The Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter has named Josh Tompkins as chief executive officer, the organization announced last week. He will begin work by the end of this month.

Tompkins succeeds Mike Salsgiver, who will work with Tompkins during a transition period through the remainder of the year. Salsgiver will retire in January 2027 after 19 years of leading the chapter.

“Mike’s someone I’ve always viewed as a professional mentor,” Tompkins said, noting that he will take advantage of the overlap period to make sure he has all the tools he needs to be successful.

“Josh brings a strong understanding of the intersection between business and public policy, as well as a demonstrated commitment to our industry,” Brandon Flint, president of the chapter’s board of directors, stated in a press release. “T��� board is confident that he will provide steady leadership and build on the chapter’s long-standing work on behalf of our members.”

Tompkins is well-known within the association and has attended a lot of its events, Flint said.

“One of the key factors (in selecting) him was he understands Oregon landscape and can navigate Oregonians,” he said.

Tompkins has experience in business, public policy and regional economic affairs, along with a long-standing connection to AGC‘s Oregon-Columbia chapter. Since December, he has served as president/CEO of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. Past roles include business and talent development manager at Dick’s Auto Group and president of Associated Builders and Contractors‘ Central Texas chapter.

Dick’s Auto Group has been a member of AGC’s Oregon-Columbia chapter since 2017, Tompkins said. The relationship has involved community outreach and sales of vehicles to contractors.

He was also a board member and chair of the AGC chapter’s Professional and Industry Associates Council and vice chair of its Workforce and Professional Development Committee. Tompkins said he has about eight years of experience working with the organization that has provided him with a lot of insight into the CEO role.

“T��� AGC Oregon-Columbia chapter is a very high-performing organization,” Tompkins said, adding that one of his goals as CEO is to maintain that standing.

Other goals, he said, are to ensure members continue to have great experiences as well as dig into workforce development and apprenticeships.

“This is an opportunity I’ve looked at for years as a big career goal,” he said.

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After serving more than 18 years as the chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter, Mike Salsgiver is preparing to retire next January. But he has already begun taking on a new challenge.

Common Sense Institute (CSI), a nonpartisan research organization, announced last week that Salsgiver will serve as its executive director, bringing more than four decades of leadership experience in public policy, economic development, and government affairs to the organization.

Salsgiver has led AGC’s Oregon-Columbia chapter since 2008. Prior to taking that role, he worked in government affairs, public affairs, and economic development. He served the Oregon Department of Economic and Community Development, Intel in Oregon, and U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield.

Though Salsgiver announced his retirement from AGC in January 2025, he is under contract through January 2027.

On Monday, the AGC chapter announced the selection of Josh Tompkins as its next CEO. Tompkins is expected to join the organization in May and then work with Salsgiver during a structured transition period through the remainder of the year.

“My time at AGC has been very gratifying,” Salsgiver said. “Almost 20 years is a long time in a role like this, and I feel very good about the association handing off to my successor.”

Brandon Flint, president of the Oregon-Columbia chapter’s board of directors, said the group is sad to see Salsgiver go and that he has always been a steadfast leader for the construction industry in Oregon.

“He will be dearly missed,” Flint said. “He is a hard person to replace.”

Flint added that his longtime friend has clearly impacted the construction industry.

“You talk construction in Oregon, Mike’s in there somewhere,” he said.

The AGC chapter’s board believes it has found the right person to fill the executive director role and is looking forward to the next generation of leadership, Flint said.

CSI asked Salsgiver whether he would be interested in doing some work for the organization when he retires from AGC, he said. CSI is dedicated to advancing economic opportunity and prosperity through data-driven analysis. He said that AGC has been supporting CSI for a couple of years.

“We’re trying to grow their footprint and establish them more firmly in the Pacific Northwest,” he said.

In his new role, Salsgiver will lead CSI’s efforts to expand its impact through rigorous, data-driven research and analysis, helping inform policymakers, business leaders, and the public on the economic issues shaping Oregon’s future. His background in economic strategy, regulatory policy, and industry leadership positions him to further advance CSI’s mission of promoting economic vitality and free enterprise statewide, the CSI press release states.

Salsgiver will contract work with CSI under his new consultant company Forward Strategies.

“Mike brings a rare combination of public policy expertise, private sector leadership, and deep knowledge of Oregon’s economic landscape,” Cinamon Watson, CEO of Common Sense Institute, stated in the press release. “His experience working across industries and at every level of government will strengthen CSI’s ability to deliver high-quality research and expand our impact in Oregon. We are very excited to have him on board.”

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A coalition of construction contractors this past Friday filed a lawsuit challenging Gov. Tina Kotek’s executive order that requires project labor agreements for most state projects.

The lawsuit, filed in Marion County Circuit Court, comes after Kotek’s order drew strong backlash in the construction industry. The contractors allege Kotek “does not have the power” under the Oregon constitution to require project labor agreements for state projects, according to the complaint.

“We believe that the governor exceeded her executive powers and created an anti-competitive environment, disregarding the advice of one of her own agencies regarding the added cost to Oregon taxpayers,” Mike Salsgiver, CEO of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter, stated in a news release on Friday.

