January 28, 2008

Barger leads AGC chapter this year

AGC members can take comfort in knowing their 2008 president is a Harvard Business School graduate even though he works with sewage for a living. But that's a good thing for Steve Barger of Northwest Cascade, which is known for its Honey Bucket toilets.

“It's a fascinating company,” Barger said, but an unglamorous business.

Northwest Cascade was founded in 1967 to install septic tanks and has grown to offer utility construction, septic and drain cleaning, portable restrooms and wastewater treatment for developments in non-sewered areas. The Puyallup-based firm has been a member of the AGC of Washington since 1971.

Barger said when he joined Northwest Cascade in the early 1990s he noticed how involved his boss, Mark Perry, was with the AGC. Perry served as AGC president in 1995 and Barger became vice president of the association's Southern District in the late 1990s.

“If we're going to benefit from an organization, we need to give back to it,” Barger said.

Barger said his top three priorities as AGC president are: influencing government policy; developing and educating the workforce; and providing value for members.

Government policy

The AGC is putting more money and resources into political lobbying in Olympia. The AGC earlier this month moved Southern District manager Van Collins into government affairs, where he is serving as legislative council. Collins, who is an attorney, served as district manager for seven years in Tacoma.

Collins is also tackling environmental issues with the help of Rick Slunaker, AGC's director of state and national government affairs.

Duke Schaub is working as a part-time consultant after retiring last fall from a 26-year career as a political advocate for the AGC. He is specializing on transportation issues. Christine Swanson will join the Olympia crew on Feb. 1, focusing on regulatory issues.

Barger said AGC staffers are well known in Olympia and are often called upon as experts on construction issues.

The AGC will be studying which candidates and issues to support in this election year. In the previous major election, the AGC supported Dino Rossi for governor. Barger said the association hasn't decided whom to back this year, but will weigh Rossi's pro-business platform with Gov. Chris Gregoire's support of construction industry issues. He said the association could make a recommendation in March.

One of the issues the AGC will push for this year is transportation funding. Barger said they will be looking for “ideas that work” on the heels of last year's defeat of Proposition 1, which sought $17.8 billion for roads and transit in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. He said the AGC put a lot of time and money into Proposition 1.

The future workforce

Barger said the association's pitch to kids about the virtues of construction begins in grade school. Under an AGC of Washington Education Foundation program, select teachers have spent a week on a jobsite as “interns” to see firsthand what construction is about. High school kids interested in construction have received scholarships from the foundation.

“We need to have more people choose construction as a career,” Barger said.

Construction employees can expand their knowledge by attending foundation classes covering a wide range of topics, such as blueprint reading, project management and speaking Spanish.

Barger said the Future Leadership Forum, a new program to the local chapter, encourages younger contractors to get together for networking and education. The forum is expected to meet six times throughout the year.

“It's a matter of trying to get younger members involved in the AGC,” Barger said.

Barger said he would like to see more firms join the AGC because membership has remained flat for several years at around 600.

“I really believe we can increase the membership in the AGC,” he said. “Part of the issue is that everyone has been so busy doing the (construction) work.”

The benefits

Barger said members benefit from the AGC in a number of ways, including political representation, safety programs, continuing education, and workforce development assistance.

The AGC last year negotiated a number of union contracts for its members. Barger said several members were highly involved with association staff in the talks, including Mark Perry as cochair of the laborers' negotiating committee.

Barger said the new union contracts were one of the AGC's biggest successes last year. Another was receiving a record L&I refund for members in the Retro safety program. “We're constantly trying to raise the bar on safety,” he said.

For this year, Barger said the AGC envisions working with public agencies on expanding alternative contracting, such as the design-build and general contractor/construction manager methods.

Barger said the construction industry is highly technical and provides family wage jobs for workers and great careers for managers. “The construction industry is a significant economic force in the state,” he said.

 

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Benjamin Minnick can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.

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