Masonry Magazine September 2006 Page. 18
Contractor
Masonry: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about the masonry industry?
Stevens: One of the biggest misconceptions is that we are just "dumb bricklayers." We are far from that. We all may not have degrees, but our education, for the most part, is self-taught. Without us, buildings would not be built. We are the backbone of the construction site.
A construction management professor once told me, "Masons have the shortest arms in the building trades." We in the class asked what he meant by that. He said masons and mason contractors never pat ourselves on the back! It's about time we did.
Masonry: What would you do to change that misconception?
Stevens: Educate the owners, architects, developers, general contractors and construction managers. Educate these groups by way of the MCAA and various associations we belong to. Promote masonry from within. Educate at the local school career days and job fairs. There are many avenues to utilize. I particularly enjoy the benefits of the International Masonry Institute (IMI). As a signatory BAC contractor, we enjoy the expertise and resources of the IMI, along with the numerous benefits of the MCAA.
Masonry: What are your three biggest concerns in keeping your company successful?
Stevens: A qualified, ambitious, drug-free, intelligent workforce; diminishing market share, and prompt payment issues.
The drug-free, qualified workforce is something I think everyone's struggling with. I see that as being a major problem. I don't see the unions taking this seriously enough. I see them telling the rank and file when the drug test will be held - three months from now at the local union meeting. Well, that's not doing the contractor, or the individual, or the industry any good. You're giving a guy a chance to clean up (temporarily, just to pass the test]. I think it's time for the industry to take it very seriously.
Within the industry, I don't think masonry is thought of very highly. I think we're thought of as grunt workers and hard workers. But without us, you couldn't build America. The people who are so-called "educated" tend to look down on us. There is a bias against the blue-collar worker and the blue-collar construction company. I think one way to help correct that bias is to take the drug problem seriously. Find out if it's out there. Put steps in to correct it. If that means getting a new workforce, then get it. We're not doing anybody any good by looking the other way. The idea is to get everyone to better themselves, and if they want to make a career of it, then be the best. It all comes back to accountability and individual choices.
Payment issues are also a major concern. I would say we're a mid-size company and we find that bond claims and lawsuits that we've dealt with - $50,000 bond claims and under - are just about useless. They will fight you every step of the way, dollar for dollar. For instance, we had a case where we were owed $17,000 or $18,000. We finally got a check for $13,500, and I had to pay the lawyer $13,000. So, you have one year of stress, aggravation.