Kotek’s Dec. 18 order requires project labor agreements be used for state-funded projects when on-site labor costs amount to 15 percent of project costs, which would capture the vast majority of large-scale projects.

It comes as the state prepares to embark on major infrastructure undertakings, including the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project and the Interstate Bridge replacement project.

Matthew Mues, a construction attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP who is not involved in the lawsuit, pointed to studies showing PLAs raise costs.

“If the executive order requiring PLAs on public projects in Oregon is upheld and maintained, it will have an effect on open shop contractors, and it will increase the cost of construction of those public projects,” Mues said.

Kotek’s office and allies in organized labor have argued that PLAs will provide labor peace and certainty for big infrastructure projects.

The governor’s office did not respond to messages seeking comment.

“T��� last thing Oregonians can afford right now are the higher costs and cost overruns that come with union-only PLAs,” stated Laurie Kendall, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Pacific Northwest chapter.

“T��� issue is ripe for adjudication because the Governor has directed all state agencies to comply with the requirements of her executive order immediately,” the complaint states.

The contractors may have reason to hope for relief from the courts after a string of legal victories against similar orders.

In April 2024, AGC and three contractors won a preliminary injunction in Marion County Circuit Court against a community workforce agreement, or CWA, that was entered into between the Oregon Department of Transportation and 37 labor organizations. In that case, Judge Jennifer K. Gardiner said the CWA was “specifically designed to prioritize union labor.”

“To suggest that, because bidding is open to everybody, it necessarily creates an open and equal playing field, is simply false and disingenuous,” Gardiner wrote in her order.

Like the earlier lawsuit, this one opposing the PLA requirement was filed in Marion County, suggesting the contractors like their chances in that court.

“I anticipate based upon the ruling they received on CWAs, that was a motivating factor in filing it in Marion County,” Mues said.

At the federal level, PLAs ran aground in January, when Judge Ryan T. Holte of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims found in favor of contractors who challenged a 2022 executive order by then-President Joe Biden mandating PLAs be used for all federal government construction projects costing $35 million or more.

Holte relied in part on a General Services Administration market survey that found PLAs could be expected to increase costs and decrease bidders’ interest.

The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit include a wide swath of the Oregon construction industry: Associated General Contractors’ Oregon-Columbia chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors’ Pacific Northwest chapter, the Utility Contractors Association of Oregon and Southwest Washington, the National Federation of Independent Business, HP Civil Inc., Hamilton Construction, K&E Excavating Inc., Interlaken Inc., Moore Excavation Inc., Iron Horse LLC, Hatch Western Co. Inc., Hydro-Temp Mechanical Inc., North Santiam Paving Co., Berrien Concrete, American Concrete Co., Kerr Contractors Oregon and Emery & Sons Construction Group.

The contractors are represented by Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC of Portland. Kotek is named as the defendant.

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By Chuck Slothower and Ethan Duran
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Construction companies watching material prices should brace for uncertainty, according to experts, as president-elect Donald Trump .

On social media, Trump said one of his first executive orders will be to sign a 25 percent tariff on goods coming from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10 percent tax on products from China. On the campaign trail Trump promised tariffs on imported goods and additional taxes on Chinese goods.

“On January 20^th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump on TruthSocial. The president-elect added the moves were necessary to combat drugs and illegal immigration.

“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our County,” he added.

The U.S. imports the most goods in the world from Mexico, Canada and China as its top-three importers, U.S. Census data showed. Because of how quickly the Trump administration wants to enact tariffs and how tariffs might drive up costs, economists from the largest construction associations said contractors will likely face uncertainty when managing materials prices.

“Heading into 2025 it’s unclear if prices will remain so well-behaved,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist of the Associated Builders and Contractors of America, in a statement. “T��� next administration’s trade policy increases uncertainty regarding construction materials costs. Beyond the implications of potential tariffs, input prices may rise in the short term if purchases rush to import materials prior to the implementation of those policies,” he added.

“Construction is more reliant than most industries on imported materials, parts and components,” said Ken Simonson, the top economist for the Associated General Contractors. “Because the industry is so diverse and obtains materials mainly through intermediaries rather than importing directly, it’s impossible to estimate the share of construction purchases that go for imports. Also, it varies by location as to whether contractors are using domestically sourced or imported materials such as lumber, steel or cement,” he added.

Simonson recalled when then-President Trump enacted 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, which was followed by domestic producers raising prices and contractors experiencing supply chain problems. It’s not clear yet which items will be subject to tariffs and the effects, but another danger is the knock-on effects as other countries threaten to enact their own tariffs in retaliation, he added.

“Both the tariff-induced price increases and the responses are likely to be damaging to construction firms and to the demand for construction,” Simonson said.

If carried out, additional tariffs could result in higher prices for a wide range of construction materials, from Canadian softwood lumber — key for homebuilding — to concrete, glass and steel used in large commercial buildings and asphalt binder used in roads.

“Anything that contributes to further increased price of materials is never a good thing for the industry or the public, in our view,” said Mike Salsgiver, executive director of the Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia chapter.

