was to provide answers to contractors and planners concerning the process now underway by the DOTs toward reaching total electronic status and to share information for use in developing systems that are "interstate friendly." The EIS Committee promotes and will assist in the development of "open systems architecture," allowing all users to access information regardless of hardware and software configurations.
   The initial survey was conducted March­April, 1999. Results show varying degrees of development from the advanced to those in the planning stages. Twenty-nine out of 50 state DOTs responded to the survey. Initial phone contact indicated considerable interest for the subject; the EIS Committee is considering additional surveys and/or research to determine the future direction of state DOTs in their utilization of the Web, Internet and other emerging technologies.
   Complete survey results are posted on the AGC Web site for public review. Upon request, the EIS Committee can provide specific results. Results will be provided to all state DOTs.

Summary findings show that:

• Nearly all state DOTs have established Web sites.
• Nearly all state DOTs use e-mail in their normal course of business.
• Most DOTs have developed an Internet/Web-based system for distributing solicitations: advance notices; letting date notices; bid openings; bid awards; and unit price tabulations. Contractors should be made aware that this information is available from several state DOT Web sites.
• Many states are working on the development of Internet/Web-based systems for electronic bidding information: bid documents; plans and cross sections; addenda; bid submission; signature pages; and electronic signatures. They also have developed or are planning to develop electronic plans and specs.
• Most of the respondents have not yet developed systems for contract or project management. 

For more info: contact Luke Aull aulll@agc.org) or 703-837-5330.

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AGC Remembers Bert Beatty
His 16 Years as EVP Longest in AGC History
AGC is mourning the loss of former Executive Vice President Hubert Beatty. Beatty passed away suddenly on Thursday, August 26, 1999 of a heart attack. The family has requested that donations be sent to Christmas in April of Loudoun County, P.O. Box 4381, Leesburg, VA 20177.
   Beatty was born the third of five children in 1934 in Castlerea in County Roscommon in the Republic of Ireland. In 1961, he moved to the Washington area and in 1962 began his 34-year career at the Associated General Contractors of America.
   Shortly after signing on, he rose to the position of secretary for a number of AGC committees: the Executive Committee, Ethics and Trade Practices Committee, Bylaws Committee and Board of Directors, and he became the AGC of America staff liaison to the Chapter Managers' Council. In 1972, he became assistant executive director under James M. Sprouse. He succeeded Sprouse as executive director in 1978 and became executive vice president in 1980.
   Working on behalf of AGC, Beatty met with Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton on issues effecting the construction industry. He regularly met with Senate and House members and their staff.
   AGC's political strength and respect for the association grew tremendously during Beatty's tenure, and he knew that AGC would continue to grow, prosper and serve the needs of its members. "There isn't another outfit around that can touch us," he said.
   When Beatty retired in April 1996, his 16-year tenure as EVP far exceeded that of any of his predecessors.

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MIDYEAR MEETING...the time is drawing near!

Building Division Focuses on the Future
The Building Contractors Division meeting will focus on the future of the construction industry. Hugh Rice, FMI Corporation, will discuss Future Trends and Emerging Issues in the Construction Industry at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 2, 1999. The meeting will be held in Continental A&B at the Chicago Hilton & Towers.

Quality Committee to Unveil New
AGC Partnering Video
The Quality in Construction Committee meeting on Thursday, September 30 at 3:00 p.m. in the Chicago Hilton & Towers will feature the unveiling of AGC's new Jobsite Partnering video. The 8-minute video is intended to educate jobsite employees about the benefits of Partnering. The video was developed by the Quality in Construction Committee's Partnering Video Task Force.

Trenchless Technology Committee
The Trenchless Technology Committee will discuss the timetable and budget for the development of a publication describing a number of trenchless techniques and innovations on Thursday, September 30 at 10:15 a.m. in the Astoria Room. The discussion will also include posting trenchless information and resources on AGC's website.

Municipal-Utilities Coordinating Committee
The Municipal-Utilities Coordinating Committee will feature a presentation on Dig Safely, the new nationwide one-call awareness program Thursday, September 30 at 1 p.m. in the Astoria Room. Mary Jo Cooney, Senior Policy Analyst with the Office of Pipeline Safety will present. AGC was recognized for their instrumental work in revising this program during the pilot study to enhance the program's appeal to the construction community.

Municipal-Utilities Contractors Division
The Municipal-Utilities Contractors Division meeting will feature an address by Noel C. Thompson, Executive Administrator of the City of Louisville, KY on Friday, October 1 at 8:30 a.m. in the International Ballroom South. Thompson will represent the American Public Works Association and will discuss volume of work, project delivery methods, and workforce development. The Division will also use the meeting to recognize AGC participants on the "Common Ground" One-Call Best Practices Study.

