Your Voice Could Make a DifferenceIn 2012 a new law will require federal, state, and local governments to withhold three percent from all payments for goods and services as a guard against possible business tax evasion.  Withholding applies to the total contract, not to the net revenue generated from a project, and will affect specialty contractors immensely.  Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators today and strongly urge them to pass a full permanent repeal of the three percent withholding tax.  Click here for more information and to quickly and easily send a letter to your elected leaders regarding this important issue.  To view the letter AGC of America recently sent to members of Congress to encourage permanent repeal of three percent withholding on government contracts, please click here.

AGC of America SCC Seeks to Facilitate Chapter SCC DevelopmentThe AGC of America SCC has recently produced resources for AGC Chapter Specialty Contractors Councils.  In addition to facilitating development of new Chapter SCCs, these documents may also increase the effectiveness of existing Chapter SCCs.  To complement "A Guide: Simple Steps and Best Practices for Forming an AGC Chapter Specialty Contractors Council," the Council has compiled information from existing Chapter SCC structures, goals, and programs to offer ideas to developing Chapter SCCs.  This document, "Sample Mission Statements, Objectives, and Programs for AGC Chapter Specialty Contractors Councils," can be found at www.agc.org/SCC_Chapters along with the updated Guide.  The website, linked off www.agc.org/SCC, also offers additional information about Chapter SCCs, including a list of existing Chapter SCCs along with their websites.  To contribute to these resources, please contact Cassia Griffin at griffinc@agc.org.

“Card Check” Would Impact Specialty Contractors – Be Informed!On March 10, the "so-called" Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was introduced in both the House and the Senate.  EFCA would take away a worker's right to a federally supervised private ballot election when deciding whether or not to select union representation.  AGC supports the status quo, which allows both card-check recognition and secret-ballot elections to establish union representation and remains the most fair and reliable way to determine the desire of employees to be represented by a union. EFCA imposes unrealistically short deadlines for labor-management negotiations over a first contract before mandating third-party interference.  It allows a third party to dictate wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.  For more about EFCA, visit AGC's EFCA webpage.  Click here to contact your Representative and Senators regarding this important issue!

At the Specialty Contractors Council meeting Wednesday, March 4, Chair Doug Isaacs welcomed the SCC to San Diego and introduced Jim Slack as the incoming chair of the SCC.  Isaacs reviewed the activities of the SCC over the past year, including its research regarding retention, the upcoming retention panel at Convention, and resources for AGC Chapters interested in forming Chapter SCCs. SCC members then participated in dynamic roundtable discussions regarding "hot topics" of interest to specialty contractors today.  Prior to the Convention, the SCC had been surveyed regarding which topics members wished to see addressed in this format, and the topics were consolidated into three groups; one table discussed card check (EFCA) and its related implications, another lien rights and payment & performance bonds, and the other immigration, E-Verify, workforce, and licensing.  Each table reviewed information about the topics, spoke about the issues from their perspectives and specific regional markets, and then reported their discussions back to the broader group.The SCC also presented "The Cash Flow Implications of Retention" on Friday, March 6.  Doug Isaacs began the session with a presentation of the results of a retainage survey completed by over 1,000 AGC specialty contractors in late 2008 that highlights the cash flow challenges retention poses.  Incoming Chair Jim Slack then introduced the document currently being drafted by the SCC to provide guidance to specialty contractors regarding retainage. Four panelists spoke regarding retention from their respective perspectives: Eric Hedlund, general contractor; Dan O'Brien, specialty contractor; Mike Anderson, surety; and Phil Beck, legal.  The panelists then answered questions, and attendees shared their own experiences with retention within their local markets.  With this input and the information gathered from the survey, the SCC anticipates completing the retainage guidance document later this year. Don't miss next year's AGC Annual Convention to be held March 17-20, 2009 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, FL.

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As of Fall 2008, the AGC of America Specialty Contractors Council (SCC) is staffed by Mike Stark, Senior Director, Building Division, and Cassia Griffin, Program Coordinator, Building Division.  You may contact Mike at starkm@agc.org or (703) 837-5365 and Cassia at griffinc@agc.org or (703) 837-5408.

AGC recently launched a new Web site, www.agc.org/stimulusatwork, to capture the industry's success stories that result from the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus package.AGC has begun collecting information via a simple form on the Web site, and will use it to publicize new hires and projects completed by AGC member companies.  If you have seen an improvement in business in your area due to the stimulus, please visit www.agc.org/stimulusatwork and complete the form.  Updates on the stimulus can be found at www.agc.org/stimulus.

At the AGC-ASA-ASC Joint Meeting in Rancho Mirage, CA, the three groups formally approved three new documents as part of the "Guidelines for a Successful Construction Project," found at  (www.constructionguidelines.org).  They are guidelines on Surety Bonding, Volatile Price Adjustment Clauses, and Building Information Modeling (BIM). The guidelines cover topics such as bidding processes, pre-construction planning, and project execution.  These three new documents are among the nearly 40 guidelines that can be found by accessing the complete "Guidelines for a Successful Construction Project" at www.constructionguidelines.org/pdf/Guidelines_Full.pdf.  The Surety Bonding Guideline is Section C.5, the Volatile Price Adjustment Clauses is Section B.6, and the Building Information Modeling (BIM) Guideline is Section B.7.

The AGC Specialty Contractors Council Executive Committee met in La Quinta, CA on January 8 asduring the AGC Building Contractors Conference.  The committee discussed the program for the upcoming AGC 90th Annual Convention in San Diego, CA, outreach to chapters and members regarding the formation of Chapter Specialty Contractors Councils, and the current state of respective local markets.  In addition, the meeting focused on refining the language of a guidance document for specialty contractors regarding retention, which will be further discussed at the AGC 90th Annual Convention.  For more information about the AGC of America Specialty Contractors Council and its Executive Committee, visit www.agc.org/scc.

More than 320 attendees participated in the AGC Building Contractors Conference and AGC BIMForum Meeting held in January in La Quinta, CA.More than 130 participants attended the AGC Building Contractors Conference held January 7-10 in La Quinta, CA.  This Conference brought together many of the top building construction firms, specialty contractors, service and supply companies, design professionals, and owners who heard presentations and discussions on topics such as Integrated Project Delivery, the economic outlook, diversity, surety issues, green building construction, contract documents, and renewable energy.  Presentations from the meeting can be viewed here.  Attendees also had several opportunities to network with their colleagues at evening receptions, luncheons, and the golf tournament.  The luncheon featured keynote speaker Steve Sandherr, AGC of America CEO, who provided an update on the economic stimulus proposals and other tax, labor, and environmental issues that are important to building contractors, as well as an overview of the new Administration and 111th Congress. The AGC BIMForum Meeting was also held in La Quinta January 8-9 with the theme "The Path to IPD."  More than 180 attendees actively participated in two full days of presentations and working sessions.  For more information about the AGC BIMForum, please go to www.bimforum.org.  Don't forget to save the dates for the next AGC Building Contractors Conference on June 10-13, 2009 at The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA and the AGC BIMForum Meeting on May 28-29, 2009 at the Omni Mandalay at Las Colinas in Dallas, TX.