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APRIL 8, 2021

VIRTUAL EVENTS
Transitioning to employee stock ownership
April 21, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.

AGC will host an introduction to Employee Stock-Ownership Plans (ESOPs) led by Tenor Capital Partners. The agenda includes an overview of the benefits and considerations relating to ESOPs, discussion and Q&A with Tenor representatives as well as with AGC members Charter Construction and Exxel Pacific.
Employee stock-ownership plans provide owners and shareholders of privately held businesses highly customizable, tax-advantaged options for exit and succession planning. These structures are used to facilitate transition of the business through the use of employee ownership. With tax rates expected to increase significantly in 2022, ESOPs are more relevant than ever. Register today…
Culture of CARE Spring Forum, April 29
This Spring Forum we’re looking forward to diving into the topic of LGBTQ worker inclusion on construction jobsites. Hosting the forum is acclaimed jobsite culture advocate and Construction Superintendent at Hensel Phelps, Kabri Lehrman-Schmidt. Our featured program will be presented by Morgan Mentzer, co-founder and attorney at the Lavender Rights Project, a LGBTQI+ legal services nonprofit, and co-founder of the Reckoning Trade Project, a nonprofit focusing on increasing representation and retention of LGBTQI+ trades workers.
Morgan will give our Forum audience an overview of the Reckoning Trade Project's training resources for LGTBQI+ inclusion, and give us a primer on best practices for employers to create inclusive practices for gender diversity in the workplace. She'll focus on gender diversity in the trades, and explain the differences between sex, gender identity and sexual orientation, pronoun usage, State and Federal discrimination law. Register today...
Mark your calendars!
The judges have completed their work, and the decisions are in! Check out our Build Washington Awards page here to see the list of this year's category winners, and plan to join us for the virtual awards event on May 20 when we announce our Grand Award winners and much more!
HR Roundtable: The Post-COVID Office
With easing restrictions on office capacity and increased access to vaccines, it appears that more employers may be transitioning non-field staff back to pre-pandemic work locations.
Please join AGC’s HR Roundtable, via Zoom, on April 27 at 12 pm for an in-depth discussion on the post-pandemic office environment. We will be discussing examples of return plans for employees and new perspectives on hybrid work options. We will also dive into what direction the industry in leaning.
Please complete our survey and share what your organization is doing. We will also have Amy Robinson of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn put a few items on your radar as we discuss the new normal and some things to consider.  
ADVOCACY
Seattle Council votes Monday
on payroll-tax amendment

It's anticipated that the Seattle City Council will vote Monday on an amendment to the recently passed Payroll Tax, making changes to the section determining how employers calculate the tax. This Payroll-Tax amendment will have employers choose one of two methods to calculate the tax -- by employee hours worked in and outside of Seattle, or by geographical assignments of employees and where they provide service. AGC urges members to take a look at the current amendment, and email Sonja Forster or the City Council with concerns before 5:00 pm on Friday, April 9.
Supreme Court OKs recall petition against Sawant
(Crosscut, April 1) The Washington State Supreme Court last week gave opponents of Seattle City councilmember Kshama Sawant the green light to move ahead with a recall petition against the third-term elected official.
In their ruling, the justices agreed that three out of four charges brought against the socialist councilmember were legally sufficient for a recall campaign — including a mixing of political and official business, opening City Hall to the public during a pandemic and participating in a march to Mayor Jenny Durkan's home, thereby making her legally protected home address public.
Read more…
Contact your State Senator today
and tell them to oppose E3SHB 1091 (the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard).
Please use the Action Alert link below to easily connect directly with your Senators and urge them to vote NO on these too-costly measures -- and share this link with others in your company. Click here to make your voice heard.
AGC supports Compassion Seattle campaign
to address housing, homelessness

The AGC Building has joined a broad coalition of community organizations, neighborhood and civic leaders, residents, advocates for people experiencing homelessness, and local business owners and executives to support Compassion Seattle; an effort which will amend the Seattle Charter to focus the way the City of Seattle addresses the homelessness crisis towards what we know works: behavioral health services and housing.
The charter amendment
mandates the provision of emergency and permanent housing and mental-health and substance-use disorder services for those who are experiencing homelessness, especially the chronically homeless. The charter amendment will also require the City to ensure that city parks, playgrounds and other public spaces are clear of encampments once programs and services are made available. Compassion Seattle’s first goal is to gather enough public support, via petition signatures, for the amendment to be placed on the November 2021 Seattle ballot. Compassion Seattle’s second goal is to win voter approval of the measure and see this plan implemented. To get more involved in this effort by either signing the petition or sending financial support, please visit the Compassion Seattle website.
AGC urges passage of
comprehensive transportation funding