“Tariffs should be a tool of last resort,” Salsgiver said. “We would rather see the administration engage in full-throated trade negotiations.”

Yet tariffs could be a boon to producers of domestically produced materials, such as Portland-based Timberlab, which is planning to build a mass-timber manufacturing facility in rural Millersburg, Oregon.

“That is going to present renewed opportunity for local production, particularly around mass timber,” said Ezra Hammer, a Jordan Ramis land use attorney in Portland.

Trump’s tariff talk may be only a negotiating position, said Jordan Schnitzer, CEO of Schnitzer Properties, a commercial developer and investment firm in Portland.

“I think President Trump will use that as a threat and not enact the draconian tariffs he’s talked about,” Schnitzer said.

Schnitzer said it makes sense to stand up to nations such as China that he said have committed widespread intellectual property theft. Intellectual property has long been a contentious issue in U.S.-China trade talks.

“China has taken advantage of the United States by basically learning and stealing its technology and ramping up its production,” Schnitzer said. “You can’t blame them, but I think we’re just waking up now that we need to strengthen our manufacturing in this country.”

Schnitzer said he was far more concerned by the prospect of an immigration crackdown than he was by tariffs.

“If President Trump starts going into businesses and rounding people up who don’t have U.S. citizenships, you will see construction projects grind to a halt, you will see service businesses in massive trouble.”

Tariffs could make project financing more unpredictable

While American-made products are important for the industry, the construction economy still relies heavily on imports, said Josh Levy, a partner and co-leader of Husch Blackwell’s Construction and Design practice at the law firm’s Milwaukee office. Materials prices were starting to stabilize after the pandemic and war in Ukraine, but now contractors might have to watch for rising materials and project costs he added.

“T���re’s concerns with how tariffs, if they are rolled out, raise the cost of materials for construction,” Levy said. “I think most people would prefer that the dollars get spent strengthening United States steel suppliers. The reality is that a construction economy relies on (imports), and we already saw a lot of price volatility in the past four years due to nonpartisan issues such as COVID-19 and war,” he added.

“Now injecting policy to make that material likely more expensive is going to impact how jobs move forward,” Levy said, noting that if the next president moves forward with mass tariffs on foreign producers it will raise the cost of construction for projects.

A developer raising money for a project has many plates spinning between different sources of funding, and all sources come together at a moment, Levy said. “And price fluctuation can disrupt putting the funding of a project together,” he added.

Some projects might wait until the materials market stabilizes, Levy said. Others might purchase materials ahead of time and hold on to them when projects are ready to receive them.

Contractors should keep their eyes on materials costs

Because uncertainty is a key feature with the Trump administration and trade policy, contractors will have to watch materials pricing closely in the early days, said Dan Wilson, an international trade and supply chain attorney at Husch Blackwell in Washington, D.C.

On the raw materials side, aluminum and steel will be a “target” for the incoming administration, the former central to a federal case over dumped aluminum extrusions in the U.S., Wilson said. Tariffs are expected to home in on Chinese steel sources and previously loosened trade restrictions on European steel are expected to be in jeopardy as well, he added.

Canadian softwood lumber suppliers fought hard to make progress as their products were subjected to raised tariffs in August, but that progress will likely be wiped, Wilson said. For materials further downstream, steel products in Mexico using inputs from China are on the table as well, he added.

China supplied the most goods to the U.S. and made up 16.5 percent of total goods imports, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. In 2022, China supplied $536.3 billion worth of goods, Mexico supplied $454.8 billion and Canada supplied $436.6 billion in imported products.

American manufacturers competing with imports will have benefits as purchasers seek alternatives, Wilson said. However, those who are physically further away from domestic producers will be most affected, he added.

“One other issue I’ve seen in construction and other infrastructure projects is different ways to assign the risk of tariff liability as a contractual matter,” Wilson said, noting contractors will triage events such as tariffs in their contracts with clients to offset risk.

“You’re really going to have to look at diversifying supply chains with an emphasis on U.S. production,” he added.

Acts such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which were signed by President Joe Biden with amendments preferring domestic suppliers, will likely be amended with tighter restrictions under the Trump administration, he added. Many of the preference rules are centered on steel, leading to more benefit for local steel manufacturers.

After preparing for four years, the Trump administration will likely be poised to flex its powers quickly with little challenge, Wilson said. Construction firms will have to watch and act quickly, as well, he added.

“This incoming administration has done its homework,” Wilson said. “For the last four years they’ve really poured over the statute books and found as many levers to give the president as much authority to act as quickly as possible without much Congressional oversight. So, we might even see quicker action than was the case in the first administration when it comes to tariffs,” he added.

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The two main construction trade associations in Oregon don’t always agree on industry issues. But there’s at least one topic that has them on the same side of the table: their expectations about what to expect from lawmakers during the upcoming session of the Oregon Legislature.

While Democrats and Republicans in Salem are expected, to a large degree, to be in agreement on the issues that will need to be tackled once the session begins on Monday, the leaders of local chapters of Associated General Contractors and Associated Builders and Contractors say they expect there to be wide differences of opinion when it comes to the best fixes for problems such as funding education and transportation projects.

