Austin AGC Monthly News Update

Promoting & Protecting Austin's Commercial Construction Industry!

February 2024 - Monthly News Update

Safety Training at the AGC

Austin AGC Safety Director Shiloh Rowe has been busy this year teaching OSHA 10/30 and First Aid CPR classes for our member firms, but he has more coming up soon. His next OSHA 10 class is scheduled March 28/29 and the next OSHA 30 begins April 18. He just finished up a First Aid/CPR class this week but he can always schedule one for your team, at your office or ours. Other classes available include flagger training and forklife certification.

We are also offering a national crane certification course from March 28-31. This one will be taught by Paradise Crane here at the Chapter offices.

Contact Shiloh with any questions or to schedule a class for your team!

Learn Spanish Online with Industry Colleagues

The Austin AGC is working with Freestyle Languages, a locally owned company, to offer online Spanish classes to construction companies seeking to improve their company culture and productivity through the power of language. Freestyle is already working with leading construction firms to offer these same classes, and the Austin AGC is now able to offer them to you!

When: Online classes begin April 15 and will be held M/W/F from 11:30am to 12:45pm CST for 12 weeks.

Cost: $795 per student. Max 22 students in class.

More info: Here's a l ink to the full 45 minute demo recording from the informational session the Austin AGC hosted in February. If you prefer a shorter version, here's a 20 minute demo of Freestyle's model recorded separately, but with all model specifics). If you're really in a hurry, check out the slide deck from our February info session.

Questions: Contact Phil Thoden at the Austin AGC

Joint Employer Rule Update

Late last year the AGC of America joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others in a coalition lawsuit challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new joint employer rule. The suit makes clear that the agency exceeded its authority to issue this rule under the National Labor Relations Act and acted in arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.

The new rule unlawfully makes it easier for the agency to declare that a company is the joint employer of another company’s workers. It establishes an arbitrary and uncertain standard that threatens chaos and indeterminacy in business and labor relations across major industry sectors, including construction.

In late February, the judge overseeing this lawsuit issued a stay delaying the effective date of the new rule until March 11. So, the rule is not yet in effect and the judge could still enjoin it before the new effective date.

For info about the rule itself, its significance, and practical tips for contractors should the rule take effect, see: AGC Fact Sheet on NLRB's New Joint Employer Rule (AGC, 2024).

Department of Labor Launches Wage Survey for Central Texas - Two Outreach Sessions Scheduled in Austin

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is asking the building construction industry of Texas to participate in a survey to help the agency establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts for wages paid to workers on federally funded and federally assisted construction projects.

The department sets the prevailing wage rates that reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers in the county where the work takes place. This survey requests information about wages paid to construction workers on building construction projects in Texas where construction occurred between Jan. 29, 2023, and April 29, 2024, in the Austin and San Antonio areas, covering the counties of Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Medina, Travis, Wilson and Williamson. The survey is not limited to federally funded construction projects.

Data collection began Jan. 29, 2024, and ends on April 29, 2024. The best way to participate in the survey is online. To be included, please complete and submit the online survey by April 29, 2024. To submit the information by mail, contact the department at 1-866-236-2773 and request a mailed form.

Two outreach sessions are scheduled for Austin on Tuesday, March 5. The first begins at 9:30 at the City of Austin Learning and Research Center and the second one begins at 2:00pm at the UA Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 28.

Learn more about the surveys.

Official press release here.

AGC App to Access

Austin Building Permits

Have questions about what’s being built in Austin? The Austin AGC BuildIt Permits app has your answers, and quickly!

Now when you see a jobsite you can quickly find out what is being built and by which contractor. Trying to dig out that information directly from the City permitting website can be very frustrating, but the app serves as a "fast pass" to access it quickly.

To get started, simply download the app for your iPhone or Android device. Register your account and then we'll upgrade it to Pro User status. The app works for both commercial and residential builds permitted witihin last year, and it is free to use..

If you previously downloaded and registered for the app but are still unable to access, try logging out and then back in again. All registered user accounts have been manually upgraded for full access.

Austin AGC www.agcaustin.org