AGC of Minnesota Annual Report 2021

2021 ANNUAL REPORT

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companies have chosen agc of minnesota as their trusted resource in construction. over 40% of AGC members have been members for 25 years or more!

CEO SUMMARY 2021 has been a year of both unsettling challenges and optimistic horizons for the construction industry. The economy has continued to bump along and struggles to emerge from the drag of a worldwide public health pandemic.

Our industry has been uniquely challenged to meet continued strong market demand while managing supply chain disruptions, materials price escalation and an extremely tight labor market threatened by the effect vaccine mandates might have on labor pool availability.

TIM WORKE, AGC CEO

Amidst these challenges, I am reminded of the two words that characterize the AGC value proposition – Trusted Resource. The 2021 AGC of Minnesota Annual Report quantifies and illustrates the many ways AGC has stepped up to the task and delivered measurable results that matter to you. Being an AGC member brings the collective voice and leveraged power of the finest construction firms to your door. AGC is the voice of the Minnesota construction industry, providing relevance and results that are meaningful to your bottom line and impactful for the larger construction industry.

As you review this report, I encourage you to reflect upon the many ways AGC membership delivers value for your business and a return on your membership investment. Your AGC

membership also gives you personalized access to the top technical resources in the construction industry and the finest professional staff available. I am extremely proud of the dedicated team we have assembled to serve you. I hope you take pride in the many ways that we tirelessly work to move the needle and create large and small differences that matter.

I am proud of the leadership our members have displayed in response to the pandemic and have every confidence the Minnesota construction industry will emerge stronger and more relevant than ever! I remain thankful that you continue to support AGC as your construction association of choice. We stand committed to being your most reliable business partner and Your Trusted Resource.

Respectfully, Tim Worke, CEO

visit www.agcmn.org You’ll find events, education, wage rates, contract documents, legislative analysis, safety information, COVID-19 updates, and more!

advocacy services Over the past year, the AGC government affairs team has been busy lobbying for funding and other measures to support the work you do. As Your Trusted Resource in government affairs, we constantly work to foster cohesive communication with industry representatives to the Legislature, Governor’s Office, state agencies, and public owners. Following a win with last year’s $1.87B bonding bill, AGC set to work to secure additional funding for our members.

2021 Legislative Results

Public Owner Engagement

Coalition Building

With guidance from the Legislative Committee and Board of Directors, we advocated for a transportation budget that received strong bipartisan support, and saw an increase in funding for state road construction and truck highway bonds.

AGC engaged with the Department of Labor and Industry over evolving COVID guidance, facilitated discussions between members and MnDOT on specification changes, and submitted comments to MnDOT regarding proposed statewide goals for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise participation in highway and transit contracts for the next three-year cycle.

Working with industry partners for the good of the entire construction ecosystem is a perennial priority. To that end, AGC facilitated the Building Jobs Coalition for continued collaboration on shared issues like historic tax credits and workforce development, coordinated with the MN Chamber of Commerce in support of Paycheck Protection Program tax conformity, and presented to various organizations such as the MN State Bar Association and legislative committees.

Our team was successful in getting a study for work zone safety and speed management, and spent time this year working with legislators to bring work zone safety to the forefront of the public conversation and touring an AGC member project with legislators to highlight the need for increased safety measures.

In 2021 we launched our Phone2Action advocacy alert system, making it even easier for members to engage in the legislative process in a timely manner when messages need to be sent quickly to government representatives on matters of industry importance.

helping you engage

want to shape policy? consider joining the AGC Legislative Committee!

Swift intervention makes a significant impact.

In August, AGC learned that the Walz Administration and Minnesota Management & Budget (MMB) were actively considering issuing COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate guidance that would have expressly applied to construction contractors working on state projects or at state facilities.

Laura Ziegler Director of Highway/Heavy and Government Affairs

Acting quickly, AGC reached out to other industry partners, leading an effort to jointly express concerns and developing a letter asking the state for additional time and requesting more dialogue and thoughtful consideration of these serious issues before applying the mandate to contractors.