“T���re’s no consensus of what we need to be doing,” said Mike Salsgiver, executive director of AGC‘s Oregon-Columbia chapter. “T��� read on what the problems are is pretty clear. They’re just not agreed on what we need to do to fix them.”

The result, according to John Rakowitz, director of public and strategic affairs for AGC’s Oregon-Columbia chapter, is a session that’s going to keep the construction trade groups’ lobbyists on their toes.

“I see it as a session of great potential downsides and great potential risks,” he said.

While AGC and ABC are holding close their specific strategies for the upcoming session, both groups say their lists of priorities for the session reflect the needs and interests of their members.

At the top of AGC’s list is providing support for Gov. John Kitzhaber‘s education budget, specifically a portion that addresses career tech education. Under the proposed weighted formula, schools that establish career tech programs that meet certain criteria – including offering students at least three credits in the program and providing certificates recognized by industries such as construction – would receive money to help sustain the programs, Salsgiver said.

Kitzhaber’s education budget already has received pushback from the teacher’s union, according to Rakowitz.

“This (plan) is not without controversy,” he said. “This is a budget that says the state is now going to incentivize (schools) if you do certain things, like offer career tech ed.”

The ongoing search for funding to create a more stable pot of money for transportation-related new construction and maintenance also is something AGC is paying close attention to during the session, Salsgiver said.

Players in Salem already are butting heads over transportation funding. Earlier this week, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, told reporters gathered for a media day at the Capitol that he doubted the session would result in a package to pay for new transportation projects and maintenance of existing infrastructure such as roads.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, has said she believes getting a transportation funding bill passed this session is a priority.

A funding package for transportation is less of a session concern for ABC, which has few members who work in that specific sector, said Laurie Kendall, executive director of the organization’s Pacific Northwest chapter.

Instead, the organization – which promotes an open, or merit-shop, approach to business – and its lobbyist Shawn Miller will keep a close watch on several bills related to apprenticeships.

ABC also is focusing its efforts in Salem on Senate Bill 137 and House Bill 2540, which address the expansion of prevailing wage on private projects that receive a portion of funding for a city, county or state government agency.

Kendall’s and Salsgiver’s organizations will realign when it comes to the topic of public contracting and a handful of issues that could affect businesses in general, including the possibility of legislators pushing a bill on statewide paid sick leave.

“We’re watching everything,” Kendall said. “We’re readying our members. … Their voices are the most important part. If (legislators) can hear (a message) from a contractor (or) a business owner, that has 10 times more impact.”

Even before the official first day of the session, Kendall’s group has been passing advice on to its members, getting them ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice to contact their district legislators – with emails, phone calls and letters – to make their voices heard. The trade group also is planning a Legislature day, when ABC members will have an opportunity to travel to Salem to meet with legislators.

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On the seventh anniversary of the start of the Great Recession, it is important to see how far we have come and the crucial investments that are needed to continue to move forward.

After suffering severe job losses during the recession, Oregon is now experiencing above-average job growth of 2.4 percent. The Portland area was the first to start adding jobs in 2010, and has grown steadily ever since. Once the recovery and job gains became more broad-based across the state, employment growth began to accelerate in 2013 and continued into 2014.

And yet, even with these improvements, one in five of the state’s counties – mostly rural ones – has yet to experience job growth. In general, Oregon’s largest population centers have fared best during the recovery. However, with public-sector payrolls stabilizing, rural communities began netting a few jobs over the past year.

Looking back on 2014, we can see that our industry as a whole is beginning to emerge from one of the darkest economic downturns in recent history and is finally on the upswing. As of last year, the average annual wage of a construction worker in Oregon was $51,852 – 16 percent more than all private-sector employees in the state. Over the past five years (from 2009–2014), we have seen a 10.6 percent increase in average construction wages across the state with specialty trade contractors seeing the highest increase over that time period at 16.1 percent.

In line with an increase in average annual wages, unemployment within Oregon’s construction industry fell by 0.8 percent over the past year while employment grew by over 7.5 percent. In the Portland-Vancouver, Wash.-Hillsboro metro areas alone, 1,700 jobs were added from November 2013 to November 2014 – nearly a 5 percent increase.

With 2015 already in high gear, Oregon’s construction industry has hit the ground running. Accounting for nearly 80,000 of the state’s non-farm employees, the construction industry makes up 4.6 percent of the state’s workforce and continues to grow.

From 2012–2020, the Oregon Employment Department predicts the construction industry will grow by over 15,000 new jobs. With 21 percent of the state’s construction industry over the age of 55, there are a large number of baby boomers reaching retirement age as well. When the number of baby boomers retiring are factored in with the need to add skilled workers to a growing industry, over 25,000 workers will be needed by the year 2020. That approaches a net growth of over 26 percent. With construction companies facing more retirements and a lack of skilled workers than ever before, wages will continue to increase as those skills become more and more essential.

