AGC San Diego Plan room Completes Purchase of the Daily
Construction Reporter (DCR)
The
Board of Directors of the AGC San Diego Chapter
completed the purchase of the Daily Construction
Reporter on June 6th, 2006. This purchase
was initiated four years ago when the AGC entered into
an agreement with the owners of DCR to operate and run
the business on a fee basis for the past four years with
the understanding that the AGC would purchase DCR this
year. This purchase includes all assets and memberships
that are part of DCR, which is a 65 year old San Diego
based bidding information service.
The
350 firms that have been part of the DCR Membership will
now become AGC Plan Room Members. This membership will
allow these firms access to the AGC Plan Room, located
at 4355 Ruffin Road
and also the AGC Riverside Plan Room, which is scheduled
to open in July and is located in the AGC Apprenticeship
Trust’s Training Center in Riverside. These members
will also continue to receive the AGC’s Daily
Construction Reporter, which was recently ranked the
number one bidding information service in San Diego as
well as the AGC Construction News Online, the powerful
online bidding information website sponsored by AGC.
The
DCR members will not receive other AGC services unless
they become members of AGC.
The
new AGC Plan Room on Ruffin Road has been an outstanding
success since opening March 27, 2006. The facility is
recognized as the most modern and up-to-date plan room
in San Diego. We encourage AGC members to stop by and
visit the facility. Projects from San Diego, Riverside,
San Bernardino, Orange, and Imperial Counties are on
file in the Plan Room.
A new
feature in the AGC Plan Room was installed this past
week. A Hewlett Packard Designjet 500 42- inch Roll
Plotter/Printer is available to demonstrate the amazing
efficiency available to AGC and AGC Plan Room members
that choose to download plans and specs in the
convenience of their offices. A number of General
Contractors, agencies and owners, as well as the AGC
Plan Room, now provide electronic distribution of plans
and specs. With the HP Designjet, your firm has the
capability to download and print to scale full and
partial sets of plans transmitted electronically at a
cost that is competitive with the more traditional ways
of securing the drawings.
Members are invited to schedule a demonstration of this
technology by contacting AGC staff member Randy
Williamson …aka “iSqFt
Randy” at 858-558-7444 x42. Randy will be
happy to meet you at the AGC Plan Room to give you a
live, hands-on demonstration of this powerful plotter
and how easy it is to download and print drawings.
In
addition, Randy will be able to show you our newest
version of the online takeoff and estimating tool that
has the potential to streamline your takeoff and
estimating……
AGC
Members Invited to SDSU Reception Honoring Jack and Jane
Filanc
San
Diego
State University and the California State University
System announced recently that the SDSU Construction
Engineering and Management Program has been named the
JR Filanc Construction
Engineering
and Management Program.
This recognition is in honor of the $3,000,000 donation
to the Program that was made this past December by Jack
and Jane Filanc.
The
AGC Membership has been invited to attend a program and
reception celebrating the naming of the Program, which
will accept its first students in August. The event
will be held Friday,
June 16th on the SDSU Campus from
1:30-3:00 pm.
Those
registering will be notified concerning parking and the
location on campus.
We
encourage AGC members to attend and join SDSU in
honoring Jack and Jane Filanc for this gift that is so
important to the San Diego Construction industry.
Laborer’s Negotiations
The
AGC and the Southern California Conference of Laborers
have reached a tentative agreement for the Master Labor
Agreement for Building Construction for San Diego
County. This agreement came after several weeks of
negotiations. The AGC bargaining team was chaired by
Kevin Elliott,
Roel
Construction.
Other members of the Committee were
Dan Fitzgerald,
Pacific Southwest
Structures;
Ron Hall,
McCarthy Building
Companies, Inc.; and
Larry Henderson,
JR Construction.
The Committee was staffed by Jim Ryan AGC Executive Vice
President.
The
agreement is a three year agreement beginning July 1st,
2006 and expiring June 30, 2009. Wages will be raised
4% per year each year for the lower groups and 3% per
year for the more skilled groups. The increases include
increases necessary to fund the fringe benefits as well
as the base wage.