Specialty Contractors Council
The Specialty Contractors Council will conduct an open forum on Thursday, September 30 at 2:00 p.m. on the findings of a recent study by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) entitled, "Improving Customer Value to General Contractors: Differentiating Strategies for Roofing Contractors." Karen L. Cates, Ph.D., J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, conducted the study for NRCA and will be one of the forum panelists. Part of the study discusses the importance of building relationships and discusses the value of membership in the AGC as positive way for specialty contractors to build key business relationships.

Contractor Relations Committee
The Contractor Relations Committee will conduct a forum on Friday, October 1 at 8:30 a.m. on "The Myths and Realities of Bid Shopping and Bid Peddling." A panel of general contractors and specialty contractors will provide their views on the subject. Craig King, Esq., Arent Fox Kintner Plotking & Kahn, Washington, D.C. will provide insight into the complex legal and ethical issues raised during the discussion.

Fourth Annual Safety Workshop
The Fourth Annual Safety Workshop will be held September 29, 8:30 a.m. ­ 4:30 p.m. in the Lake Michigan Room. Participants will hear from experts on Substance Abuse Programs, Medical Surveillance, Establishing Partnerships with Federal and State OSHA Programs, Accident Investigations, Distance Learning, Forming Effective Chapter Safety Committees, and Non Dues Revenue Sources. 

Information Technology
Midyear Program

EIS "working session" -- Members only
EIS members will have an opportunity to discuss: (1) the redesign of AGC and chapter Web sites;
(2) proposals to offer Web sites and e-mail to members; (3) use of Webex for committee meetings; and (4) training and education in the technology area for members and chapters on Wednesday, September 29, at 9:00 a.m.

MSA/Chapter Web site Users Group Meeting ­
Gary Abbott, leader
This session will focus on the current and future development of chapter Web sites by MPInteractive and AGC of America on Friday, October 1, at 9:30 a.m.

Technology Forum
Back by popular demand, this is a session that began during the 1998 Midyear Meeting. The EIS Committee will demonstrate the capabilities and use of Webex during the second hour of the Forum and participants will have a hands-on session using Webex on Friday, October 1, at 2:00 p.m.

For more info: contact Sabrina Montgomery mailto:montgoms@agc.orgg) or 703-837-5330. 

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AGC Sends Death Tax Demolition 
Toy Kit to White House
This month AGC hand-delivered a Death Tax Demolition Toy Kit to the White House with a cover letter from AGC President Terry Deeny. The kit contains plastic models of construction equipment designed to educate President Clinton about the capital intensity of the construction industry. As Deeny noted in his letter, "A heavy investment in equipment makes family-owned construction companies especially vulnerable to the death tax." Deeny's letter also stated that the tax cut bill passed by Congress recognizes that the federal budget surplus of nearly $3 trillion over the next ten years should be returned to the American taxpayers. Similar toy kits were delivered in July to nearly 200 members of Congress and the press.
   Under the tax bill, the death tax would be gradually lowered and fully eliminated in 2009. The bill also includes other provisions of benefit to the construction industry such as corporate AMT relief, lower individual capital gains rates, and tax provisions included in the Community Renewal Act. AGC also participated in a tax cut rally on September 15, 1999 urging President Clinton to sign the tax bill and return Americans hard-earned money.
   While the President threatened to veto the $792 billion tax cut bill, AGC is continuing to urge the President to support a future tax bill that includes full elimination of the death tax.

As Congress Returns From
August Recess
As Congress heads into the end of the fiscal year, September 30, the House has passed 11 of the 13 annual appropriations bills, while the Senate has approved nine bills. The House and Senate have passed two conference reports and readied for President Clinton's signature -- Military Construction and Legislative Branch -- only Military Construction has been signed by the President.
   Each year, the Appropriations cycle is a slow and painful ordeal. This year is no different. In 1997, President Clinton and congressional leaders all hailed the passage of the "Balanced Budget Act of 1997." The bill required reductions in spending beginning in the later years of the five-year bill. Now, in fiscal year 2000, Congress is faced with making those difficult cuts, using budget gimmicks to get around the caps, or busting the budget caps.
   With Congress struggling to stay within the spending caps that were established in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, it is likely that Congress will not be able to pass all the appropriations bills by September 30. Congress will likely have to pass one or more continuing resolutions (CRs) and then wrap several appropriations bills into one omnibus package for President Clinton to sign. If Congress is not able to pass the 13 appropriations bills by September 30, President Clinton and Congressional Democrats will publicly clamor that Republicans can't get their job done. They will argue that Democrats must regain control of the House and Senate so that the "trains will run on time." Nevertheless, the following is an update of the funding levels for some key construction programs for fiscal year 2000 thus far and how they compare to this year. 

