Thursday, October 6
At the Monday afternoon General Session, two new organizing tools were introduced: a video, entitled Organizing for the 21st Century, aimed at non-union contractors, and a poster with the tagline, “Building a Better Future for Masonry Craftworkers.”
BAC President John J. Flynn noted, “The BAC/IMI training system and our skilled workforce are our most effective organizing tools in winning over the non-union masonry contractor. In the simplest terms – we have what they need.”
The video features compelling testimonials by Local officers and contractors – both longtime and recently signed – who identify the BAC/IMI training system as central to why employers sign and stay with the Union.
Mackie Bounds, newly signed President and CEO of Brazos Masonry in Texas, compared two recent jobs, one before and one after he signed, as “daylight and dark.” The difference, in a word, was “training,” according to Bounds.
His attraction to this undeniable BAC-advantage and his signing with Local 5 Oklahoma/ Arkansas/Texas President Ed Navarro were the subject of a positive Wall Street Journal article, “Union Advances As Key Source Of Skilled Labor,” that appeared on October 4th.
Delegates were urged to utilize both new organizing tools by showing the video to members and prospective contractors, and displaying the poster in their Local Hall and training centers.
Non-union contractors want and need what only union training programs provide – a steady supply of skilled craftworkers, Mark Breslin told delegates, underscoring the theme of the Union’s new organizing video. Breslin, Executive Director of the Engineering and Utility Contractors Association and author of Organize or Die, said that it’s up to union leaders to pursue and market the unionadvantage to employers more aggressively.
A fourth generation contractor, Breslin urged the delegates to apply business-oriented strategies to organizing initiatives. These include creating a positive, professional image of the Union and our workforce, instituting a code of excellence for members, identifying the needs of non-union contractors, and doing away with terms such as “rat” and “scab.”
Using the airline industry to illustrate this last point, Breslin asked the crowd how they would feel if, on their way home, employees of a competing airline started calling them names. “Would that make you want to book a flight with them?” Breslin asked.
These are all essential organizing tactics that can help unions build work opportunities for members and their employers.
|
|
|