DEATH TAX VOTE EXPECTED
IN JUNE
CONTACT YOUR
REPRESENTATIVE NOW!
After continued
pressure from AGC and other organizations, House
Republican leaders are looking to hold a vote in June on
the absolute elimination of the estate tax. The
legislation most likely to make it to the floor is H.R.
8, sponsored by Reps. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) and
John Tanner (D-Tenn.),
which gradually eliminates the tax over a ten-year
period.
Letters from AGC
members to congressional representatives will play a
vital role in getting this bill passed. AGC's
Legislative team has posted a letter to the AGC website
to make it simple for you to contact your appropriate
Congressperson. Click here
to access the letter.
For additional information
on this legislative issue, contact Phil Thoden at
703-837-5364 or via e-mail at thodenp@agc.org.
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AGC Member Testifies Before OSHA In Support of
Excluding the Construction Industry in Proposed
Ergonomics Standard
On May 11, AGC member
Bill Ahal, director of Health Services of SM Wilson, a
general contractor/construction manager in the St. Louis
area, and member of AGC's National Safety & Health
Committee, testified before the Occupational Safety
& Health Administration (OSHA) concerning the
controversial proposal for an ergonomics standard. Ahal
supported OSHA's exclusion of construction operations
from the standard and recommended OSHA adopt an
education, not regulation, attitude towards
ergonomics.
During his testimony
Ahal said, "AGC's extensive experience with the
construction industry and its practices provides a firm
basis for the exclusion of construction under the
proposed rule. The standard would cover too many job
categories, would be costly to administer, and is still
not supported by scientific evidence. AGC strongly urges
OSHA to retain the provisions that exclude the
construction industry."
Over the past several
weeks, AGC has been busy fighting the ergonomics
standard. On April 13 AGC submitted testimony for the
record during a House Small Business Subcommittee
hearing, and testified before OSHA in Chicago on April
19 and in Portland on April 27.
The standard--which
would take businesses many years and as much as $100
billion annually to implement--has repeatedly come under
fire.
OSHA is refusing to
wait for the National Academy of Sciences to complete a
congressionally mandated study on musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs).
For additional information, contact
Carolyn Guglielmo at 703-837-5331 or via e-mail at guglielc@agc.org.
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AGC Past President Lee Wray Russell shows
Gail Norton, former Colorado state attorney general and
current environmental advisor for the Bush campaign,
Building Better Communities: A Toolkit For Quality
Growth. The publication was developed by AGC and other
national organizations in order to promote a grassroots
movement to build better communities. To download a
copy, click here.
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IN MEMORIAM
AGC of Nevada
Past President Marv Byars passed away on April 26,
2000. Byars, owner of Byars Construction, was
active in AGC for more than 40 years. He served as
chapter president in 1972 and was involved with a
number of AGC committees. Since 1975 he has
represented Nevada as the National AGC Director.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests a
contribution is made to the Reno Civil Engineering
Library, University of Nevada, Mail Stop 258,
Reno, NV
89557.
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MARSH
An MMC
Company
One
Green Jellybean
During the AGC
Annual Convention in Seattle, a construction
insurance brokerage company, Marsh, held a contest
to guess the correct number of green jellybeans in
a jar for the chance to win a new Cadillac.
Although no one correctly guessed the exact number
of 5,914, Raymond L. Moody, Jr. of the Baston-Cook
Company was only amiss by one green
jellybean. For his superb guesstimation
skills, Moody won a $500 American Express Gift
Certificate. Marsh promises the opportunity to try
again at next year's AGC Annual Convention in
Nashville, Tenn. Good
Luck!
|
Industry
Numbers
- This year the construction
industry is already churning out healthy numbers,
according to the latest F.W. Dodge report on
construction activity. Nonresidential building
continues to climb, as commercial structure types
remain strong. Spending on construction projects is
persistently rising due to bursts of activity in big
government projects.
