Associated General Contractors of Alaska representing the industry: helping contractors have a voice.

• Author: Barbour, Tracy
• Position: ASSOCIATIONS

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Associated General Contractors of Alaska was organized in 1948 to provide a collective voice for contractors working throughout the state. AGC of Alaska negotiates collective-bargaining agreements with the unions--seven unions, to be exact. However, today the nonprofit trade association has expanded well beyond its original purpose. It has an active management team that takes a broad interest in the industry.

"We represent the construction industry, and sometimes our representation supports the union side and sometimes it doesn't," says Executive Director John MacKinnon. "Our efforts are to support the industry as a whole."

There's a misperception the AGC logo equates to being union, MacKinnon says. Of the organization's 664 members, 349 are associates, 119 are general contractors and 196 are specialty contractors. "Only about a third of the contractor members are union contractors," he says.

MEMBERSHIP BASE

AGC of Alaska's membership base is comprised of general contractors, subcontractors and industry professionals who are committed to improving the professional standards of the construction industry. These members represent five distinct categories: building division, heavy-industrial division, highway-utility division, specialty division, and associate members. AGC of Alaska members perform the majority of the state's commercial and industrial as well as public and private construction work.

AGC has three types of members: contractor, associate and affiliate. A contractor, as defined by the organization, is any individual, firm or corporation who, by agreement with another party, undertakes to execute work in its entirety or as a subcontractor and who executes such work in whole or in part with its own construction forces. Only contractors with an established reputation for skill, integrity and responsibility are eligible for this type of membership. Contractor members also are members in Associated General Contractors of America.

An AGC associate is any individual, firm or corporation engaged in the manufacture or merchandising of materials, supplies or equipment to contractors, or in the furnishing of services to the industry, such as banking, bonds, insurance, architecture, engineering, transportation, or any other service not normally performed by a contractor. An affiliate is any individual sharing concern and interest in the construction industry.

SKILL, RESPONSIBILITY, INTEGRITY

As part of its mission, AGC...