Updates & Articles

Report to the Members: Council Unanimously Endorses MMP
May - June 2004

James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees in Canada, used his time in front of the Council to “debunk some myths about Canada’s health care system”and described the steps his union is taking to strengthen the country’s health care system.

Responding to an ever changing and increasingly challenging construction industry, the Executive Council unanimously endorsed the Millennium Morning Project (MMP) report and recommendations at its spring meeting. “These are challenging times,”said IU President John J. Flynn. “This document lays out the steps we need to take to stay ahead of the game and grow.”

The project, which was first announced and endorsed by the delegates to the 2000 BAC Convention, sets forth a strategic plan for the Union to follow in the years ahead. The report includes recommendations for expanding work opportunities for members, improving Union operations and internal communications with members, and addressing pressing issues such as escalating health care costs and capturing a greater share of the important residential market.

“In some respects it is a formidable document,”said Flynn. “We heard from officers in more than one region that it’s a lot to undertake. It is a lot to undertake and sometimes when faced with a big job, the easy path is to focus on why it can’t be done. But we’re not that kind of Union. We’re not a group that takes the easy path instead of the right path.”

Growth Opportunities in the Residential Market

Political strategist Craig Smith, a Sr. Vice President of mCapitol Management, addressed the Council on the most influential factors that could affect the upcoming presidential election. Voters need to focus on all of the other issues, such as jobs and health care, as well as national security.

The MMP findings and recommendations underscore the importance of residential construction to the masonry industry and BAC. As a first step in addressing these recommendations, the Council heard from a panel on how to increase BAC’s share of the residential market.

Joan Calambokidis, president of the International Masonry Institute (IMI), kicked off the panel discussion by reviewing the close correlation between the trend in residential activity and the use of masonry products. According to government data, last year alone in the U.S. more than half of the money spent on construction went into the residential market, and during the last 10 years it has been the largest single construction category. The trend has been similar in Canada where residential construction accounted for more than half of the value of building permits during the last 10 years, and last year alone it accounted for 63 percent of construction spending. Using brick as an example, Calambokidis cited the latest data from the Brick Industry Association, which showed that 81 percent of the brick shipped is used in residential construction and the bulk of these shipments, 76.6 percent, end up in single-family construction.

Bart Henderson, President of Hodsco Construction, an established BAC residential contractor in Illinois, provided the contractor perspective on the importance of the residential market. Henderson, who builds masonry homes for large residential developers including Pulte, KB Homes and Ryland, told the Council that the residential market “may not be as glamorous as others…but it is the bread and butter of the masonry industry.”

BAC Officers Bob Fozio, Director of the Northern Ohio Administrative District Council and Ray Chapman, President of Local 1 Michigan, brought the Local perspective to the table and shared their members’efforts to capture a larger share of this important market. Both officers described the types of agreements they developed to attract residential contractors, protect the members’wages and fringes in their existing commercial agreements and generate new work. In Fozio’s area for example, a statewide agreement was reached under which the residential package represents a fixed percentage of the commercial gross wage package that includes a contribution for IMI and is competitive with existing wages on residential projects. Chapman’s residential agreement was also designed to reflect his Local’s unique market conditions. Since implementing these new agreements, both Fozio’s and Chapman’s Locals have signed contractors and members. “We had to open up the door a little,”said Chapman. “If we hadn’t we wouldn’t have 30 contractors knocking on ours.”The bottom line is that “you’ve got to believe in what you’re doing,”said Fozio.

Added Benefits of New BAC Prescription Drug Program

Fourth generation union contractor and the current President of the Tile Contractors Association of America, Vincent DeLazzero, addressed the Council on his goals to expand the profile and use of union tile contractors in order to “provide more work for the journeymen and employers. If we do this, we will go down in history as the group that made the difference.”

Jim Barta, President of SavRx gave the Council an update on the new BAC SavRx Prescription Drug Program announced in the March/April 2004 Journal and received positive feedback from Locals that have already signed. Ed Navarro, President of Local 5 Oklahoma/Arkansas/Texas, complimented Barta on the smooth transition to the program, noting that his members are “very happy with it.”Northern Ohio’s Fozio thanked Barta for lending a hand with a pharmacy construction project in his area that was planning to be built non-union. Fozio reported, “I called Jim Barta and before the day was out I heard back and now the project is going to be all union.”

“In addition to providing savings on prescription drug coverage to members, our support of unions and union-built projects is another benefit of signing on to this new program,”said Barta.

New Opportunities for Members

Tom Cassutt, Director of Research & Development and Product Services for MAPEI, joined a panel who updated the Council on the new Terratop Terrazzo System, which can only be installed by skilled IMI trained BAC craftworkers.

Dr. Susan Schurman, President of the newly accredited George Meany Center –National Labor College, (GMC-NLC) reported on their newest degree program, the Bachelor of Professional/Technical Services or BPTS, designed especially for members of building trades unions. Described by Schurman as an “upside down”approach to higher education, students, many of whom are already working, won’t have to wait to complete their core acedemic courses before pursuing study or work in a chosen field. Building trades members who apply to the BPTS program will be eligible to receive a significant block of college credit (contingent on the agreement between their international union and the GMC-NLC) for their work experience and participation in a union apprenticeship and training program. Another plus for working members is the ability to complete required courses entirely online, reducing travel expenses and time away from the job.

President Flynn noted that the International Union is in the process of finalizing the number of credits and requirements that BAC applicants to the BTPS program would be eligible to receive. As soon as that process is completed, “The IU will publicize this program through the Journal, in apprenticeship classes, on our website, and through information distributed to the Locals for members,”he said.

Dr. Schurman also outlined another new GMC-NLC program –the Civic Participation Internship. Designed to allow members to earn academic credit for work on behalf of various community groups, including political candidates or campaigns. Internship credit can also be applied to any GMC-NLC degree program by members who are already enrolled or who enroll in the future. To underscore the IU’s support for the program, particularly as a way to generate political involvement by members in their communities, President Flynn announced the IU’s sponsorship of up to ten Civic Participation Internships for members recommended by their Local’s principal officer. [For further information about these programs, please contact the BAC Education Department at 1-888-880-8222, ext. 3110.]