- Since last June, the
Federal Reserve has boosted interest rates five times
by a quarter-point apiece to slow the speeding economy
and keep inflation under control. Given the outlook
for strong continuing growth, many economists believe
the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in
mid-May and again in June 2000.
|
Future Events Calendar |
| May 18-20 |
Contractor Relations Meeting - Puerto
Rico |
| June 5-7 |
Chapter Staff Orientation Program -
Alexandria, VA |
| June 16-17 |
Workforce Development Committee Meeting -
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
| June 19-20 |
AGC-AIA Joint Committee Meeting - La Jolla,
Calif. |
| June 21-24 |
Building Division Committee Meeting - La
Jolla, Calif. |
| June 23-24 |
Private Industry Advisory Council Meeting -
La Jolla, Calif. |
| July 13 |
AGC/Corps of Engineers Committee Meeting -
Washington, DC |
| July 20-21 |
Safety & Health Committee Meeting - St.
Louis, MO |
| Aug. 15-19 |
Safety Management Training Course - Salt
Lake City, Utah |
| Sept. 21-24 |
AGC Midyear Meeting - Philadelphia,
PA |
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AGC Meets
with Treasury Department on Proposed Long-Term
Contracting Methods
Recently, AGC Tax and
Fiscal Affairs Committee members Neil Wiley and John
Armour met with officials from the Treasury Department
regarding proposed regulations under IRS Code Section
460. The regulations, proposed by the Treasury in May of
1999, seek to clarify aspects of accounting for
long-term contracts. An analysis by Wiley and Armour,
however, found several instances where they provide more
questions than answers.
"John and I felt it
was important to provide the Treasury with face-to-face
comments on how the proposal will affect construction
accounting," said Wiley. "While I'm not certain if our
advice will be heeded, at least the Treasury Department
was willing to listen closely to our concerns," he
added.
Final regulations are
expected by the end of the year.
For more information,
contact Phil Thoden at 703-837-5364 or via e-mail at thodenp@agc.org.
Georgia Hit
With New Lawsuit
Georgians for
Transportation Alternatives (GTA) and the Sierra Club
are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's
January approval of the Atlanta-area's plan to achieve
federal clean air goals. This plan outlines future
highway projects and the pollution control requirements
on utilities. If successful, the lawsuit could
delay road projects and
impact the state's federal highway funding.
Last June, GTA settled
another lawsuit out of court with the Department of
Transportation resulting in a delay of $700 million in
road projects. AGC continues to monitor litigation
attempting to halt or impede construction
programs.
For additional
information, contact Loren Sweatt 703-837-5360 or via
e-mail at sweattl@agc.org.
Aggressive
Timetable for Appropriations Legislation
Announced
The House
Appropriations Committee is planning an ambitious
schedule for taking action on the thirteen FY2001
appropriations bills this year. The goal is to have
nearly all of the 13 bills approved by the relevant
subcommittees by the end of May. In this election year,
the Republican leadership is determined to move the
annual appropriations bills quickly to avoid being
criticized for not passing the bills on time, and to
enable the Members of Congress to return home in early
October to hit the campaign trail full-time. AGC will
continue to be the most persistent voice supporting this
year's thirty-one federal construction programs.
For additional information
on AGC's legislative initiatives, contact the AGC
Congressional Relations Department at
703-837-5435.
|
|
| AGC of
Washington First VP Bill Alexander (l) and AGC of
Washington President Tom Balbo accept a check from
EAF Chair and AGC President Ralph Johnson from the
Environmental Action Foundation (EAF). The
Washington State chapters, along with other
community groups, will use this money to educate
the public about recent successful salmon
protection
programs. |
New Storm
Water Regulation Guide Available on AGC
Website
The Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) new Compliance Assistance Guide for Storm
Water Phase II can now be downloaded from the AGC
website at www.agc.org. This guide provides information
on compliance with Storm Water Phase II, a rule
requiring construction sites over one acre to install
and maintain sediment and erosion control
devices.