While
AGC is negotiating this agreement and other agreements
for the AGC members’ signatory to the labor agreements,
the results of these negotiations are important for all
AGC members. Since AGC holds the Master Labor
Agreements for the Laborers and others, these
negotiations set the prevailing wage for each craft in
San Diego. In August, members will see these increases
in the new prevailing wage determinations that affect
all workers doing laborer’s work on public projects.
The
negotiations are very important to the industry. The
Committee did an excellent job…next time you see Kevin,
Dan, Ron, or Larry, thank them….it is not an easy
process!!!!
Human Resource Practices Committee presents Education
Seminars – June 16th
The San Diego AGC Human Resource Practices Committee
is presenting 3 continuing education seminars for Human
Resource personnel.
These
3 hours seminars are a must-attend for anyone who deals
with human resource issues, including HR professionals,
office managers, and supervisors.
Topics
to be covered include: Employee Recruitment, New
Employment & Labor Laws for 2006, Exempt vs. Non-Exempt,
Over-Time Laws, Retaining Good Employees, Performance
Evaluations and Proper Terminations.
See the special registration price for attending all
three classes.
The
first seminar is on June 16. Contact Rae Krushensky at
858-558-7444, ext. 11 or
raek@agcsd.org with any questions.
In Memory of Roy Rusk
We
regret to inform the AGC membership of the passing of
Roy Rusk, the father of Randi Haithcock (Casper Company)
and Pamela Arnett (TSA Construction). Roy was a friend
of many AGC members. A memorial will be held Saturday,
June 17th, 2006 in Del Mar.
Observations on the June State Elections: Winners and
Losers
By
Paul Gladfelty, AGC’s Legislative Advocate
Overall, the business community did not fare too badly
in last week’s Primary election, and there were no real
surprises in the statewide races.
Governor Schwarzenegger was uncontested, and it was not
surprising that Phil Angelides beat Steve Westly,
especially given a low voter turn-out and an Angelides
campaign geared toward party faithfuls. His strategy
for winning the Primary is likely to come back and bite
him in the general election. Angelides’ concept of
improving the state through increased taxes is likely to
fall on unapproving ears in the General election and
will be an area Governor Schwarzenegger will be able to
exploit. The defeat of Prop 81 and Prop 82 are examples
of voter distaste for new spending and increased taxes,
even when it is aimed at upper income taxpayers.
Governor Schwarzenegger will definitely have the upper
hand going into the General election. The fact that
Democratic voters did not significantly favor one
Democrat over another in larger counties, such as Los
Angeles, suggests that there are not great numbers of
deep rooted anti-Arnold voters. Otherwise, they would
have voted in greater numbers for Angelides, who ran an
anti-Arnold campaign.
Democrats who will likely win in the General election
are Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who ran uncontested
in the Treasurer’s race, and Jerry Brown (former
governor and recent Mayor of Oakland), who is running
for Attorney General. Senator Chuck Poochigian,
Republican nominee for Attorney General, will have a
major uphill battle against Jerry Brown, whose polling
numbers are impressive.
In the
race for Insurance Commissioner, Lt. Gov. Cruz
Bustamante went unchallenged, but his Republican
challenger in the General election will be entrepreneur
and millionaire Steve Poizner. Poizner has never been
in a statewide election until this run for Insurance
Commissioner. However, he did run two years ago for a
State Assembly seat where he spent $7 million of his own
money and lost.
The
nemesis of the business community for many years,
Senator Jackie Speier, lost her bid for Lt. Governor
against Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. Speier,
who is a termed-out legislator with no where else to go,
lost her only jumping off platform for higher office.
Whether or not she resurfaces or fades into the sunset
is hard to say.
In the
race for Controller, former Board of Equalization member
John Chiang will be challenging former Assembly Member
Republican Tony Strickland. This is a seat business
generally does not care too much about.
