Masonry Magazine January 1977 Page. 47
IMI
INTERNATIONAL MASONRY INSTITUTE
URGE LOCAL SUPPORT
Contractors, Union Launch
2¢ IMI Promotion Drive
In an effort to increase the impact of masonry industry promotion, the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and the Inter- national Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen (IUBAC) have begun a drive to increase contributions to the International Masonry Institute (IMI) from one to two cents per hour.
Costs, Competition Increase
Cited as the chief reasons for the two-cent program, first announced at IMI's 1976 Promotion Meeting in Victoria, B.C., Canada, are inflation, expanding advertising needs and continuing pressure from masonry's competitors.
"Since IMI was formed in 1970;" said George Miller. Executive Vice President of the MCAA and an IMI Trustee, "costs of advertising have increased dramatically. Even with more IMI contributors added to the ranks each month, the buying power of our advertising program at the one-cent level has been reduced. IMI has been forced to delay important promotion programs vital to the future of masonry contractors and masonry craftsmen."
Need For Funds Critical
IMI Chairman Charles F. Vel- ardo, also an IMI Trustee, is urging all local contractor groups to in- crease the rate of contributions to IMI from one to two cents in their collective bargaining agreements. "The need for more promotion dollars is critical," Velardo empha- sized at IMI's annual meeting. "We strongly recommend that local con- tractors include the two-cent pro- motion fund in their next bargaining session or even re-open current agreements so that we may step upour promotion agreementsimmediately.
IMI Goal: More Jobs
Several local promotion funds already contribute more than one- cent per hour to IMI-one as high as three cents, according to Velardo.
"There's no limit on the amount a local area can contribute-and there's no limit on what IMI can accomplish in getting more jobs for mason contractors and craftsmen," Velardo continued. "If the masonry industry unites behind this important new effort. IMI can step up efforts to reach architectural and engineering students, place more commercials on network television and radio, and place more advertising and publicity in major news and business magazines. We must do these things to assure a place for masonry in the future of construction."
Affiliation To Make Masonry
Promotion More Efficient
The International Masonry Institute has unveiled a progressive plan designed to strengthen local- regional promotion groups and to streamline and unify masonry promotion efforts throughout the United States and Canada.
The move to establish IMI "Local-Regional Affiliates" was announced at the IMI promotion meetings in Victoria, B.C., Canada. The announcement came after months of deliberation by the IMI Board of Trustees and Advisors directed toward (1) providing local-regional promotion organizations with official IMI recognition, and (2) establishing minimum standards for the operation of affiliates.
Board Issues Statement
An IMI policy statement on the new program encourages local- regional groups to apply for status as IMI affiliates, according to George Miller, Executive Vice President of the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA). Miller, an IMI Trustee, elaborated on one of the chief goals of the program, stating a need to "insure that all major building markets have a local or regional promotion operation. In some cases, this may require the creation of a regional promotion organization."
The MCAA and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen are urging their members to work to have local promotion groups support the new program to assure maximum local, regional and international masonry promotion effectiveness.