In addition, EPA has
announced one-day Phase II seminars. They will be held
in New Orleans, La., Seattle, Wash., San Diego, Calif.,
Denver, Colo., Newport, R.I., and Tampa, Fla.
Registration for this free course is available online at
www.epa.gov/owm/sw/training.
For additional information
on this course and others like it, contact Loren Sweatt
at 703-837-5360 or via e-mail at sweattl@agc.org.
Members of the AGC Environmental Issues online forum
received this information May 4. To sign up for the
Environmental Issues listserv, also contact Loren
Sweatt.
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Building Division To Meet in June
AGC building
contractor members are encouraged to participate in the
June 2124, 2000, Building Division meeting in La
Jolla, Calif., at the Hilton Torrey Pines. Meetings will
include the Building Division Coordinating, Industry
Liaison and Project Delivery Committees. The
Governmental Affairs Committee meeting will involve
participation from the General Services Administration,
the largest real estate organization --public or
private--in the United States. Discussion items will
cover past performance, e-commerce and construction,
industry trends/outlook, real estate development and
finance, and the American Institute of Constructors
(AIC) Constructor Certification Program.
The Building Division
meeting provides an excellent opportunity for AGC's
contractor members to network with more than 100 of your
peers, participate in educational forums and relax at
social events. There is no registration fee and all are
welcome to attend. Sign up now as the deadline is fast
approaching.
A related group, the
Private Industry Advisory Council (PIAC), will also be
meeting at the Hilton that week. This group includes a
select number of Fortune 500 owners whose design and
construction managers meet with AGC contractors to
discuss issues of mutual concern. The first industry
general conditions document jointly drafted with owners,
AGC Contract Document No. 200, was the direct result of
a meeting such as the one that will take place in
California.
For more information,
please contact
Dirk Haire at 703-837-5313 haired@agc.org, or
Damian Hill 703-837-5365, hilld@agc.org.
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Meeting Challenges
Together
 Addressing the Water/Wastewater
Infrastructure Investment Shortfall
AGC recently helped
establish the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), a
consortium of 22 stakeholder associations and
governmental entities involved in promoting federal
water and wastewater investment. On April 12, WIN
announced the release of the study Clean &
Safe Water for the 21st Century. The study,
based on the draft EPA Gap Analysis, describes a 23
billion-dollar per year shortfall in water and
wastewater infrastructure investment. The press
conference announcing the release of the study was
hosted by the Water Infrastructure Caucus, a new
bipartisan congressional caucus dedicated to promoting
federal water and wastewater infrastructure
investment.
For additional information on WIN,
contact Stu Megaw at 703-837-5321 or via e-mail at megaws@agc.org. The
entire clean water study can be downloaded by clicking
here.
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Dick Corp. Achieves OSHA VPP Status
for Downtown Pittsburgh Construction
Project
Recently, OSHA
announced that the PNC Firstside Center project, managed
by AGC member Dick Corporation, achieved Voluntary
Protection Program (VPP) STAR status. The VPP STAR
distinction is presented to individual construction
sites that demonstrate a strong commitment to safety in
the workplace, and the PNC Firstside Center is the first
construction project in the state of Pennsylvania to be
recognized with VPP STAR status.
OSHA Regional
Administrator, Richard Sultan, presented David Dick, CEO
of Dick Corporation, with a VPP certificate and flag at
an awards ceremony on May 2, 2000. The flag will be
flown over the work site throughout the duration of the
project, which is scheduled for completion later this
year. The PNC Firstside Center is a five-story, 620,000
square foot office building that will serve as the main
headquarters for PNC Bank's northeast operations.
For additional information on
qualifying for VPP status, contact Carolyn Guglielmo at
703-837-5331 or via e-mail at guglielc@agc.org.
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New Class Added to AGC Online
Institute
The AGC Online Institute
has introduced a new class for improving written
communications skills in response to member concerns
over the marginal writing skills of recent hires.
