BCTD will follow committee recommendations
At the 68th convention of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CI0, President Mark Ayers addresses nationwide UBC issues at the 15:50 mark of his keynote address.
Don't have time for the video? The following is a reprint from the BNA CONSTRUCTION LABOR REPORT (56 CLR 781) which details actions taken during the 68th convention of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO to address UBCJA tactics nationwide.
Building Trades
BCTD Committee Will Develop Strategy
To Deal With Carpenters’ Raiding, Ayers Says
The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, has established a committee to develop a strategy to deal with what the BCTD says are the ongoing and increased efforts of the Carpenters and Joiners of America to raid the work of other craft unions, BCTD President Mark Ayers announced Aug.
18.
In his keynote address to the 68th convention of the BCTD in
While Ayers said he is committed to “leaving the door open, to both the Operating Engineers and the Carpenters, to one day rejoin our family,†he added, “but, let me be as clear as I can. No one can and no one will, tolerate or condone what the Carpenters have done, and continue to do,†according to his prepared remarks.
For several years, jurisdictional and organizing disputes have arisen between the Carpenters and several of the building trades unions. The Carpenters left the AFL-CIO in 2001, joined the Change to Win federation in 2005, but disaffiliated from CTW in 2008, and remains an independent union.
Earlier this summer, Ayers headlined a rally in St. Louis, which was billed as the beginning of a media campaign in several cities aimed at pushing back against what rally participants said were efforts by the Carpenters to poach work and members from other unions around the country (56 CLR 527, 6/24/10).
Nearly a year ago, in response to raids by the Carpenters of other building trades unions, delegates to the AFL-CIO convention approved by voice vote a resolution urging the union to reaffiliate with the federation or face the prospect of a new AFL-CIO-certified union for carpentry workers that would compete with the Carpenters. Several general presidents of unions in the BCTD spearheaded the push to urge the Carpenters to return to the federation (55 CLR 913, 9/17/09).
Unions Tired of Talking About Problem
A spokesman for one of the BCTD unions, who asked not to be identified, told BNA Aug. 20 that the construction unions are tired of just talking about the problem, and there is “at least some sentiment†for responding to the CJA attacks and protecting the traditional craft lines. He said he believes that the committee will try to come up with concrete ways to address the raiding.
Spokesmen for both the BCTD and the Carpenters could not be reached Aug. 20 for comment.
However, after the AFL-CIO convention last year, CJA President Douglas McCarron told BNA that his union firmly believes that the energies of the BCTD unions “should first be directed to organizing the craft workers in the markets they used to represent, before they divert their members hard earned dues in efforts to reach out to workers they lack the knowledge to represent and the skills or resources to train.â€
Ayers Focuses on Jobs
In his opening speech to the convention, Ayers focused on creating new and sustained job opportunities for BCTDs signatory contractors and members who are being affected by a prolonged economic slump. Currently, the unemployment rate in the construction industry is at least 17 percent or higher.
In his prepared remarks, Ayers outlined the formula for generating new opportunities for the unionized construction industry.
“The key to our success will be predicated upon a simple concept that is central to all human beings. And that is our continued embrace of the power of cooperation and partnership and the ability to establish and nurture relationships. And that includes the relationships among ourselves and our unions, as well as the critical partnerships that we have with industry groups, with construction owners and contractors, with community-based organizations, and with public officials,†Ayers said.
These relationships are vital for the construction unions to “succeed in convincing lawmakers†to support investments and policies that will “create and sustain the job opportunities that our members so desperately need and to position our unions and our industry for favorable growth in the future,†Ayers said.
Noting that in the past the building trades unions failed to accept the fact that “cooperation with employers was the key to protecting the market share,†Ayers said that “today we are achieving success because of our collective embrace of a new way of life for the union construction industry. We have had considerable success in developing new industry partnerships that are leading to new job opportunities for our members.â€
Ayers listed several new relationships the construction unions have entered into in the past three years, including ones with the American Petroleum Institute, the National Petroleum Refiners Association, the pharmaceutical industry, the electrical utility industry, and the nuclear industry. In addition, he said, there is a formal cooperative agreement with the Native American Tribal Councils and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is expected to generate over $400 billion of work on or near Indian reservations.
What happened in Canada...
Former UBC local unions were awarded new charters by the CONSTRUCTION MAINTENANCE AND ALLIED WORKERS of Canada after refusing to accept the consolidations and dissolution's similar to the recent STL/KC merger. Remember the LIGHTS OUT MCCARRON Youtube video? Pat Haggarty is now the Secretary-Treasurer of the CMAW. Under the Local Unions tab you will find each local unions original UBC charter date directly above their new CMAW charter issue date. These men stood together to demand a voice and a choice! This link was a surprise to Local 57 Facts and is in stark contrast to McCarrons UBC.