This effort was successful - MMB changed course and limited the application of the mandate, exempting virtually all construction.

the united voice of the construction industry.

safety services

Honoring a legacy of safety as Doug Swenson retires

Hitting the ground running: Matt Semerad takes the reins

Growing and Strong: the CHASE Partnership looks to its 19th year

This year we wished our friend and colleague Doug Swenson well as he embarked on his retirement, leaving behind him 43 years of service to the construction industry, 18 of which he spent as AGC’s Director of Safety and Field Training. At our Recognition Evening this fall, we honored Doug with the Skill-Responsibility-Integrity (SRI) Award for his decades of service to the safety of our members.

Matt joined AGC as Director of Safety Services and Education Development in March. Despite a full schedule of maintaining and growing our CHASE program, Matt has also revitalized the AGC Safety Committee and begun developing a number of training opportunities for our members. In his spare time, Matt enjoys researching new construction technologies and teaching 6 out of 7 STP units to full classes of superintendents-to-be.

Welcoming three new contractor members in the past year, the Construction Health And Safety Excellence (CHASE) partnership with MNOSHA is now almost 19 years down the road. With a diverse representation of contractors (14 Building, 18 Heavy Civil, and 13 Specialty), CHASE recognizes contractors who consistently exceed safety standards and are committed to continual improvement and growth.

If we’re able to turn even the smallest near miss into a learning opportunity for our team today, then we prevent a multitude of incidents tomorrow. As such, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: Safety and Education go hand in hand.

Our highest priority must be the safety of our workforce.

You keep your people safe. AGC helps you stay at peak safety performance.

Whether you’re a large firm with multiple full-time safety directors or small firm with one person wearing multiple hats, AGC exists to provide you with tools and services to help you ensure that your employees go home safe each night.

Members who participate in the CHASE program reap the benefits of a collaborative partership with MNOSHA, which has turned countless opportunities for improvement into educational experiences for their site leadership and craft people.

CHASE Contractors are 54% safer than the MN construction industry average.

54%

“individuals do not want to die; they just want the mental anguish to stop.” - Yolanda Y. McIntosh

49.4

construction workers per 100,000 people in the construction industry will die by suicide this year, the highest rate of any industry.

It’s time to break the mental health stigma.

Go to www.buildculture.org

Take the pl culture of c

diversity, equity, and inclusion AGC is working to promote the principles of DEI throughout the association A year ago, we let you know that AGC had created the position of Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and hired Yolanda McIntosh to serve as our first DEI staff member in that role.

One year later, we’re excited to report that this critical focus is already taking shape and reaping benefits for our members and for the association.

Under Yolanda’s direction, AGC has formed the first ever DEI Leadership Council composed of AGC members from multiple underrepresented groups. This stellar leadership team steers the DEI Committee at Large, which is open to every AGC member and exists to create best practices and develop DEI resources for the full membership.

A primary focus of this department for AGC members is the Culture of CARE (Commit, Attract, Retain,

Empower) initiative of AGC of America.

Culture of CARE exists to advance the construction industry as the industry of choice for diverse and talented workers by building inclusive work environments in construction firms where everyone thrives. One year ago, only six firms in Minnesota had signed the Culture of CARE pledge.

Through Yolanda’s continued work and education, we now have 45 companies who have signed on to commit themselves to this effort. Outside of our membership, Yolanda has presented on Culture of CARE to MnDOT, City of Rochester, International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans (IFEBP), City of Proctor, Local 49 Contractor Advisory Board, and more.

Since creating this new position, AGC has gained 8 new DBE members.

ledge to promote a care at work.

Joining forces to increase effectiveness!

A key component of creating a DEI position at AGC has been the need for a consistent liaison with a myriad of other organizations doing incredible work in this area. In the past year, AGC has engaged with community-based organizations such as Summit Academy, Boys and Girls Club, Goodwill Easter Seals, and Urban League Twin Cities. She provided the keynote address for Dunwoody College’s first construction summit, and has collaborated with CSDZ on their suicide prevention and mental health awareness initiative. She chairs the DEI Committee for Associations North, gathering resources from dozens of industries to broaden the scope of services for our members.

Yolanda Y. McIntosh Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

labor and legal services Our labor and legal department helps members manage relations with construction unions, negotiate potential conflicts with the unions from jurisdictional disputes to different interpretations of rates of pay, assemble a fast-track arbitration process to resolve disputes, facilitate conversations for union contracts and becoming signatory with unions, stay on top of developing legal issues, share best practices, and create industry standards.