Written Communications concentrates on basic
grammar, punctuation, and sentence context, utilizing
construction-related words and themes throughout the
exercises. The three-module class--Fundamentals, Common
Writing Problems and Creating Better Documents--requires
about three hours to complete, and costs $75 for AGC
members. This class is ideal for time constrained
project managers and others who wish to sharpen their
memo, letter and report writing skills.
For additional information
on this or other classes offered via the AGC Online
Institute, contact Ernie Jones at 703-837-5316 or at jonese@agc.org.
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Upcoming AGC
PAC Regional Meetings
State PAC Chairs and
Chapter Executives should make plans now to attend your
regional AGC PAC meeting. These meetings are designed to
assist AGC members in understanding local congressional
candidates and their campaign platforms. Among the many
issues discussed at these meetings will be the action
AGC members can take at the local level to assist
National AGC's lobbying efforts.
Scheduled meetings are as
follows: Regions I, II and III will meet in Philadelphia
on June 6; Region IV will meet in Atlanta on July 12;
Regions V and VI will
meet in Chicago on July 11; Regions VII and VIII will meet in Dallas on July 13;
and Regions IX and X will meet in San Francisco on June
29. All of the meetings are conveniently located near
airports and typically wrap up by 3:00 p.m.
For additional information
on your region's candidates or if you are interested in
attending one of these meetings, contact AGC's new PAC
Director Sonja Simmons at 703-837-5386 or via e-mail at
simmonss@agc.org.
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Local
Company Successfully Challenged Corps' IDIQ Contracting
Measures
Recently, a New York
contractor brought to the Government Accounting Office's
(GAO) attention the improper solicitation of contracts
in a Corps of Engineers Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite
Quantity (IDIQ) task order for the closing of a military
installation.
AGC member Ocuto
Blacktop & Paving Co., Inc., discovered that the
Corps had issued work, which was subject to local
business preference, to a non-local contractor. As
required under the National Defense Authorization Act §
2912, "preference, to the greatest extent practicable,
must be given to qualified businesses located in the
vicinity of a military installation and to small
businesses and small disadvantaged businesses." The
objective in this case is to encourage solicitation of
bids from local and disadvantaged contractors before
awarding a project to any contractor for work done on
the closing or realignment of a military installation.
Ocuto successfully raised this question to the GAO who,
in turn, stated, "Congress directs that preference be
given to the greatest extent practicable, an agency must
either provide the preference or articulate a reasonable
explanation of why it is impracticable to do so." The
GAO recommended that Ocuto be reimbursed for all its
reasonable costs and attorneys' fees associated with
this filing.
For a complete copy of the
decision, contact Jim Krause at 703-837-5325 or via
e-mail at krausej@agc.org. For
additional information on AGC/Corps issues, attend the
AGC/Corps of Engineers Committee Meeting July 13, 2000,
in Washington, D.C.
OSHA Begins Accepting Complaints
Online
In late April, the
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
made "The Worker's Page" available at www.osha.gov. This
new online resource gives employees an option for
electronically filing formal complaints about safety and
health hazards at their construction sites.
According to OSHA, the
website is an easy-to-use system that requires
complainants to enter a few fields of information,
including their name, telephone number, and the
employer's name, a description of the hazard and its
location. OSHA estimates that it will take about ten
minutes to complete the online complaint form and send
it. The form is automatically forwarded to the
appropriate OSHA office within the complainant's state.
All online complaints will be investigated and may be
resolved with the employer informally by telephone and
fax. Those complaints not resolved via fax or
phone are likely to result in on-site inspections of
construction projects by OSHA.
The Occupational
Safety and Health Act of 1970 gives employees the right
to file complaints about workplace safety and health
hazards. In addition, the act gives complainants the
right to request that their name not be revealed to
their employers.
For information on protecting your
company with safety training and employee education,
contact Carolyn Guglielmo in AGC's Safety & Health
Department at 703-837-5331 or via e-mail at guglielc@agc.org.
