Members' Edge - October 1, 2020

AGC News

AGC Releases Economic Impact Of Construction Jobs In Texas

AGC of America's Chief Economist Kenn Simonson released an updated fact sheet regarding construction economic updates Sept. 25.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/pdf/AGC_Texas_Construction_Econ_Impact.pdf to view the full article online.

Coronavirus Has Caused Significant Construction Project Delays and Cancellations, Yet Demand for Skilled Labor is High

The coronavirus has harmed the construction industry, prompting project delays and cancellations, layoffs, and furloughs, yet it remains difficult for a majority of firms to find craft workers to hire, according to the results of a workforce survey conducted by AGC of America and Autodesk.

Visit https://bit.ly/3muqqtd to view the full article online.

AGC Nationwide Campaign Sheds Light to Make Jobsites More Inclusive

AGC of America launched a nationwide program designed to help expand the diversity of the industry by making job sites more inclusive. Called Culture of CARE (commit, attract, retain and empower), it is designed to help firms create more welcoming workplace environments for staff, particularly those from diverse demographic backgrounds.

In addition to the new program, the association has already released its Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion in the Construction Industry, which provides the economic, safety and productivity rationale for expanding construction diversity.

Visit BuildCulture.org

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=638331&issueID=69080 to view the full article online.

WebEd: Keep Your Team Connected: Sharing Virtual RFIs and Construction Documents

WebEd: Keep Your Team Connected: Sharing Virtual RFIs and Construction Documents with Everyone
Oct. 7, 2020
2 – 3 p.m.

Free for AGC members

Tracking drawing changes, RFI submittals and responses, and the thousands of other types of design/build documents that go into a modern construction project can be an administrative nightmare. The solution isn’t always a massive, and expensive, construction management system. Sometimes, the answer is just understanding how you can use the Cloud to host and give access to all your files from one location.

Get the details

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=638386&issueID=69080 to view the full article online.

Registration Now Open For 2020 Construction HR Virtual Conference

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=638332&issueID=69080 to view the full article online.

AGC's Workforce Development Resource Center

Industry recruitment and retention are essential to the future of the construction industry. Just as important as finding craft workers, project managers and supervisors are ensuring that these essential workers are properly educated and trained. Efforts through AGC and its network of chapters and industry partners are focused on the goal to attract, retain and train the future construction industry workforce.

Visit https://workforce.agc.org/ to view the full article online.

AGC OF America Launches Awards Season

AGC of America is proud to announce the launch of the 2021 AGC Awards competitions!

The Construction Risk Partners Build America Awards (including the Marvin M. Black Partnering Excellence category) and AGC in the Community competitions recognize the nation's most impressive construction projects ranging across the building, highway and transportation, utility infrastructure, and federal and heavy divisions; those contractors excelling in their partnering and collaborative endeavors; and the charitable contractors and chapters giving back to their communities.

The AGC Diversity & Inclusion Excellence Awards recognize contractors who are champions in advancing diversity and inclusion within their workforce, subcontractor partners, supply chain, the association and in the communities they serve.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=638488&issueID=69080 to view the full article online.

Message from the President/CEO

AGC Leadership - Creating A Vision While Managing A Crisis

If you have been paying any kind of attention to politics for the past decade or so, you have probably heard this statement. Many times, and not necessarily as a positive one. As the representative organization of the commercial construction industry in the Greater Houston region, for AGC Houston it was more about there being “no time to waste during a (COVID-19) crisis.”

Having taken a leading role in ensuring our industry was deemed “essential” in the early days of the pandemic by publishing a “COVID-19 Recommended Practices for Construction Jobsites,” the focus of the AGC staff shifted to ways of modifying chapter operations. Modifications were necessitated by the new normal of social distancing while still fulfilling the chapter mission of ”bringing people together to advance the issues important to the commercial construction industry.”

Without the support and expertise of so many of our members, it is hard to imagine these events even happening, much less as successfully as they did.

Visit https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/agc-leadership-creating-vision-while-managing-crisis-jerry-nevlud/?trackingId=LDtqmZhxQueSJb%2BxG%2Br%2B6A%3D%3D to view the full article online.

News you can Use

Non-Competes... Who Needs 'Em?

Over the past two decades, Texas courts have shown more and more deference to non-compete agreements; a positive step for employers who seek to maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Often, the question raised is “How do I know if I need a non-compete?” Colby Hodges, Andrews Myers, PC, sheds light in this informative article.

Read the full article.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=638551&issueID=69080 to view the full article online.

Houston's Economy - Looking At Past Six Months

The Greater Houston Parthership notes that September marked a half a year since COVID-19 arrived in Houston. In the early stages, the pandemic cost Houston more than 365,000 jobs and only about 110,000 have been recouped to date. While some industries have been able to recuperate, other sectors that require face-to-face interactions continue to struggle and will be among the last to regain all jobs lost in the pandemic

Visit https://www.houston.org/houston-data/economy-glance-sept-2020 to view the full article online.

Port Of Houston Widening To Begin In 2021

The Army Corps of Engineers is looking to begin work next year to widen Port Houston to accommodate larger ships, said Lori Brownell, director of channel improvement at the port. The USACE finished a five-year feasibility study in April for the project, which would widen the channel to 700 feet along Galveston Bay and would deepen upstream segments to 45 feet.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=638406&issueID=69080 to view the full article online.

Wage and Hour Division Offers FLSA Compliance Assistance Materials.

The Wage and Hour Division encourages employers to audit their pay practices and consider participating in the PAID program. On this website, interested employers can find the resources they need to participate in PAID, starting with relevant FLSA compliance assistance materials.

Visit https://bit.ly/3iHsv2v to view the full article online.

DOL Proposes New Rule Clarifying Independent Contractor Status Under FLSA

The U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule clarifying the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as it relates to independent contractors. AGC has long called for federal clarification of the independent contractor status and preservation of legitimate independent contractor relationships, such as those that have historically existed in the construction industry.

Visit https://www.agc.org/news/2020/09/24/dol-proposes-new-rule-clarifying-independent-contractor-status-under-flsa to view the full article online.

Resources

Through social distancing reminders, the additions of hand-washing stations, workplace hygiene protocols and the wearing of masks, we are seeing the best in our members.

Contractors and workers must continue to execute the proper precautions to keep safety viral and our industry open.

STAY INFORMED

You can find updates on our dedicated COVID-19 Resources webpage for the commercial construction industry.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=638477&issueID=69080 to view the full article online.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=638321&issueID=69080 to view the full article online.

Proper PPE Fitting For Women In Construction

Poorly fitted harnesses are ineffective and can cause fall injuries. Women, in particular, often have a hard time getting PPE that fits at work.

Find out more about "Providing Safety and health Protection for a Diverse Construction Workforce: Issues and Ideas". #StandDown4Safety

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/pdf/women_in_construction_11nr.pdf to view the full article online.