AGC Northern District Report: Election 2019: your vote matters! | Tell Congress to oppose unfair bill

Tell congress to oppose unfair union-organizing bill
jeopardizing employee/employer rights
Congress will soon vote on the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. This bill is an unprecedented attempt to fundamentally change dozens of well-established labor laws to assist organized labor without regard to their detrimental impact on workers, employers—union and open-shop—and the economy. If enacted, the PRO Act would completely upend decades of work to balance employee and employer rights and restrictions settled in courts, the National Labor Relations Board, and Congress.
The PRO Act’s most significant changes impacting the construction industry are:
• Eliminating "secondary boycott" protections that would allow unions to launch disruptive protests and pickets against any employer, even those having nothing to do with a labor dispute.
• Imposing a "backdoor card check" exception to employees’ well-established right to a secret ballot election where they can freely vote their choice without intimidation by employer or union;
• Codifying the "quickie" or "ambush" election rules that limit employees’ access and opportunity to consider information about the union seeking to represent them;
• Expanding joint employer liability that could alter well-settled subcontracting practices in the construction industry;
• Hindering contractors’ ability to secure legal advice on complex labor matters; and
• Establishing an overly restrictive independent contractor test.
Already, this legislation has 216 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives and 40 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate. Tell your U.S representative and senators to oppose the PRO Act today.
Taking action is easy. Simply submit the pre-written message as is to your representative and Senators, or customize them with personal information on how this issue impacts you and your company. Take action here.

Northern District quarterly meetings coming up

AGC's Northern District will be hosting two quarterly meetings in mid-November to provide you with an opportunity to gain some new knowledge and to connect with other great AGC members. We have made an adjustment to the Everett meetings in that we will be going to an early-morning breakfast format in hopes it works better with your busy schedule.

Everett – Nov. 13, Delta Marriott Hotel Join us as Laura Leist from Eliminate Chaos reveals techniques to increase your productivity. In business, you need to be more than just organized to be profitable, you also need to be productive. Register today.

Bellingham – Nov. 14, Bellingham Golf & Country Club Where will construction find and develop its future workforce? We're all aware of our industry's labor shortage, but not as aware of the pathways and opportunities becoming available to assist in solving the problem. Ray Kubista from Bellingham Technical College will join us to discuss developing the construction workforce and opportunities available to contractors. Register today.

Council: No amount of marijuana OK for 'safety-sensitive' jobs
The position paper pointed out that cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, even though its use is legal in some form in many states. This discrepancy presents obvious enforcement challenges for construction firms and other businesses, especially when it comes to employees using medical marijuana for an impairment. And, as the NSC noted, THC levels in the body don't always correlate with the actual level of impairment like, for example, blood alcohol levels show. Read more…

She Builds Houston encourages young women to join male-dominated industry

Karla Cedillo walked into Thursday’s She Builds Houston construction conference expecting to hear mostly from men -- a reasonable assumption, given that men are about 90% of the industry’s workforce. Instead, Cedillo, a senior at Aldine Senior High School, found dozens of women employed by some of the city’s leading construction companies, who implored her and about 1,000 other girls to consider careers in the fast-growing and well-paying industry. Donning a yellow vest and sticker-dotted hardhat, Cedillo learned about opportunities in the industry from female professionals before grabbing a DeWalt screw gun and getting tips on hanging drywall.

"That was a moment, a time in my life, when I thought girls can do anything," said Cedillo, who aspires to become an architect or interior designer. "They have inspired me to actually follow my dreams, to do what I want to do, that the sky is the limit."

As the construction industry seeks to replace an aging workforce and diversify its mostly male ranks, dozens of local employers met with Aldine ISD middle- and high-school girls at the region’s first She Builds Houston conference, aiming to inspire the next generation of construction employees. Read more…

Viewpoint: Soft skills a difference-maker in the construction industry
These days, we are talking more and more about how much is changing in the architecture, engineering and construction industry and how much harder it is to get the job done. Although the use of technology supports the building process from beginning to end, we still must do everything we can to improve how we procure and complete work. The key is to remember that it’s people who build these projects, and success is the result of those people building relationships at the same time.
It also means using every tool available to make that happen, including some we don’t often talk about. That’s why soft skills must become a bigger part of our professional dialogue. They're essential to building happy, productive relationships, both professionally and personally. And yes, it’s OK to talk about happiness in the construction industry. Read more…

Upcoming Northern District events - Click event title to register

Northern District Quarterly Membership Luncheon (Everett) Nov. 13 - 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Northern District Quarterly Membership Breakfast (Bellingham) Nov. 14 - 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Northern District Power Breakfast: "Woulda Coulda Shoulda" (Bellingham) Dec. 3 - 7:30 to 9:00 a.m..
Northern District Safety Forum and Holiday Luncheon (Burlington) Dec. 4 - 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Northern District Safety Forum and Holiday Luncheon (Bellingham) Dec. 5 - 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.