This very apparent need to add more skilled workers to our industry highlights an issue that will be a focus of AGC‘s efforts at the legislative level when the “long” 2015 session begins in just a few short weeks: a very shallow pool from which to hire these highly-skilled workers. Contractors know that quality and comprehensive craft training is fundamental to the development of a skilled workforce. In turn, a skilled workforce is essential to a productive and sustainable construction industry as it climbs its way out of this recession.

Over the years and since 2008, over 50 percent of Oregon career and technical education (CTE) programs have disappeared from public schools. As these programs disappeared, Oregon’s high school graduation rate plummeted to a staggering 68 percent. In the Portland area, dropout rates are approaching 50 percent. While there are multiple reasons for such high dropout rates, there can be no question that one clear reason is the lack of an education path for students who are looking for something other than college.

To a recovering state and an industry that relies so heavily on this education pipeline for skilled work, these conditions are simply unacceptable. CTE programs hold untapped potential as an economic and education strategy in strengthening our workforce and Oregon’s economy by preparing students for both college and careers. Because of this, AGC and a broad range of coalitions will focus on continuing the work we started with the first CTE grants in 2011 by working to secure a permanent and sustainable investment in career and technical education throughout the 2015 legislative session.

As well as working for CTE investments, AGC will continue working for commonsense solutions to the challenges facing our industry and its workforce. As we have seen coming out of this recession, highly-skilled workers are needed and rewarded – when the work is there. As our state begins bouncing back, the effects of the lack of a viable, long-term transportation funding package are being felt.

The short-term fixes that were passed at the federal level last year failed to produce the predictability our contractors need to bid for work and actually build projects. As the federal faucet stopped flowing, so too did long-term state and local transportation planning programs, such as Oregon’s Surface Transportation Investment Program (STIP). Because of uncertainty about available federal funds, state and local planning work was suspended. This suspension has halted the ability to get work into the pipeline, has further added to the nearly $12 billion backlog in work, and has even forced a number of contractors to close their doors or look outside Oregon for work.

AGC is hopeful that this Legislature is able to see that essential investments in transportation – and more broadly, infrastructure – are desperately needed across the state. As the official start of the session approaches, we will continue to push an agenda that focuses on growing the economy and producing jobs.

Our industry has time and again demonstrated resilience in the face of incredibly difficult economic times. Now, all eyes are on Feb. 2, when the 2015 Legislature convenes and begins to shape the Oregon of the future.

Mike Salsgiver is the executive director of Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter. Contact him at 503-685-8305 or mikes@agc-oregon.org.

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As an industry, we have a lot to be thankful for this year. We are beginning to see the light at the end of this recession marked by a slow yet steady uptick in construction work.

We are also looking ahead to another long legislative session in Salem and are seeing progress on a key industry initiative to restore funding support for vocational education, known today as career technical education (CTE).

On Monday, Dec. 1, the governor released his proposed budget for the 2015-2017 biennium – nearly $65.5 million of which is designated for CTE at secondary and post-secondary levels. By refilling and growing existing grant programs, as well as making a significant formula funding change, the governor is creating the ability to permanently fund CTE programs across the state.

This critical funding comes at a time when construction companies are facing more retirements and a greater skilled worker shortage than ever before. When you combine the aging of the baby boomers that make up a majority of Oregon’s construction workforce with the need to add more skilled workers, our state alone will need to add more than 23,000 skilled workers by the year 2020.

We as contractors know that quality, comprehensive craft training is fundamental to the development of a skilled workforce. In turn, a skilled workforce is essential to a productive and sustainable construction industry as it climbs its way out of recession. With nearly 60 percent of construction firms in our state reporting difficulty in finding enough skilled workers to fill key professional and craft positions, it is evident that the so-called skills gap – the idea that the skills of the workforce may not be up to snuff for the needs of the workplace – has manifested itself here in Oregon. That gap can be the product of any number of factors, from the rapid pace of technological change to economic uncertainty, but one stands out more than any other: education.

The crippling of the education pipeline for construction can be seen in many educational trends, including the dismantling of public vocational and technical education programs. Over the years and during the recent economic recession, over 600 (50 percent) of Oregon’s secondary CTE programs were eliminated, reducing school districts’ connections to their local and regional workforce and educational leaders.

Similarly, the correlation between Oregon’s dropout rate and the decline in vocational/CTE education is staggering. With a nearly 50 percent reduction in CTE programs, Oregon’s public high school graduation rate fell to only 68 percent as of 2012, a full 12 percentage points below the national average. Oregon’s low graduation rates can be associated with nearly $400 million in costs to the state.

These figures demonstrate that a fundamental change is needed within public high schools to keep students motivated and interested. These are capable, intelligent young people, but they do not perform well within the traditional education environment. If left unaddressed, low graduation rates will continue to plague Oregon’s workforce and economy.

As industry members and leaders, it is our duty to stress that there are alternative paths forward. Apprenticeships and other programs under the CTE umbrella that focus on the development of technical, in-demand skills are examples of these other paths forward.