Our labor policies are guided by the Labor Cabinet that keeps AGC informed of issues in the field, reviews and advises on new topics or proposals, and explores ways to do better. This past year the Cabinet was active in looking at issues from how we structure our bargaining committees to COVID policies to negotiations.

Hot topics on the legal side include analyzing how to handle prefabricated and modular construction contractually. There are meandering gray lines regarding how to assign risk of loss, how to fulfill the duty to perform, which warranties apply, and when inspections are required, all of which are based upon the complex question of whether the contract is under the Uniform Commercial Code or common law. AGC’s contracts committee will look at this further to develop recommendations on how prefabricated and modular construction may best be managed.

events to keep members informed of the latest developments and best practices.

AGC’s Legal department also supports our Legislative work, helping show how bills may have unintended effects on how the law works in insurance, performance of duties, payment, and other issues. Importantly, we worked this past year with government officials and petitioned the Governor’s office to protect the construction industry from regulations designed for other industries, less necessary for construction, and tailor the regulations accordingly.

We also work with other associations to share ideas or insights, collaborate on projects, presenting information to other associations’ members, and teaming to resolve potential industry disputes.

We also provide an in-house counsel forum for member legal departments to share best practices and frustrations, raise questions, and learn updates on issues.

COVID-related issues span both legal and labor umbrellas. There have been evolving rules, with new questions being addressed such as how to manage price escalations and sharing unpredictable supply changes along the contract chain, creating employment policies from remote work to mandated vaccinations, understanding how accomodations work, exploring solutions with unions, and hosting

Mike Schechter General Counsel and Director of Labor Relations

this year in labor 1 2

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Successfully negotiated new collective bargaining agreements for North Dakota, working in conjunction with AGC of North Dakota, and Northwest Minnesota Helped to resolve over a dozen labor disputes and grievances, including organizing a panel of contractors and union representatives to arbitrate union grievances. This fast-track arbitration process has proven fair and effective—reaching good decisions after informed and detailed analysis. Simply having the dispute resolved quickly saves money and relationships.

Created a new silica exposure testing process in conjunction with Cement Masons and sister associations. The process leverages the health and wellness fund to promote testing in conjunction with annual physicals. Overall, it reduces costs, eases burdens on employees, promoted employees’ health, and helps comply with OSHA standards.

Appointed qualified, informed, and dedicated trustees to serve on a multitude of Taft-Hartley funds.

new and better contracts AGC created a new prime contract between owner and contractor, and then revised its existing subcontract and material purchases agreements to align with the structure and organization of the prime OCA. This organization makes it easier to track duties and rights.

member education We organized or presented several education events on evolving COVID standards and rules, contractual issues, labor developments, and employment matters.

COVID-19 We monitored, digested, and shared changes in COVID mandates, including offering contractual forms and addendum, educating on solutions to price escalation issues, petitioning the government regarding COVID regulations and mandates, and creating toolboxes on COVID issues.

Timely Topical Member Events This year AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson updated members at an event in Duluth, and we held hybrid and in-person education for members on topics ranging from mental health awareness to COVID-19 mandates and prefab/modular construction jurisdiction.

$30K

Recognition of Excellence The annual AGC Recognition Evening gives us a chance to honor greatness in the industry, especially for those companies and individuals who have particularly excelled. This year we presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Raymond “Butch” Ames.

july member meeting

AGC’s Golf Tournament and Sporting Clays Fundraiser are perennial high points of the year, bringing together hundreds of members for a day of collegial competition and fun, and raising money for scholarships! AGC members also enjoyed a Saints game this year with MBEX members.

2021 Recognition evening

raised for the agc of minnesota foundation through 2021 golf and sporting clays!

Fundraising and Fun

2021 golf tournament

events and Networking

Have you registered to attend, sponsor, or exhibit at the 2022 minnesota construction summit?

next year starts on a high peak!

The 2022 Minnesota Construction Summit promises to be the industry event of the year, bringing together national speakers, relevant education, unparalleled networking opportunities, and exhibits from over 70 vendors.

We’re thrilled to welcome futurist Jack Uldrich as the keynote speaker for the opening day of the Summit. Jack’s insights on the rate of change within the construction industry and how technology will drive innovation are not be missed. Chris Heeter joins us as a keynote for the second day of the Summit.