AGC of Washington is urging the State legislature to pass a comprehensive transportation funding package this year.
"A bold infrastructure package will support job creation and recovery; putting folks to work, moving goods more effectively and efficiently, and ensuring mobility for our essential workers," AGC and nearly 100 other organizations told legislators in a recent letter sent by the Keep Washington Rolling coalition.

Different proposals have been floated in Olympia. Sen. Steve Hobbs, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, has drafted a $17-billion, 16-year plan. Meanwhile, Rep. Jake Fey, chair of the House Transportation Committee, has drafted a $26-billion, 16-year plan. Neither proposal has been put into legislative language yet as negotiations continue.
Read more...
INDUSTRY NEWS
COVID-19 emergency grants for small business
The state’s $240-million Working Washington Round-4 Small-Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program will provide grants to eligible businesses up to $25,000.
Learn more…
Paycheck Protection Program extended
The U.S. Senate has voted 92-7 to extend the current Paycheck Protection Program round to May 31. Struggling small businesses and non-profits now have two more months to secure a forgivable PPP loan. Washington employers have secured 54,471 loans totaling over $4.6B in 2021 alone.
PPP now allows certain eligible borrowers that previously received a PPP loan to apply for a second-draw PPP loan with the same general loan terms as their first-draw PPP loan. All eligible entities can apply through a participating lender until then. Read More...
In your last AGC WORKS newsletter
Cap-and-trade bill closer to passage in Olympia
In a 13-11 party-line vote on March 22, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s keystone "cap-and-invest" bill for capping carbon emissions cleared the Senate Ways and Means Committee and headed to the floor for a possible vote. AGC opposes the measure.
The action was significant, because it indicates a level of Democratic support that some of Inslee’s past climate initiatives have failed to garner.
Read more...
[ See the most recent AGC WORKS newsletter here ]
National Work Zone
Awareness Week, April 26-30

National Work Zone Awareness Week
(NWZAW) is held at the start of construction season and encourages safe driving through highway work zones, with the key message for drivers to use extra caution.
Host agency Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and ATSSA strongly encourage each state and locality to participate in NWZAW by hosting safe, socially distanced events and using social media to remind the public to drive carefully in and around work zones. The Tool Kit is a comprehensive guide created to assist with planning your own event.
Learn more at Visit NWZAW.org.
Employees save big, too,
with AGC-member benefits

One of the most overlooked benefits for AGC-member firms is the many great discounts -- for Verizon, Staples, Sherwin-Williams, Office Depot and more. But employees, too, can take advantage of exclusive savings, including Verizon, Skechers, 1-800-FLOWERS, TrueCar, Omaha Steaks and more. Get the whole scoop here, and start saving today!
Educational opportunities continue online
The AGC Education Foundation continues to offer virtual continuing-education classes in a live, interactive, remote environment. They're working closely with instructors to maintain high-quality training programs and are finding great success in the virtual environment.
Visit the AGC Education Foundation website for more information on upcoming classes and programs.

Construction Technical Skills B:
Interpreting Blueprint Plans & Specifications
April 5 – May 6 (5:00 pm – 8:00pm) | Remote Class |
Register today


Supervisory-Training Program Unit 4: Contract Documents
April 13 – 22 (5:00 pm – 8:00 pm) | Remote Class | Register today

24-Hour Fall-Protection Competent Person
April 20 – 22 (7:30 am – 4:30 pm) | Seattle | Register today

Supervisory-Training Program Unit 5:
Improving Productivity & Managing Project Costs

April 26 – May 5 (5:00 pm – 8:00 pm) | Remote Class | Register today


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us open;

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shut us down.


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to learn how
you can help.

AGC's Seattle District Report
is a publication of the

Associated General Contractors
of Washington
.
Copyright 2021, AGC of Washington


Ideas? Comments? Questions?
Please contact Sonja Forster, Seattle District Manager, at 206.284.0061.

 
Click here for a complete listing of upcoming class offerings from AGC's Education Foundation
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