State
Senate races resulted in a few surprises, with the
Senate trending toward moderation, which will be helpful
to the business community. For the 80 Assembly races
statewide, last week’s Primary can be summed up as a
continuation of the status quo. There will be some
“moderate” business-friendly Democratic candidates with
some that are not so business-friendly. However, until
they vote on specific issues it is difficult to say with
any certainty how newly-elected candidates react to
specific future legislative proposals.
Regardless of who wins or loses, politics is like poker:
either you are in the game or you are not. When the
deck gets reshuffled and you are dealt a new hand, you
have to play the cards you are dealt. Business has too
much at stake in a state like California to not be in
the game.
On the Local Front
With
the Primary elections over and a new Republican
Congressional Representative in the 50th
District (congratulations Brian Bilbray!), it is time to
give a brief summary of some of the local contested
races and ballot propositions,
City and County of San Diego
- It will be a quiet campaign season for four City
Councilmembers (Faulconer, Young, Frye, and Hueso), and
two County Supervisors (Roberts and Horn), as they all
received over 50% of the vote in their respective races
(therefore they do not have to face a run-off in
November). Five of the six candidates handily defeated
their opponents, while Supervisor Horn had to fend off a
challenge from former State Assemblymember Bruce
Thompson. Horn won by a margin of 52.8% to 47.2%.
Chula Vista Mayor
- It looks like Mayor Steve Padilla will have his hands
full in November, as he will face Cheryl Cox (Chula
Vista Elementary School District Board Member and wife
of Supervisor Greg Cox) in a run-off election. Mayor
Padilla actually finished 2nd in basically a
three-way battle between Cox and Chula Vista City
Councilmember Steve Castaneda, who will remain in that
position.
Chula Vista City Council District 1
- Recently appointed District 1 City Councilwoman Patty
Chavez finished 2nd in her battle for
re-election. Since no candidate received over 50% of
the vote, the top two vote-getters will run-off in
November. The winner of the Primary was Rudy Ramirez, a
contractor specializing in welding and metal
fabrication.
Local Propositions
- Voters passed only one of three infrastructure
measures, but it passed overwhelming with 77.6% of
voters saying “YES” to improve the Grossmont Healthcare
District with a $247 million bond. However, the other
two measures went down to defeat. With a 66.6% vote
required for passage, Prop. F ($596 million bond for
Tri-City Healthcare District) only garnered 65.75%.
Prop. H, which would have provided $44.5 million in
bonds to build a new school in Rancho Santa Fe, needed
55% to pass but only received 52%.
Bilbray Wins, but Independent Voters Could Play Big Role
in November
Brian
Bilbray held on for victory over Francine Busby in the
50th Congressional race. Billed as the
“bellwether” for what could happen nationally to
Republican candidates, the outcome proved that local
Republicans came out to support the Republican
candidate. However, in an interesting commentary by
Ronald Brownstein in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, the
Independent vote may play a big role in the outcome of
many Congressional races throughout the Country.
Brownstein notes that “Independent voters appeared to
break overwhelmingly for Busby…but Bilbray was able to
survive his meager showing with independents because the
district leans so heavily Republican. But if
independents bend nearly that much toward Democrats in
other parts of the nation, plenty of Republican
representatives from more moderate districts could be
looking for work after November.”
Republicans going to the polls for the Republican
candidate is good news for the Republican Party.
However, the commentary above shows that Bilbray and
other Republican candidates may need to move to
somewhere else on the “political spectrum” if they are
to sway the Independent voters their way in November.
Stay tuned…
“iSqft Randy’s” Tip of the Week and Obscure factoid
iSqFt
Tip of the Week:
With
the AGC/iSqFt Internet Plan Room you can view plans and
specs on line. This saves you the time and expense of
driving to physical plan rooms, giving you the ability
to respond to more opportunities.
Obscure Factoid:
Podunk
is in the State of Massachusetts!
UPCOMING
EDUCATION CLASSES
Learning Today …. Leading Tomorrow
Supervisory skill--or the lack of it--directly affects
every company's bottom line. Each day, decisions made by
every foreman and superintendent are crucial to the
success or failure of every construction project. You
make your money in the field, and STP can help you
improve your organization’s bottom line.
