Continuing Education Big Draw for Local Leaders
Program Keeps Momentum After 28 Years

From left, BAC Executive Vice President Gerald O'Malley presents a BAC memento to Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) with some help from longtime Stabenow supporters Local 1 MI President Ray Chapman and Secretary-Treasurer Charles Colo.

August and the Midwest’s unpredictable weather go together like Notre Dame and football. Just steps away from the Irish’s venerable stadium, the BAC Local Leadership Conference’s opening session was getting underway on the afternoon of August 3. First, the lights went out. Next, word arrived that a line of severe thunderstorms would detain guest speaker, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), who was driving over from Lansing. Then the tornado sirens started to blare. But the ‘luck of the Irish’ prevailed. The lights went back on, Senator Stabenow miraculously arrived on time, and no tornados touched down. As the first day drew to a close, registration for 2003, the Conference’s 28th year, had reached a record high.

What’s the attraction? According to BAC Secretary-Treasurer James Boland, “Our Local leaders want the best for their members, and staying up-to-date is critical to achieving that. The Conference offers Local leaders the latest information on innovative programs and tools being developed or used by our Locals, the IU, and other unions.”

Terri Brown, Secretary-Treasurer of Roofers Local 135 in Phoenix, outlines the union’s innovative and successful campaign to organize the southwest's residential roofing market.

In addition to the integration of the initial findings of the Union’s strategic plan – the Millennium Morning Project (MMP) – into the Conference program, Local leaders had a pivotal opportunity to provide additional feedback to the IU on the Project. An entire afternoon was set aside for Local leaders to discuss and comment on labor force trends, industry development, market share expansion and residential organizing, and to suggest ways to address specific challenges. Their comments and suggestions have been referred to the BAC Executive Council for review at its October meeting. A total of four MMP Work Groups were conducted, each facilitated by a BAC Executive Council member, including Al Catalano (2 NY), Ray Chapman (1 MI), Bob Fozio (N. OH ADC), and Don Hart (BAC Region 3 Director who filled in for Don Brown of Local 1 MO, who was unable to attend).

Architect Chris Huckabee, AIA, whose Fort Worth firm specializes in school construction, spreads the message about the use of masonry materials in combating mold.

Guest speakers at the plenary sessions were especially well received. Besides Senator Stabenow, architect Chris Huckabee, FAIA, gave a compelling presentation on the use of masonry to combat mold in construction, and University of Michigan Business School Professor Jeff DeGraff spoke on achieving innovative organizational change.

When asked what changes he anticipates for next year’s program, BAC President John J. Flynn, who missed the initial excitement due to pressing AFL-CIO meetings in Chicago (see related article, Page 6), responded, “We’ll start working on that soon, but I think we can do without the power outages and tornado sirens.”