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BCTD Bids Farewell to Georgine, Announces
Campaign Against Temp Agencies
The AFL-CIO's Building
and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) held its
Annual Legislative Conference April 35 in
Washington, D.C. Several AGC of America representatives
attended the "Topping Out" party in honor of Robert A.
Georgine. Georgine retired on April 15 after 26 years as
BCTD president. Edward C. Sullivan, general president of
the International Union of Elevator Constructors, will
serve the remainder of Georgine's term, which expires in
July. Sullivan is expected to run for election for the
next five-year term, but is likely to face challenges by
other union leaders.
Later in the
conference, the BCTD launched a multi-craft campaign
targeting temporary employment agencies and the
contractors that use them. Georgine and Jeff Grabelsky,
BCTD's director of organizing, spoke about the "threat"
to unions that is posed by these agencies that supply
temporary workers to the construction industry. The
campaign to derail these temp agencies will include an
organizing element to gain representation of workers
referred by temporary agencies, as well as an
educational element designed to inform unions about the
alleged dangers of such agencies. Additionally,
Grabelsky expressed the need for a legislative strategy
to "rein in" temp firms.
For additional information, contact
Denise Gold at 703-837-5326 or via e-mail at goldd@agc.org.
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Greater Detroit Chapter Participates in
"Growth" Conference
Recently, the
Michigan Smart Growth Coalition held a conference
to address the growth issues facing their
community. Quality growth is AGC's answer to
environmentalists attempts to stop sound American
infrastructure and transportation development, and
is currently a hot issue in the debate over air
quality, traffic congestion and economic
development.
The 2000 Greater
Detroit Chapter president, Timothy W. O'Brien, was
actively involved in the preparation and planning
of the conference. O'Brien has been working on the
issue for more than a year and is a key player in
the advancement of Michigan's growth programs. In
addition, John Mass, executive vice president for
the Greater Detroit Chapter, participated as a
panelist during the conference while many members
of the construction industry attended and
contributed to an open forum discussion. The
conference brought together homebuilders, road
builders, commercial contractors, public
officials, developers, and planners with a
sell-out crowd of more than 400 people.
AGC of America
recently released Building Better Communities:
A Toolkit for Quality Growth, to dispel the
myths often disseminated by anti-growth activists.
The toolkit provides interested parties with the
tools needed to address growth issues locally. For
a copy of the toolkit, click here.
From L to R AGC
Labor & Employment Law Council Immediate Past
Chairman Robert Casey, Current Chairman T.J. Wray,
OSHRC Chairwoman Thomasina Rogers, and OSHRC
Member Gary Visscher pause for a photo during a
reception for Construction Labor Law Symposium
attendees.
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Labor And
Employment Law Council Hosts Another Successful
Construction Labor Law
Symposium
 The AGC Labor and
Employment Law Council held its 16th Annual
Construction Labor Law Symposium May 4-5 in
Washington, D.C. The council is a network of labor
lawyers that represent AGC chapters and members.
Chapter executives and labor relations directors
were also invited to attend the symposium.
The
program included many distinguished speakers
addressing a variety of pertinent labor topics.
The keynote speaker was Patrick Szymanski, general
counsel of the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters. Other guest speakers included National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairman John
Truesdale, Member Robert Brame, and Chief Counsel
Harold Datz, Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs Deputy Director Fred Azua, Jr., and Vice
President Stephen Wardrop of Projections, Inc.
Several government officials also attended the
annual welcome night reception.
The
symposium covered such topics as: issues currently
facing the NLRB that affect the construction
industry, union campaigns and the electronic
workplace, using the Web as a tool in management
campaigns, OFCCP audits, secondary boycotts,
unions' use of the Davis-Bacon and False Claims
Acts to gain jurisdiction, and the Department of
Labor's heightened interest in the construction
industry.
Information
outlining many of the topics discussed is
available from AGC of America. To request a copy,
contact Denise Gold at 703-837-5326 or goldd@agc.org.
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