Updates & Articles

JOHN J. FLYNN President International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers .............................

This year marked an important milestone for our Union. Founded in the 19th Century, our Union grew during the 20th Century and entered the 21st Century in one of the strongest positions ever. On behalf of the IU Executive Board, I want every BAC member to know how heartened we were by the Convention delegates’ strong endorsement, and the opportunity to serve you, the membership, for the next five years.

As we enter the final months of the year 2000, there’s good news to report. BAC’s membership is growing, members are working more, and wage increases are outpacing inflation. And, never in our Union’s history have members had access to such a broad range of programs and services.

As we enter this new century, BAC is in a strong position. But if we are going to stay on course and continue to grow and prosper for another hundred years, then this is the time to plan for the future and set priorities.

At different periods in our history there have been critical junctures when our leadership has had to take a strategic long-term look at its position, and decide on a direction to follow in the future. Twenty-five years ago we rewrote the IU’s Constitution, which streamlined our organization and allowed us to respond to the rapid changes taking place in society, in the labor movement, and in our industry. We also changed the name of the organization to more accurately reflect the broad work jurisdiction of our Union, and to emphasize the unity among our crafts.

Roughly ten years later, in 1985, the issue before us was not whether we would grow, but whether we would survive. The Project 2000 Committee developed a blueprint that has guided us for the last 15 years, and created a new structure for our Union.

Unlike 1985, today the issue facing our Union is not survival, but how we can combine the best of the old with the new to build on our progress, and set a course for the 21st Century. As I told the Convention delegates, “our challenge is to be a Union of the future.”

At the Convention I announced a new initiative, the Millennium Morning Project, that will allow our Union to meet that challenge. Through this project, the new Executive Council will be charged with deciding what steps we need to take internally and externally to expand the unionized masonry industry’s share of the construction pie. The Council will come up with a strategy, programs and priorities. It will be asked to predict the future, and create a plan for our Union to prosper based on that prediction.

The Millennium Morning Project will use two methods to help the Council develop their predictions. The first will involve traditional quantitative forecasting techniques, using available data. The second will go a step further. We will simultaneously conduct a “Delphi Study”—a subjective forecast based on the opinions of industry experts. The Project will involve an in-depth study of all aspects of our industry—from the outlook for financing, to materials management, to the physical work our members do. We will hear opinions from friends and foes alike. We will hear things we need to know—even if we don’t like what we hear. And most importantly, through this process we will open a dialogue and at the same time take a leadership role in charting a course for our Union and the masonry industry.

Throughout this process, there will be opportunities for input from every level of our Union. Between meetings, ideas and proposals generated will be taken to the Regional Council level for further deliberation, and as we come to agreement on different elements we will use Local and Chapter meetings and surveys to gain your reactions and suggestions before our plan for the future is finalized.

On a parallel track, I also appointed another committee at the Convention to review the IU Constitution to ensure that it reflects the organization that we’ve become, is flexible enough to enact the Millennium Morning Project’s recommendations, and enables us to respond to the future.

If you look at what our Union’s accomplished during the last 135 years, imagine what we can achieve in this new century if we work together on the common goal of bettering the lives of our members and their families.

I am extremely proud of this Union and its leaders. Our outlook has never been brighter, and I’m certain that with the participation of BAC members in every Local, 100 years from now our Union will be celebrating another century of achievement.

In closing, I am challenging every member of this Union to join us in creating a new direction that will leave our Union stronger for future generations.