Masonry Magazine April 1985 Page. 16
PLANNING & EDUCATION
Prosperity does provide an opportunity to solve these other major problems. But we have to be careful-it can also lull us into thinking that the other problems already are taken care of, or are not so important after all.
The problems we encounter and the progress we make as mason contractors are reflected in the state of affairs of this Association. At this Annual Conference, a number of contractors we might have expected to see in previous years will not show up. Some have gotten out of the mason contracting business and have gone into other and related businesses. Some have retired. Some have passed on.
We miss them as friends and fellow contractors. We miss them also as members of and contributors to this Association. Over the past three years, MCAA has lost a significant number of members. This subtracts from the Association's strength in our industry, as well as the Association's ability to serve us through its many programs.
It is not safe to assume that this negative membership trend will reverse itself now that business is better and may continue that way. We have to address this problem directly and effectively if we are going to be able to continue to count on MCAA to help us. I believe that we should be able to depend on help from the Association in the years ahead. After all, we certainly depend on it now far more than we usually recognize.
The services MCAA renders begin with, but go far beyond the traditional "bread and butter" areas of labor relations and legislative/regulatory issues. But stop for a moment with those and try to imagine the difficulties all of us would have in those fields if we did not have an effective Association to speak and act for us? The prospect would be overwhelmingly difficult for us.
"Our relations with the Bricklayers and the Laborers are in a dynamic, developing phase."
Our relations with both the bricklayers and the laborers are in a dynamic, developing phase and require constant attention. A year ago, we had just completed work on an addendum to the IMI "disputes settlement plan"-one which gave the national organizations the ability to jointly intervene at the local level in order to help keep us competitive. This year, we have agreed with the laborers on a new type of contract-a participatory type which will be implemented at the local level which should help us improve our working relationships.
Several representatives of MCAA, including myself, Past President Eugene George, Secretary C. DeWitt Brown, Jr., and Executive Vice President George A. Miller made a presentation to the Project 2000 Committee of the International Bricklayers' Union in 1984. The Project 2000 Committee is a long-range planning group composed of BAC representatives throughout the United States and Canada. Our presentation to the group was designed to give the mason contractor's perspective on the state of our industry right now, and the problems and opportunities we see in the next 15 years. We were pleased that we had an opportunity to put that point of view forward in a frank and open manner.
The work of Project 2000 is to draw up a "blueprint" to guide the Union's development between now and the end of the century. The Committee has indicated that it regards organizing, training, promotion and research as priority issues, and all of these are critical to us, as well.
The other ways in which MCAA helps us are numerous and, in many instances, reflect the changing conditions of our businesses.
At this Annual Conference, MCAA is presenting a seminar on "Computer-Assisted Estimating" and a seminar on the "Rehabilitation/ Restoration Market," the former representing a new way of performing a basic task, and the latter reflecting our interest in a new and promising market.
Also at this convention MCAA is extending the work initiated more than a year ago to encourage mason contractors in their marketing efforts by holding a seminar on "Masonry Systems Marketing."
Over the past year the Association has provided educational programs on stone panels, both as a market requiring a special approach and as a system requiring special handling. It has also promoted joint ventures by mason contractors with others as a means of competing for the market now dominated by metal
"An important area of discussion within MCAA has been a program of mason contractor certification, perhaps leading to warranties covering the work we do."
building manufacturers, and as a means of promoting loadbearing masonry design and construction.
Later this year, MCAA will offer to members a course in financial management, clearly an area of great importance and one where there is a great need.
An important new topic has, over the past year, risen to the discussion level within MCAA. That topic is the potential marketing and membership advantages of a program of mason contractor certification, perhaps leading to the establishment of warranties covering the work we do. Obviously, these are complicated matters that would require and deserve the most careful development. But their appeal under present market conditions in which designers and owners are looking for assurances of quality, durability and safety, along with economy, cannot be denied.
Certification and warranties have been discussed at MCAA meetings. They have also been given consideration at IMI Program Board and Board of Trustees meetings. This is a long-range issue-one that will require time to develop effectively.
In pursuing all these issues and others, MCAA has enjoyed outstanding and generous contributions by all its standing committees. Without the help of committees, much MCAA work would not get done. For example, the Materials-Handling Committee has now published a manual, "Proper Procedures for Job-Site Masonry Materials Handling," which is the result of many hours of work and which is certain to prove invaluable.
All of the foregoing are examples of ways in which the Association works directly to advance our welfare. It also works indirectly towards the same goal by making it possible for us collectively to participate in a wide range of joint labor/ management programs with the International Bricklayers Union and its local affiliates. Such joint programs have been created where MCAA and BAC have a shared and mutually-appreciated interest, and where the two organizations working together can respond to their interests better than they can on a unilateral basis.
The Bricklayers and Trowel Trades International Pension Fund, since its founding 12 years ago, has become a mainstay of joint labor and management efforts in masonry to stabilize and increase the mobility of our skilled work force.
The programs of the International Masonry Institute cover a broad range of areas, and constitute a major resource for us. IMI's Market Development Program, designed to help us maintain and expand our markets, in the past year has made great