Masonry Magazine April 2006 Page. 26
State of the Association
White Sox in 2005, maybe this year the Cubs? And hockey finally returned to the ice, but did anyone notice? The year of 2005 was truly a memorable year for all of us.
Coming Together to Advance Our Industry
YEAR 2005 was a memorable year for those of us in the masonry industry as well. As an industry, we faced many challenges that tested our ability to work together. At a time when we need to be unified like never before and face the threat from competitive systems, our friends have used valuable resources in advertising against each other, instead of our true competitors.
The MCAA has made it our top priority to come together to advance the masonry industry. Through input from our members, our Long-range Plan calls for the MCAA to provide the leadership to unify the entire industry. We must keep the focus on our true industry threats - tilt-up and precast - and not allow our industry to turn on one another, which only allows competitors to have an open field in which to compete.
To accomplish this goal, MCAA's senior officers held numerous meetings with our counterparts from the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA), the Brick Industry Association (BIA), the Building Stone Institute (BSI), the International Council of Employers and the trade unions. We have begun to break down the walls that for years have separated and splintered our industry. I am pleased to report that our meetings were successful in reconnecting with our friends. In meeting after meeting, we all agreed that we must set aside those issues that divide us and focus on the issues that unite us. As a result of our meetings with the NCMA, BIA and BSI, we agreed to transform the MCAA Legislative Conference that was successfully re-launched last year into a new, co-sponsored Masonry Industry Legislative Conference this coming April 24-26 in Washington, D.C. Members from all four national associations will travel to our nation's capitol to meet with our elected leaders. We hope to educate our representatives in Congress and the Senate on issues that can impact the ability for our industry to expand.
As national associations, we have only begun to work together. Our associations are also looking into combining our workforce development efforts, to identify how we can increase our labor force and our ability to expand our markets. I am pleased with the progress we have made with this unity, all to advance the interests of the masonry industry.
This past year, we continued to strengthen our ties with many of our chapters. We must look to many of our chapters to help the MCAA obtain the needed resources to expand the effectiveness of the national association. In 2006, we will call on all of our state and local affiliates that do not have 100-percent membership in the national association to bring those non-members into the MCAA fold. I asked the MCAA to identify the top state groups that have not affiliated with the Association and to tell me what the impact is from this lack of member-24 Masonry April 2006 www.masoncontracters.org
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