IMI Annual Meeting Welcomes New Co-Chair and Industry Leaders

Newly named IMI Co-Chair Fred Kinateder at the joint session of BAC’s Labor-Management Craft Committees in February.

The IMI Annual Meeting and Masonry Industry Education Conference in November 2004 brought an important announcement and useful tools for boosting union training resources.

The announcement was the naming of Wisconsin contractor Fred Kinateder, president of Fred Kinateder Masonry, Inc., as Management Co-Chair of IMI. Kinateder will also serve as President of the International Council of Employers of BAC. His predecessor, Eugene George, president of GA Masonry (Ontario), will serve as Past President of ICE. George served as IMI Co-Chair for 25 years. “Gene was always willing to do whatever’s necessary to advance the interest of the unionized masonry industry – our members and its contractors,” says BAC President John J. Flynn. “His dynamic leadership has been instrumental in making IMI the leading force it is today.”

The tools and strategies for building union masonry markets nationally, regionally, and locally included advice from a panel of BAC and IMI officials on creative ways to partner with local resources such as community colleges and neighborhood groups to maximize training resources. Allen Smith from the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department brought a renewed focus on exposing non-union training programs that train few if any craftworkers, and explored strategies that BAC Locals can use.

Fort Worth, Texas architect Chris Huckabee, whose firm Huckabee, Inc. specializes in schools, had encouraging words about the long term cost advantage of masonry. Huckabee, who favors masonry, believes that sustainable construction with quality products and workmanship is actually less expensive over the life of the building, and offers environmental benefits like mold resistance. School boards and building owners are paying attention, he told attendees.