2007 BAC Local Leadership Conference
Leadership in Action

Author and noted populist Jim Hightower encouraged Local leaders to “strategize, organize and mobilize to take our country back from the thieves in high places who are stealing our middle class possibilities.” Hightower took particular issue with the Bush Administration’s boastful claims about creating more jobs. “The issue is not jobs,” Hightower reminded Local leaders. “Slaves have jobs. The issue is wages.”

The word “leadership” may be embedded in the name of the International Union’s longest running continuing education program for Local Union officers and field staff, but for IU President John J. Flynn, the future of BAC depends on putting “leadership” into action.

“A title alone does not make a leader,” Flynn said as the 2007 Local Leadership Conference convened in August, “true leaders are those who exhibit leadership by using the tools they’re given to further our industry and Union.”

With leadership as the conference theme, a cross-section of more than 300 Local Union officers, field representatives and organizers spent four days at the University of Notre Dame gaining insights, tools and strategies to help translate the Local Union Operating Standards and Code of Conduct (see page 19 for more on the Code) into actionable goals and targets, which together will advance the Union’s strategic plan for increasing membership, market share, and ultimately jobs for BAC members.

The conference’s impressive roster of guest speakers included populist author Jim Hightower, television commentator and columnist Mark Shields, immigration attorney Brian O’Dwyer, and U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI). In addition to the general sessions, all participants attended a series of “Core” workshops: a hands-on seminar on emerging masonry materials with manufacturing representatives; a case study of labor’s successful fight to defeat a right-to-work initiative in New Hampshire; and a session on the economic costs and union busting potential of employers that misclassify their employees as independent contractors (see page 18 for more on worker misclassification).

As Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) tows the Party line on a number of issues but courageously deviates from the Republican script on Davis-Bacon/Prevailing Wage protections on federal projects and the outsourcing of jobs overseas. McCotter said he owes his understanding of, and appreciation for, working Americans to his grandfather, an immigrant Irish bricklayer. Immigration attorney Brian O’Dwyer, center, talks with Local leaders after his presentation on immigration case law and related challenges and opportunities for Local Union organizing efforts. O’Dwyer cautioned Local leaders about getting caught up in the heated rhetoric surrounding the debate. “The enemy is not the poor worker who has come to this country to look for a better place to work for him and his family,” said O’Dwyer. “The enemy is the unscrupulous contractor who is taking advantage of that worker’s misery to make misery for your Union members.”

During the “Elective” portion of the program, Local leaders mapped out their own schedules, choosing workshops based on their Local responsibilities. Principal officers explored ways to improve how they manage staff and make hiring decisions. Many financial secretaries opted to brush up on their budgeting skills. There were refresher courses on the International Union’s Trade Jurisdiction and Steward Training programs, and updates on training, safety, legal issues, and DOL reporting requirements. Computer software training, effective Internet search techniques, and maximizing use of the Dodge system were also offered. A session on the new BAC Health Care Purchasing Coalition proved to be an especially popular choice.

There was even time for Local leaders to exchange ideas and strategies for success, which they did at the conference dinner following the presentation of the BAC Craft Awards (see “Celebrating Excellence in All Our Crafts,” Issue 5 2007 Journal). At another conference-wide function, attendees listened carefully and compared notes as presidential candidates responded to union members’ questions during a televised AFL-CIO-sponsored presidential debate in which Hillary Clinton earned high marks from many of the viewers.

For first-time attendee, Local 1 Rhode Island Organizer Vinny Keeble, the conference was “very educational.” One of its most important take-aways for him was “a better understanding of the need to get more members informed on issues such as health care, and how important it is to our Union and our trades to get out and vote.”