The CTE of today looks nothing like the vocational education classes of the past. Today’s CTE instruction and work experiences incorporate the integration of academic, technical and employability skills; leverage business and industry resources; and encourage the attainment of meaningful industry credentials and degrees. Oregon organizes CTE programs around six major career cluster areas and 120 career-focused pathways, all of which help students move on from the classroom to high-wage and high-demand careers with meaningful work.

In the 2012–2014 biennium, the CTE Revitalization Grant incentive program (funded by the past two Oregon legislatures) invested a total of $12 million in CTE across the state. As of today, more than 40 CTE Revitalization Grants have been awarded, positively impacting over 160 high schools and middle schools. Of that $12 million, approximately $9.8 million funded grants with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) embedded in the CTE projects, and $9.1 million funded grants that had career and technical student organizations embedded in the CTE projects. This is a wonderful beginning, but greater investment is needed to elevate CTE programs to an economically impactful level.

CTE is reactive to the demands of an ever-changing economy. With the governor’s allocation of the proposed 2015–2017 CTE-specific funds, he continues to recognize what we in the industry already know: CTE holds untapped potential as an economic and education strategy in strengthening our workforce and Oregon’s economy by preparing students for both college and careers.

As it appears now, the governor’s proposed 2015–2017 biennium budget for CTE-specific funds breaks down as:

• $11 million from the K-12 CTE funding formula change

• $30 million post-secondary investment for CTE support and/or strategic initiatives to reverse the decline of CTE and improve student opportunities and state economic vitality

• $12 million for local CTE Revitalization Grants (grades 9–14) and career and technical education student leadership organizations

• $5 million for regional CTE Pathway Grants (grades 9-14 and middle school as appropriate), and

• $7.5 million for CTE youth engagement summer programs.

Together, these funds total nearly $65.5 million.

While the governor’s proposed budget is only the first step in the biennial budget process, it typically sets the tone for the upcoming legislative session when state lawmakers will vote on the overall spending plan. AGC, along with a coalition of industry and business partners, will continue to work toward greater recognition and funding for career and technical education.

For now, we applaud the governor’s work on this critical issue as a means to improve both the construction industry and Oregon’s overall economic well-being. We hope the Legislature will see the wisdom in and the need to support this request as the 2015 session progresses.

Mike Salsgiver is the executive director of Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter. Contact him at 503-685-8305 or mikes@agc-oregon.org.

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The big story of the 2014 elections at the national level is the Republicans taking the majority in the Senate and further embellishing its majority in the House. As was predicted, the Republican wave formed and hit the political terrain with overwhelming force.

As President Obama looks ahead to his final two years in office, he will be facing strong opposition to his policies in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is our hope that the president moves firmly to implement a strategy of constructive engagement and true negotiation with the Republican leaders of Congress, rather than continuously exercising his executive authority without congressional support.

This election, the voters made it clear that they are tired of the status quo; they want action on some key national issues. The 2014 elections create an opportunity to make real, long-term economic advancements. Both parties must leave petty political vendettas and “do-nothingness” by the wayside and produce results, mainly within the economy.

As recently as mid-October, Associated General Contractors was on Capitol Hill meeting with members and staff in the Oregon and Washington congressional delegations to continue our push of an agenda that focuses on growing the economy and producing jobs. Topics of discussion included: the need to aggressively move forward on passing a long-term transportation funding package, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and the Jordan Cove Energy Project. We also raised concerns about a regulatory proposal affecting the “waters of the U.S.” and highlighted again the need for multiemployer pension reform.

The inaction by Congress over the past couple of years on all these issues has created an atmosphere of unpredictability and serious economic concern inside the construction industry. We hope that this Congress proves more receptive to real solutions as we move forward.

Both federally and across the state, the effects of the lack of a viable, long-term transportation funding package are now being felt. The short-term fixes that have been passed as of late are not producing the predictability that is needed by contractors to bid work and actually build projects.

As the federal funding faucet has stopped flowing, state funding has also been sinking. Long-term planning programs, such as Oregon’s Surface Transportation Investment Program (STIP), have been suspended, halting the ability to get work into the pipeline and further adding to a nearly $12 billion backlog in work. Passing a long-term, federal transportation package would get major projects flowing again and give our state legislators the confidence they need to invest in projects at the state level.

In addition to advocating for a long-term transportation funding package, AGC thanked congressional members for taking initiative on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). It is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training and support services necessary to succeed in the labor market, and match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. It is the first legislative reform of the public workforce system in 15 years, and Congress passed the act by a wide bipartisan majority.

The WIOA consolidates and realigns federal funding, allowing for a greater focus on the benefits of career technical education. This move at the federal level reaffirms the benefit of the nearly $9.5 million investment that the Oregon Legislature made for the 2013–2015 biennium in career technical education and will continue to inspire greater investments in career technical education at the state level.

Finally, AGC again thanked congressional members for their work in getting the first phases of the Jordan Cove Energy Project approved, and reiterated the need to advance it further. The south-central Oregon coast has been the victim of decades of economic depression, and a nearly $7.2 billion project would greatly improve the economy there.

The project would provide work for nearly 22,000 workers and infuse a great deal of capital into a struggling part of our state. We hope that addressing the issues of importance to the construction industry at the national level inspires bipartisan work for Congress and further fuels action at the state level.

