The key issues. The unprecedented circumstances. The local races that matter.
BY A.D. THOMPSON
The more things change, the more they stay the same. For more than a decade, through administrations led from both sides of the aisle, workforce woes remain the top industry concern for AGC members who, despite the nation’s frustrations at our government’s slow pace in getting things done, continue to make it their priority when it comes to nation building. Literally.
“We have a lot of work looking at us for a long time,” says Shad James, president and CEO of Jaynes Corporation, an Albuquerque-based firm and an AGC New Mexico and AGC of Colorado Building Chapter member, “and regardless of what happens with politics, that’s not going to change. We have to adapt to what happens.”
But no one could have predicted the unprecedented events of the 2024 election season, where just 100+ days out from the big day, the top-ticket candidates shifted.
“This election cycle is certainly an unusual one,” said David Ashinoff, senior director of political affairs, AGC of America, “where developments, like civil and criminal convictions, a failed assassination attempt, and one party swapping out its presumptive presidential nominee with just over 100 days until the election, would normally shake up the dynamics of a presidential race. But the 2024 contest remains tight.”
As former President Donald Trump headed into the GOP convention, he enjoyed having Republicans more enthusiastic about him as their party’s presidential nominee than President Joe Biden had with Democrats, a gap that only widened after the June 27 debate. However, this all changed when the president dropped out of the contest and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Her move to the top spot has energized Democrats and given the “double haters,” those voters who did not want Biden or Trump, another option.
“The question remains,” Ashinoff continued, “what voters will do in the toss-up battlegrounds of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin as well as those states that currently lean Democratic or Republican like Arizona, Nevada, and New Hampshire, because it is these voters who will have
an outsized impact on who will lead our nation for the next four years.”
At press time, Vice President Harris was still only the presumptive nominee, but while this may change things at the highest level, it’s the local races that the AGC’s Political Action Committee keeps its eyes on, contributing to candidates based largely on their pro-construction, pro-business stance. (Check out AGC PAC’s Picks box for the key races this year.)
Beyond workforce investment, said Ashinoff, immigration reform, expiring provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and highway and transit reauthorization are top-of-mind issues, as well.
“The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provided significant tax relief for construction firms across the country,” said Matt Turkstra, director, congressional relations, tax, fiscal affairs, & accounting, AGC of America, noting that many of the law’s most important provisions – “the increase in the estate tax exemption, the 20% qualified business income deduction for firms organized as pass-through entities and the ability to fully deduct the cost of new and used equipment (‘full expensing’) are either scheduled to expire in 2025 or already will be.”
Similar deadlines loom in the highway realm.
“Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the president signed it into law in November 2021,” said Alex Etchen, vice president of government relations, AGC of America. “This represents the most significant infusion of investment in our infrastructure since the enactment of the Interstate Highway System in the mid-1950s.”
These programs expire in 2026.
“And regardless of who is in control,” Etchen noted, “the new Congress will have to reauthorize funding for our roads, bridges, transit systems and other infrastructure. The meetings, hearings and debate on what to change and how to find these programs – i.e., gas tax increase, electric vehicle fees, general fund transfer – will begin in 2025.”
Member firms we spoke with seemed confident regardless of the end results. A healthy mindset goes a long way when paired with solid planning. “I have mixed feelings,” said Don Weaver when queried about outcomes. Weaver, former president, AGC Arkansas, and
president of Weaver-Bailey Contractors, has seen many candidates come and go since the firm joined AGC in the early ‘70s.
“The Democrats always pump a lot of money our way, but along with the money comes extreme regulation. So, we would probably sacrifice some of the public funding if we could get the regulations cut back.”
Workforce, always, remains at the top of the list.
“We have been lucky enough to get an apprenticeship training program in Arkansas for operators,” he said. “I think we may be the only open-shop one in the country under the Biden administration … we’re getting it revved up, and internally we try to do a lot of training. It’s about finding the people who want to work.”
Mac Caddell notes that a shift in the nation’s ideology could be the game changer when it comes to workforce development. Caddell is the president and CEO of Caddell Construction, a member of multiple AGC chapters, for 40 years.
“Our country’s culture is that our kids all have to go to college,” he said, noting that his company does a lot of work overseas.
