News
McKenna Event: Cle Elum
AGC Members Dr. Patricia Galloway and Dr. Kris Nielsen with Pegasus Global are hosting a fundraiser dinner for Rob McKenna on Sat. July 7 in Cle Elum. As you know we are only 5 months away from what will be a very important election for Washington State. This will be a great “central location” ...
Posted on 06/28/2012
AGC Skeptical of 19 Percent Workers' Comp Hike
Last week the Department of Labor and Industries revealed to its Workers Comp Advisory Committee that the workers comp system faces a $3.1 billion gap in funding. Eliminating that gap would require a 19% annual surcharge over and above annual break-even premium increases over the next ten years....
Posted on 06/26/2012
Union Agreements Include Sick Leave Waivers; Others Still Affected
Seattles new paid sick leave ordinance takes effect September 1 and nearly all firms with at least five employees will be affected. Firms headquartered outside Seattle will also be affected if they have employees who perform at least 240 hours of work in the city within a calendar year.
During ...
Posted on 06/26/2012
New Superintendents, Special Projects Director at Lydig
Lydig Construction Inc. a premier commercial contractor in the Northwest welcomes two experienced Superintendents and a Director of Special Projects:
In March Tim Welch joined Lydig as a Superintendent for the Special Projects Group. Welch brings over 30 years of industry experience working on h...
Posted on 06/18/2012
From High School to College to Construction: William Managan's Journey
Hes only a junior at Wazzu but William Managan already has AGC written all over him.
William is one of 11 construction management students recently awarded scholarships by the AGC Education Foundation. What makes Williams story a little bit different is that he got his career inspiration from a...
Posted on 06/18/2012
AGC Education Foundation Scholarship Recipients
AGC Education Foundation announces its 2012-2013 scholarship recipients and offers a special thanks to its Scholarship Selection Committee:
Chair: Art Solbakken Solbakken CompanyDan Barrett Sellen ConstructionDelton Bonds Mountain States ConstructionShanna Dennis Sellen ConstructionPat McGarry M...
Posted on 06/15/2012
Tentative Agreements Reached with All Unions
On Friday June 1 AGC reached a tentative agreement with the Carpenters Union. With this agreement negotiations with all five of the basic crafts have been completed. The Laborers Teamsters Operating Engineers and Cement Masons agreed to tentative agreements earlier last week.
Common elements i...
Posted on 06/05/2012
Be Aware of Changes to Excavation Operation Statutes
By John P. Ahlers and Paige B. Spratt Ahlers & Cressman
With the Washington Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act the Legislature made changes to the one-call statute. The Act which is not effective until January 1 2013 is a response to incidents involving underground utilities that have...
Posted on 06/05/2012
New Record for AGC Retro Three-Year Refunds
AGC Retro received the highest combined three-year Retro refunds ever of $34529551 - bringing the refunds to date at $148 million!
AGC Retro members joined together at recent events around the state to celebrate their shared success in decreasing injuries improving safety in construction and hel...
Posted on 06/05/2012
Ferguson Hires New Head of Biz Development
Ferguson Construction announces the hiring of Tom Whiteman as Director of Business Development. Whiteman joints Ferguson Construction after 25 years of service with Cadman Inc. Since 1997 he has served as General Sales Manager responsible for the sales and marketing of ready mix concrete aggreg...
Posted on 06/05/2012
Be Wary of Payroll Request from Clawback
(Editors note: AGC emphasizes that whomever asks for certified payroll information the contractor is not required to send it to the requester but rather to the public agency with which they are contracting. If any AGC member receives a letter from Clawback please send a copy to AGC Government Af...
Posted on 05/29/2012
PM and Superintendent of the Year
Project Manager of the Year
Mike Bell Mowat Construction Co.
When nominating Mike Bell for this award Mowat Vice President Doug Smith said Mike did a stellar job leading the negotiations construction and closeout of the $73M SeaTac/Airport Station project to a successful conclusion. Mike’s achi...
Posted on 05/29/2012
Category Winners: Safety Excellence
Aecon Buildings Inc.