Legislative action at the state level will continue to look a little different in Oregon than the rest of the nation. While most of the nation was trending Republican during elections in early November, Oregon took a different path and remains a flashing blue light in a sea of red.

Despite the need to wage a defensive campaign in the last weeks of the election, Gov. John Kitzhaber retained his governorship for an unprecedented fourth term. Oregon House Democrats increased their majority by one seat to 35 out of 60. Senate Democrats appear to have increased their majority by one seat as well to 17 out of 30 – pending official results of the Bruce Starr/Chuck Riley race in Senate District 15. These gains put Democrats in both houses within one vote of the 3/5 super majority required for any tax increase.

With the elections (mostly) behind us, preparations for the 2015 legislative session in Oregon are already in full swing. Issues of importance to AGC and the construction industry will mirror the discussions that took place at the congressional level. These include securing a transportation funding package and making a permanent, sustainable investment in career tech education in Oregon’s high schools. AGC will work with a broad range of coalitions to ensure that these essential investments in our industry and Oregon’s economy come to fruition.

Finally, the campaign calls have stopped. Now it’s time to get Oregon back to work.

Mike Salsgiver is the executive director of Associated General Contractors’ Oregon-Columbia chapter. Contact him at 503-685-8305 or mikes@agc-oregon.org.

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An aging workforce and a shallow labor pool means the construction industry in Oregon is facing a shortage of workers – and it will likely worsen before it improves.

Data released Wednesday by the Associated General Contractors of America indicates 83 percent of reporting Oregon construction firms are struggling to find qualified craft workers and 54 percent are having a hard time filling professional spots.

At its peak, in 2006, the U.S. employed 7.7 million workers in the construction industry. By 2011 the industry had lost 2.3 million jobs, or 30 percent of its workforce, AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said.

“When the industry was at its worst we had a 43 percent unemployment rate,” said Mike Salsgiver, executive director of AGC’s Oregon-Columbia chapter. “We’ve found it didn’t take much of an upturn for the industry to be faced with a shortage of workers.”

The industry has rehired about 600,000 workers since the economy began improving, Simonson said, and already firms are struggling to find qualified workers. He attributes this to people retiring, finding other careers and dropping out of the workforce entirely.

“Now that we do have work we’re adding workers at double the rate of other industries,” he said. “But we’re quickly getting to the point where the pool of former workers is depleted.”

Simonson said the construction industry is increasing its workforce by about 3.9 percent each year, whereas the nationwide pace is around 1.9 percent for the last 12 months.

“Fifty-six percent of Oregon contractors have increased wages to retain and recruit craft workers,” he said. “Forty-nine (percent) have boosted base pay rates to attract construction professionals.”

Steve Malany, president of Portland-based P&C Construction, said he pays his employees anywhere from $25 to $40 an hour and offers full benefits.

“It’s not just a job; it’s a career,” he said. “You can support a family on these wages for the rest of your career.”

But if there’s no one to hire, it doesn’t matter how much firms like P&C Construction are offering.

Salsgiver said the average age of a construction worker is 43. The average age of a skilled construction worker – someone who can work unsupervised and has often gone through a formal apprenticeship program – is 46.

ACE Academy, a public charter high school for juniors and seniors, is hoping to educate the next batch of construction professionals, executive director Mark Clifford said.

Students enrolled at ACE take classes at the Northeast Portland campus for half a day, and then return to their regular school for the other half. ACE offers kids specialty classes in architecture, construction and engineering in addition to typical high school classes like English, math and science.

“Some of the schools have similar programs – Reynolds has a construction class, for example – so students can have that and come here to get an education they can’t get at their high school,” Clifford said. “This program is designed not to be just like a regular high school program, but to augment it.”

Right now, four Portland-area school districts – Gresham-Barlow, Parkrose, Reynolds and Centennial – have partnerships with ACE, though Clifford said the school would like to include other area schools and recruit more students.

Malany, who’s serving as president of AGC’s Oregon-Columbia chapter in 2014, said he and the other chapter members at their monthly meeting have discussed how to reintroduce career technology education into local high schools.

“High school officials in this program say graduation rates for the students who participate are up 15 to 20 percent,” Malany said. “It holds their attention because they’re participating in hands-on, real-life situations that help them understand what having an education can do for them in the long run.”

Salsgiver said there has been a clear directive in public schools over the past 40 years to reduce funding to shop classes and similar ones, and encourage students to follow a four-year college path instead. But he argues that not all students excel in a high-tech environment.

“T���re is a clear correlation between a certain type of student, one who likes to work with their hands and isn’t a traditional student,” he said. “Those types of students, traditional classrooms don’t work for them.”

Malany said that AGC and ACE also are making a concerted effort to educate high school counselors that options like ACE exist.

“We’re trying to make people aware that construction is a great industry,” he said. “T���y came through a four-year university, so that’s the way they’re geared. Through training efforts we’re trying to open their eyes.”