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AGC of Colorado Praised
in Efforts to Reopen Columbine High School
Thanks to the hard work of the Colorado construction industry under the leadership of the Associated General Contractors of Colorado, Columbine High School reopened its doors to students August 16.
   "We are extremely appreciative of all the hard work that the Colorado construction industry has done in our school so that we can open on time for students and staff. Columbine High school looks better than ever, and we will be forever grateful to these workers for the incredible effort they put forth on our behalf," said Principal Frank DeAngelis.
   It took approximately 1,100 craft workdays to complete the project, which included installing new carpeting, windows, doors, floor tile and light fixtures. In addition, the building was repainted and new exterior aluminum sunshades were installed. New security devices in the building include 16 video cameras and a card key entrance system. Tile art created by Columbine students adorn the walls throughout the building.
   Workers had 48 days to accomplish the construction project. "We experienced an outpouring of volunteer help from the state's construction industry," said Ron Norby, president of Associated General Contractors. "With that heartfelt enthusiasm, we began the extensive repairs required and finished them on time for the students and staff to return to Columbine. We hope the renovations will provide a positive start to a healthy, happy school year."
   The construction industry donated approximately $400,000 in labor, materials and equipment to accomplish the repair of the 231,000-square-foot building. Total cost of the construction project thus far is between $1 million and $1.2 million.
   More than 130 companies, including architecture and engineering firms, were involved in supplying or stalling materials, furnishings and equipment. In addition, the Colorado Contractors Association is improving the school's football and softball fields.

GMLA Developments. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court adopted the New York approach to assessing the validity of government mandated labor agreements (GMLAs) on public construction projects. The court accepted that open shop firms can be inhibited from bidding on GMLA projects and that this can have anti-competitive effects. A challenge to a GMLA will be upheld unless the record supporting it establishes: (1) that the project is of such a type that the goals of the law cannot be achieved without a GMLA and (2) the record demonstrates that the agreement was adopted only after a "careful, reasoned process" documenting its necessity.

The Supreme Court of California upheld the GMLA imposed on the $2.4 billion expansion of the San Francisco International Airport. The agreement was challenged under the state constitution and competitive bid laws. The court held that all prospective bidders have an equal opportunity to compete for contracts on the project. Likewise, the state constitution does not prohibit agency shop agreements of the kind normally included in GMLAs and open shop contractors do not have a constitutional right to associate only with unorganized employees. The court is expected to reject a similar challenge to a reservoir project GMLA.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a GMLA imposed on a Missouri school construction project does not deprive open shop employees of their right to free association under the First and Fourteenth amendments. According to the court, a government preference for union labor does not directly or substantially interfere with the right to refrain from joining a union, and basing such a preference on the desire to avoid workplace disruptions is legitimate and rational.

The Ohio legislature passed a bill prohibiting the use of GMLAs on state funded construction projects. The bill becomes effective October 11.  For more info: contact Bill Isokait at 703-837-5343 or isokaitb@agc.org.

OSHA Plans To Delay Enforcement of 
New Recordkeeping Regulations
OSHA will not require employers to follow the new recordkeeping standards immediately, as they had originally planned, but will start enforcing the burdensome regulations in January 2001, according to OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress. OSHA says the new regulations will still be published with the final revisions by the end of 1999, but it will take up to a year to educate the public on the demands of the new regulations. Unfortunately, the principal problems with the new rules remain, and that is that the regulation creates a paperwork burden and does not improve safety.
   AGC Executive Vice President and CEO Stephen E. Sandherr said, "OSHA's decision to delay implementation proves that this is an exceptionally cumbersome new regulation. We oppose this new regulation because it will create new paperwork burdens. It will keep industry safety professionals at their desks filling out forms rather than visiting jobsites, where we know they can prevent accidents and injuries."
   AGC fears these new paperwork regulations will create a terrible disincentive to focus on safety on the jobsite because it expands liability for accidents and injuries that flow from "knowledge of potential hazards" for employees of subcontractors. This creates a strong disincentive for general contractors to play an active role in evaluating potentially dangerous conditions on the jobsite. The real issue is improving the health and safety of workers. The construction industry, led by AGC, has been focused on improving the health and safety of workers for many years.
   For more information, contact Carl Heinlein at heinleinc@agc.org or visit the AGC website at http://www.agc.org/.

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AGC National Newsletter, News & Views
ISSN 0161-133X * Published bi-weekly * Cost: $100/year
Associated General Contractors of America
Periodicals Postage Paid at Washington, DC © AGC 1997

AGC's Vic Weston Raises $100,000 for Build Up! Tool Kits

AGC Remembers Bert Beatty

EIS Committee Completes First Online Survey 

Not sure of a committee meeting time and place?  Here is a list of what's to come...

Information Technology Midyear Program

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

AGC Sends Death Tax Demolition Toy Kit to White House

As Congress Returns From August Recess

CHAPTER CORNER

AGC of Colorado Praised in Efforts to Reopen Columbine High School

LEGAL ISSUES

GMLA Developments

OSHA Plans to Delay Enforcement of New Recordkeeping Regulations