STP
the
“Supervisory Training Program”
developed by AGC National, is a turnkey training
curriculum that is easy to host and designed
specifically to meet the needs of the construction
industry. Developed, updated, and field-tested by and
for contractors, the Program is 10 comprehensive courses
(plus two overview units) that focus on the knowledge
and skills that every supervisor must have to be an
effective manager of people, time, equipment and
materials.Each
of the 10 STP courses is 20 to 25 hours of intensive
training.
The
first session: Unit 8 –
Managing the Project; “The Supervisor’s Role”
and there will be
Five – 4 to 5 hour classes starting June 29th
and be complete by August 10th. Each session
will run from 7:30 AM –12:00PM.
Please register on
the AGCSD website
www.agcsd.org.
The
First PE Class has completed with positive evaluations,
and 27 out of 29 enrolled received a Certificate of
Completion, 21 with perfect attendance.
Congratulations to all those students who gave their
valuable time to continue their learning process, and to
the companies that provided the opportunity. This class
is designed for New PE’s, Clerical Staff,
Students/Graduates, and individuals new to the industry
and wanting to achieve the next level.
This
new class is scheduled to start
June 27, 2006
– 7:00 AM TO 10:00 AM. There will be eight 3-Hr
sessions featuring industry professionals.
Please register on the
AGCSD website
www.agcsd.org.
In
commercial construction, the biggest challenge in
reading prints is the ability to combine print
information from a variety of sources required for
construction. This course helps the user develop the
skills necessary to interpret plans, and provides print
reading experience and understanding the specifications
with elements commonly found on prints of large
commercial structures.
This
is a four session course –
Starting in July 26,
2006 on four successive Wednesdays - Each
Session 12:00 PM to 5:30 PM.
Please register on the
AGCSD website
www.agcsd.org.
Due to
the “HUGE” response we have received from Member
Companies, the Education Committee has agreed to start a
second PE Class during the 2006 Education Year. This
class is scheduled to start
early September
depending upon interest and participation.
“The
Education Department and Committee would like to Thank
all the Member Companies involved for the overwhelming
support with this course. The success has been so
positive that AGC National is calling to talk to us
about helping them with a similar program presented
nationally.”
Glen Schaffer – Director of Marketing &Education
Upcoming AGC Safety and Education Classes
Please note:
All AGC classes will be held at
National University
located at
9388 Lightwave Avenue,
San Diego, CA 92123-1426 (North of Aero Drive and
Ruffin Road) while the AGC building is being
renovated.
JUNE CLASSES
June 14
– Trenching & Excavating – 7 AM
June 22
– WEB CM
June 28
– CPR/First Aid – 8AM
June 27
– Construction Project Engineering – 7:00 AM
June 29
– Supervisory Training Program Series begins
Upcoming AGC Committee Meetings
Please note:
If you will be attending any of these committee meetings
at the AGC office, remember we are under construction,
so please use the
entrance
at
the
back of the building.
JUNE
MEETINGS
June 14
– AGC Toastmasters at Roel’s Training Center – 7:00 AM
June 15
– Specialty Contractors Council – 7 AM at Adam’s
Steakhouse
June 19
- SD County Water Authority Liaison Committee – 11:30 AM
June 21
– Public Building Liaison Committee – 7 AM
June 27
– Airport Authority Liaison @ Airport
June 28
– County of San Diego Liaison Committee – 1 PM
June 28
– AGC Toastmasters at Roel’s Training Center – 7:00 AM
Looking Ahead…Upcoming AGC Events
June 27-
AGC Baseball Bash-
Padres vs. Oakland A’s -
SOLD OUT!!
SAVE THE DATE:
July 21
– Day at the Races
August 7
– Affiliate Day Golf Tournament –
Singing Hills Country Club – Packets mailed out to
members
September 23–
Aztec Football
Tailgate and SkyShow
Keep us informed:
Please notify us if
there is ever a change of address, phone/fax, or change
of contact person so we can update our records. Thank
you!