Of the Oregon construction firms polled by AGC, 51 percent said the local pipeline for preparing new craft workers is poor, and 25 percent of poll respondents expressed a low opinion of the local pipeline for construction professionals.

“T���re hasn’t been a place for students to go, and we’re trying to reconnect them,” Salsgiver said. “It’s going to take us a long time to rebuild this pipeline.”

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On Wednesday, ballots will be mailed out across the state in Oregon’s unique vote-by-mail system. The construction industry and the workers it employs have much at stake in this election. At a time when the industry is rebounding from the longest and deepest slump of any sector, it is vital that we elect leaders willing to work for commonsense solutions to the challenges facing our industry and its workforce. Statewide, the construction industry employs nearly 80,000 people, and AGC has shown that the active involvement of its members can and does impact elections and public policy.

Elections matter. Their outcomes can have immeasurable effect on the construction industry, each company, and even each paycheck. Over the past decade, our country has become increasingly divided. A small margin of votes may decide an election, so it is important that those who are eligible to vote do so. It is our belief that when employees of our member companies vote, the voices of the business community and the construction industry can be heard.

In off-presidential election years such as this, voter turnout historically is lower; therefore, whichever party can do a better job to activate its base has an advantage. In Oregon, the political landscape is quite interesting, with the full House of Representatives participating in the election and only half of the Senate.

Heading into November, the Legislature is sure to experience substantial transformation with key longtime legislators such as former House Co-Speaker Bruce Hanna, R-Roseburg, and key moderates such as Vicki Berger, R-Salem, and Chris Garrett, D-Lake Oswego, departing. Although the House is currently has 34 Democrats and 26 Republicans, that chamber alone is guaranteed to gain at least 17 new legislators. This means that over 28 percent of the House will consist of “freshmen lawmakers” when the legislative session convenes on Feb. 2, 2015.

For the Oregon Democratic Party, Democrat-friendly issues could boost voter turnout among registered Democrats. That said, if the “enthusiasm gap” – the gap in turnout between those who are vocal during election season and those who actually show up to cast a vote – is as large this year as it was in 2010, Democrats will have a difficult time at the ballot box. Republicans hope that increased nonaffiliated voter turnout will mimic the turnout of the 2010 midterm elections, during which the Oregon Republican Party managed to tie the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives.

In the Senate, the landscape is slightly different. A two-seat gap separates Republican and Democrat control of the Senate, with the Democratic Party controlling the chamber going into the election. District 13 Senator Larry George, R-Sherwood, is the only incumbent not seeking re-election, while the remaining 14 (93 percent) incumbents are running for re-election.

Oregon Democrats are hoping that the number of vulnerable Republican incumbents exceeds that of vulnerable Democrats, placing their party in a stronger position to maintain control of the Senate. Both parties are heading into late fall focused on the close races as well as the influence that the nearly 500,000 nonaffiliated voters can bring in those key races.

Another factor in voter turnout is what issues are on the ballot. Of particular interest to AGC and the business community at large is Measure 90, the open primary initiative.

Oregon is one of only 12 states to use a strictly closed primary process in which the selection of a party’s candidate is limited to registered party members. Overall primary turnout has slumped in recent years. This May’s primary turnout barely exceeded 35 percent – the second lowest on record and the lowest since the state started delivering mailed ballots to every voter in the 2000 primary. Numbers like this demonstrate that only a small fraction of the electorate chooses a primary winner.

Why the low voter turnout? Oregon’s voters are increasingly opting out of the two major parties. Overall, nearly 31 percent of Oregon voters no longer belong to one of the major parties – an increase of more than 10 percent in the last 20 years. This trend is likely to continue with nearly 49 percent of voters 40 years and younger registered as unaffiliated or in one of the minor parties. As a result, a shrinking number of voters can participate in the Democratic and Republican primaries that choose the winners of virtually all of the state’s partisan offices.

Measure 90 would create a primary open to all candidates of all parties. The top two finishers, regardless of party, would advance to the general election. Proponents of the measure say it would empower the growing number of voters not registered in the major parties, and be a moderating influence since candidates could no longer appeal solely to their narrow base of voters. Opponents say it would reduce voter choices in the general election and take away the ability of party voters to choose nominees to represent them. Also, they say similar primary processes in California and Washington produce more problems than solutions.

What all of these facts and figures demonstrate is that showing up matters! No matter the party or the issue, it is important to vote and turn in your ballot before 8 p.m. on Nov. 4.

In preparation for Election Day, AGC of America has proudly relaunched its ConstructionVotes.com website. This website is designed to give individuals – construction employees in particular – the necessary resources for them to cast an informed vote. Information is presented simply to help individuals cast their vote and become more knowledgeable and involved in the electoral process.

AGC believes that when employees of our member companies vote, the voices of the business community and construction industry are heard. Our highly skilled and well-paid industry has much at stake in this election, and the political landscape appears able to shift in either direction. It is important to vote on Nov. 4 not only because elections matter, but because the impact on our life, work and community is guaranteed to be immense for many years to come.

Mike Salsgiver is the executive director of Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter. Contact him at 503-685-8305 or mikes@agc-oregon.org.

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