Chris freely admits that much of what she’s learned about humanity comes from dogs and rivers—from her team of 16 sled dogs, who she helped breed, raise, and train, to her decades of guiding whitewater canoe trips. Combined, they create the perfect back-drop for memorable, life-changing tools for teams, leaders, and organizations.

Beyond our keynote speakers, we have a stellar lineup of educational presentations for leaders at every level of the construction industry. Come hear from a panel of public owners regarding their future plans and project delivery, learn about alternate delivery trends in our region, engage best practices in creating an inclusive culture within your organization, earn CLE credits for sessions on ethical construction contracts, and so much more.

A full slate of exhibitors will be on hand the first day to provide you with opportunities to one-stop-shop for services you may need, and you’ll have ample networking opportunities during our breaks and evening reception.

In short, you don’t want to miss the 2022 Minnesota Construction Summit. Register today!

Education and Training

participants in a 2021 lean cohort

Although nothing replaces in-person learning for certain things, improving the way we provided online education led to enhanced opportunities for some students.

For some of our classroom instruction in our CM-Lean classes or Supervisory Training Program (STP) units, a pivot to fully virtual classes was at first an unwelcome annoyance, and then an opportunity to serve students who could not as easily participate in our in-person classes. Although we are now back to in-person STP classes, we’ve maintained and improved the hybrid approach for students who need to attend remotely.

LEAN CLASSES AND CERTIFICATION IN FULL SWING! In 2020-2021 we increased our educational offerings to members with Lean Construction Education Program courses. Participants who complete all units may sit for the CM-Lean certification exam.

STP CLASSES RETURNED TO IN PERSON ATTENDANCE IN FALL 2021.

All six of the STP units are being offered this year, providing students with the ability to complete the entire program if desired.

WE’RE PARTNERING WITH LABOR TO BRING STP TO YOU. Working with our partners at the Laborers, AGC is developing an intensive 10-day STP course for remote location in-person training.

Some things had to take a year off.

But they’ve started up again!

Our signature leadership development programs are back in person for 2021-2022.

AGC of Minnesota foundation 2021 was a banner year for supporting & recruiting the next generation of construction workforce!

SEVEN STUDENTS RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS TOTALING $13,500 Congratulations to Justin Babcock, Brandi Rutten, Emmanuel Kumi, Karli Schmitt, Eva Sharot, Jordan VanRisseghem, and Bridget Womack on being selected!

SPORTING CLAYS FUNDRAISER BREAKS RECORDS FOR 2ND STRAIGHT YEAR

AGC MEMBERS FUND SCHOLARSHIPS WITH LEGACY GIVING Designating the AGC of Minnesota Foundation as a preferred charity in your estate planning is a wonderful way to continue a legacy of industry support! Visit agcmn.org/foundation for more details.

Since 1986, the AGC of Minnesota Foundation has provided $284,000 to students pursuing post-seondary degrees in the construction industry. In 2021, the Foundation also gave a $15,000 gift to Dunwoody College of Technology for scholarship to women and minority students.

Learn more: agcmn.org/foundation

2021 beat all previous records both for attendance and funds raised for scholarships! Thank you to everyone who sponsored, broght a team, purchased an auction item, and bought raffle tickets!

The Resource: a new podcast to keep you connected to AGC and the industry.

In our ongoing effort to find ways to connect with our members, AGC has started a podcast - “The Resource” - where we focus on the voices, issues, and information affecting the Minnesota comercial construction industry.

Our first few episodes feature MnDOT Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Cal Beyer (CSDZ VP of Workforce Risk and Worker Wellbeing), and Matt Semerad and Laura Ziegler from our AGC staff to bring perspectives on the landscape in their areas of expertise.

Listen:

soundcloud.com/agcofminnesota agmn.org/resource

Thank You to our 2021 Annual Partners!

A CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY GROUP COMPANY

Interested in how an annual partnership can benefit your firm in 2022?

Email Renee: rhorsman@agcmn.org 525 Park Street N. Suite #110 St. Paul, MN 55103

Telephone: 651-632-8929 Web: www.agcmn.org E-mail: info@agcmn.org