CAGC Fights to Keep Construction Essential in the Carolinas

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Mar 23, 2020, 09:22 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Carolinas AGC (CAGC) is urging the Governors of North Carolina and South Carolina to consider all construction to be an essential service in the event there is a shelter-in-place order.

Carolinas AGC is working with the administrations of NC Gov. Roy Cooper and SC Gov. Henry McMaster to help protect public safety in the Carolinas by keeping construction activities moving.

"We are concerned about the possibility that state and local government may be considering a possible blanket shutdown of operations without an exemption for personnel that support construction activities," Dave Simpson, President and CEO of Carolinas AGC, wrote in letters last week to the two governors.

"We strongly recommend that local and state government treat construction as essential services that should be continued in this time of crisis. While there is a risk of communicable diseases in every industry, construction sites are a unique workplace with their own levels of 'social distancing' built in. They also are often tightly controlled, with the required safety protocols and separation from the general public."

CAGC staff – including lobbyists Leslie Clark in Columbia and Betsy Bailey and Victor Barbour in Raleigh – and our members have been working closely with the state Departments of Transportation in both Carolinas and other state agencies to help keep construction services moving to help protect public safety. In addition, CAGC is working with members to deliver much-needed N95 masks to hospitals and doctors' offices. Nearly 500 masks have been donated by members so far. Donations continue to be made in both states, as masks are still needed.

For more information on how COVID-19 is impacting the construction industry in the Carolinas, please visit www.cagc.org/covid19, or email Dave Simpson at [email protected], in South Carolina Leslie Clark at [email protected], and in North Carolina Betsy Bailey at [email protected] and Victor Barbour at [email protected].

Carolinas AGC is the construction industry association in the Carolinas, bringing value to our thousands of members through networking, government relations, job leads, meetings with owners/designers, education and training involving such issues as safety and open shop, and community development. Visit us at www.cagc.org, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Carolinas AGC