“Other countries have huge amounts of skilled labor,” he said. “And I feel like we have to adjust our mindset from a cultural standpoint, to show young men and women who don’t want to go to college that they can learn a trade.”
Better immigration policies, easier paths to citizenship, said Caddell and several others, could help widen the talent pool, as well.
“Right now, [skilled laborers from other countries] often go to places that don’t have to do federal payrolls,” said Weaver. “They’re out there, working, but it’s a shadow industry. It would be good to have a legal pathway to citizenship, and there are some out there, but they take so long … it’s almost impossible. We’d have more workers if that were structured differently.”
Right now, Caddell noted, the industry is short more than half a million workers. Combined with inflation, he said, it creates conditions where firms can make poor choices.
“You have commercial contractors trying to get into residential and vice-versa before really doing the research…. And on the flipside, a client will go looking for the lowest price possible and so may award a project to a contractor who’s not typically in that market.”
The result?
“Often it’s a much higher priced job that may put a contractor who had the best of intentions out of business.”
And project labor agreements, he said, don’t make the business climate any easier.
“It’s been a huge issue for us,” said Caddell, whose firm works on federal projects.
“Unions make up less than 10% of the construction workforce and by mandating we use labor agreements on all federal projects, there are a lot of jobs that don’t get bid,” he explained. “The ones that do will be higher in cost … you’ll have to drive up your price to comply with the labor agreement to be considered for the project.”
Caddell, who’s done plenty of union work, isn’t opposed overall, “But it shouldn’t be mandated. We should have a choice in what kind of craft we use.”
Choice, noted Ashinoff, is precisely what members will have come Election Day. Engagement, current and ongoing, is crucial to affect positive change in the industry.
“Simply put, we need more and more people to vote, to make sure we are heard loudly and clearly.”
Getting educated on the issues is essential.
“We try to get our employees engaged,” said Weaver, whose team can take Election Day off for the purpose of having their voices heard. “We encourage them to vote and will send out information in the company newsletter.”
At Caddell, quarterly meetings keep employees up on the issues.
“We encourage them to do the research – it’s your duty as an American to do that – and look for candidates who are pro-construction and interested in deregulation … but whether they are my employees or other Americans out there, they seem to be disengaged.”
He speculates that the shuffle of candidates on the Democratic side will energize voters on both sides.
“It’s unprecedented,” he said. “I think it’s going to be very contentious from now until November 5. There’s a lot of energy. First from the Republicans following the convention and now on the other side of the fence. I think that energy will remain high, and that it will energize
more people on both sides to come out.”
For James who, like his fellow contractors, is impacted by the effects of regulation, whose biggest labor constraint is in concrete finishing, flexibility — no matter the outcome — has and will continue to be key.
“I try not to hope for any outcome,” he said. “We work with the outcome we’re given. That doesn’t mean it always aligns with our business philosophies, but we’re in a small market. We have to be able to work with both sides and be a good community influencer.”
Gas and oil, which right now powers the New Mexico state economy, is strong.
“And everyone, universally around the state, understands that might not always be the case and that we’ve got to take advantage of it while it is presenting itself….
“You’re always going to have people on both sides who believe so strongly that they won’t move,” said James. “But I do sense that there’s a movement toward a more moderate approach toward development in our state, people seeing that in order to grow and be successful, we have to work together.”
AGC PAC’S PICKS
Although AGC of America does not endorse federal candidates, its Political
Action Committee, AGC PAC, does contribute to congressional campaigns.
Here are some of this season’s hot races. AGC PAC’s supported candidates
are in bold.
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AZ-6: Former State Sen. Kirsten Engel vs. U.S. Rep Juan Ciscomani
NE-2: State Senator Tony Vargas vs. U.S. Representative Don Bacon
OR-4: U.S. Representative Val Hoyle vs. attorney Monique DeSpain
PA-8: Representative Matt Cartwright vs. contractor Rob Bresnahan
WA-03: U.S. Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez vs. technology
project manager Joe Kent
U.S. SENATE
Nevada Senate: Senator Jackie Rosen vs. veteran Sam Brown
Maryland Senate: County Executive Angela Alsobrooks vs. former
Governor Larry Hogan
Michigan Senate: U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin vs. former U.S.
Representative Mike Rogers
Minnesota Senate: U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar vs. former NBA player
Royce White