Construction Manager Under 100000 hours
Safety is a daily concern at Aecon a member of AGCs Safety Team. George Kramer President challenges Aecon teams to set the bar high. Weekly safety meetings are held for each project with mandatory attendance by Aecon employees and any...
Posted on 05/29/2012
Category Winners: Construction Excellence
Exxel Pacific Inc.
Category: Private Building Under $10 Million
Project: Art Stable Seattle WA
Owner/developer: Point 32
Lead Engineer: DCI Engineers
Lead Architect: Olson Kundig Architects
A novel geothermal heating and cooling system was a hallmark of this project. Art Stable is an u...
Posted on 05/29/2012
Lewis Celebrates Anniversary with Quarter Million Dollars of Philanthropy
2011 was a milestone year for Lease Crutcher Lewis as it celebrated the 125th anniversary of its founding by N.T. Lease in Montana. From humble beginnings building residential and small commercial projects the company is now one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest commercial construction firms wi...
Posted on 05/29/2012
Centennial Contractors Wins Grand Award for Safety Excellence
Centennial Contractors Enterprises Inc. believes that a well-educated workforce reduces accidents and fosters a culture of safety and it implements a comprehensive and robust training program for all of its employees.
For its safety record and innovation Centennial received the 2012 AGC Build Wa...
Posted on 05/29/2012
Advanced American Wins Grand Award for Construction Excellence
The 112 feet tall John Day Lock & Dam Gate stood as an icon of our nation’s economic capacity. But at 53-years old it was visibly fatigued putting the entire navigation industry at risk. But thanks to Advanced American Construction (AAC) the complex work of removing the gate and fabricating t...
Posted on 05/29/2012
Improvements Keep AGC Building Almost Full
Under the direction of the Property Committee chaired by Gary Smith of Lease Crutcher Lewis AGCs iconic building continues to be improved and maintained as Class A office space with an enviable -- and practically unheard of -- vacancy rate of nearly zero! The adjoining marina also owned by the as...
Posted on 05/22/2012
NLRB's “Quickie Election†Rule Deemed Invalid
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB or Board) new rule revising election procedures in union representation cases is invalid the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled May 14. The rule often called the “quickie election” or “ambush election” rule because it expedites the el...
Posted on 05/21/2012
Major Victory: Court Unanimously Sides with Contractor in Insurance Case
by John Riper Ashbaugh Beal
On May 17 the Washington Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on a case that the construction industry has not only been watching carefully but also directly participated in. Ahlers & Cressman’s John Ahlers and I briefed and argued the case to the Supreme Co...
Posted on 05/21/2012
Labor Negotiations Update
by Doug Peterson AGC Labor Relations Director
With labor contracts expiring May 31 2012 negotiations with the Carpenters Cement Masons Laborers Operating Engineers and Teamsters continue. Meetings are scheduled with all five unions into the final two weeks of the May.
Even though no wage incre...
Posted on 05/21/2012
Transportation Bill Priorities: Energy Security, Cut Red Tape
by Rep. Doc Hastings
(Editors note: Rep. Hastings who represents Yakima and much of Central WA is Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and has been appointed to the conference committee hammering out differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions of the Surface Transport...
Posted on 05/21/2012
Case Limits Owners' and Developers' Liability for Safety Violations
By Tristan Swanson Ashbaugh Beal
In Washington a general contractor can be sued by any project employee for failure to comply with WISHA regulations. Likewise project owners and developers can be sued for failing to comply with WISHA regulations to the extent they act like general contractors on...
Posted on 05/15/2012
Leaving in Droves: Workforce Shortage Looms
“It is tough to attract and retain workers when employment gains are so spotty” noted AGC of Americas Chief Economist Ken Simonson. “With workers finding jobs in other industries retiring or returning to school contractors face a potential shortage of skilled workers in a year or two.”
Thats the...
Posted on 05/15/2012
AGC Members Benefitting from Productivity Tools
By Kirsten Barnes Strategic Account Manager McGraw Hill Construction/Dodge
Many AGC members are now taking advantage of the valuable business development tools offered through the new AGC of Washington/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge alliance.
We held lunch events a couple of months ago to intro...