Thank you to AGC partner CSDZ for this morning's presentation on "Breaking the Stigma Barrier: Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention in Construction." Click for the presentation slides if you missed today's event; a recording will be available on CSDZ's website next week.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but promoting mental health and preventing suicide in the construction industry must be a perennial focus, considering the sobering fact that more construction workers die by suicide each year than by all other construction-related fatalities.

CSDZ offers more resources here, and the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention offers many resources (including posters, tool box talks, wallet cards, and hardhat stickers) on their website.

Congratulations to Veit & Company, Inc. on their new CHASE Level 3 "4th Street Reconstruction" project in Minneapolis!

Level 3 is the highest level of recognition for jobsite specific projects within the CHASE Partnership with MNOSHA. View all the Level 3 projects here.

We live in a world where new technologies are outpacing adoption rates. Many times when you bring home a new piece of technology, whether it is a computer, television, or phone, it is already obsolete. The consumer’s desire for the newer and better means that companies need to focus on new products ahead of launching the latest model. The world is changing fast and, yet, as the common person drives past a construction site, they still see big yellow machines moving dirt – the same as it has always been. How could anyone change the way you move dirt? Learn more

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis continues to track the pandemic’s effect on the construction sector, a bellwether for the broader Ninth District economy. Responses to the latest survey currently include more residential than commercial construction, and they would love to hear from the commercial construction industry.

The 2021 legislative session wrapped up on Monday, May 17^th. Over the last decade, it’s become common for the Legislature to come back for a special session to finish their work. 2021 is no different. This year, they’re tasked with passing a two-year state budget in the ballpark of $55 billion dollars.

Even though a budget was not passed, there is broad agreement by the Senate Republicans, House Democrats, and the governor on budget areas, commonly referred to as budget targets. The agreement incorporates over $1 billion of the $2.8 billion total coming to the state from the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP). The Governor will allocate an additional $500 million of the ARP funds to pandemic-related programs and expenses. Legislative leaders will assign the remaining $1.2 billion during the next regular session, which begins on January 31, 2022.

Conference committees of five Senators and five Representatives will be reconstituted as informal working groups to negotiate important budget and policy provisions. Leaders have instructed working groups to wrap up spending plans by May 28^th and policy language by June 4^th. These deadlines anticipate a special session on or by Monday, June 14^th, which is when they are expected to go back to vote on extending the Governor’s emergency powers. A two-year budget must be passed by June 30^th to avoid a state government shutdown.

There has been little work conducted in public (via Zoom) by the informal working groups thus far; although, there are some indications that the Capitol could be open to the public by the time special session is called by Governor Walz. AGC Government Affairs staff continues to advocate with legislators in our priorities, particularly with a potential bonding bill, transportation spending, and numerous policy provisions. Please reach out to Laura Ziegler, AGC Director of Government Affairs, with any questions or real-time updates.

Sign up for our new platform for legislative action alerts! We are going to need your engagement in the closing days of the state legislative session, and you are the construction industry’s best advocate. Thank you for your time and advocacy!

AGC has released a new Culture of CARE resource. The Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Assessment is an online tool developed specifically for firms in the construction industry to measure and improve the management of their current diversity & inclusion programs, policies, and practices. Participating companies will be asked performance-based questions in four key areas of diversity and inclusion:

Upon completion, companies will be able to analyze results and measure their progress. As the assessment becomes widely used, companies will also be able to benchmark their practices against other construction firms and download best practice resources to expand D&I efforts. For more information about the assessment, please read the FAQ’s.

Join us on September 15 at Minnesota Horse & Hunt Club for our annual fundraiser! Funds raised are used for scholarships for students pursuing degrees in the construction industry.

Get all the details and register here.

Register for this free June 9th webinar here.

Join us on August 6 at Keller Golf Course in Maplewood!

Get all the details and register here.

Don’t forget all the benefits of using your AGC member agreement with Batteries Plus: Volume discounts, delivery services, quality products, personalized recommendations and much more. Need something? Register or login to start saving today!