Masonry Magazine September 2006 Page. 21
Contractor
UPMC Hories
Stevens Masonry continued from page 17 peers discuss building trades in general, and masonry in particular, as a solid career choice.
Again, get involved with your respective associations. Take advantage of continued training offered by the BAC/IMI and MCAA. If we don't promote masonry, who will? A good productive, qualified journeyman mason can earn a good living in this trade - upwards to $40,000 to $60,000 a year, including benefits. We need to get that message out.
Masonry: Where do you think the masonry industry is going to be 10 years from now?
Stevens: In a five- to 10-year outlook, I see masonry losing more and more of it's market share, with the introduction of more different, less labor intensive and less "skilled" methods of construction. Less and less drug-free, motivated Americans want to be involved with hard work and building trades.
I also see the unions losing more and more market share. They are not proactive enough to be competitive. I also see the masonry industry consisting of very large contractors and very small contractors, with the mid-sized builder, such as ourselves, being pushed further and further out of the market, especially on the union side.
Although those candid observations look bleak, we will not give up; it's just another challenge to overcome, and Stevens Masonry will.
Masonry: What do you think will be the masonry industry's biggest competitor in 10 years?
Stevens: Speaking from a union mason point of view, I think the biggest competitor will probably be the third-world, Spanish-speaking immigrants that will comprise the main workforce.
With the masons I've talked to, nobody cares if they're brown, black, yellow or green; all they care about is drug free, quality, good people. If the unions don't organize some of these folks and get them in the workforce as we lose more [workers], we're going to be at a real disadvantage. We're going to have an aging workforce with a high cost value. The industry as a whole is going to change dramatically.
Some of my non-union friends that I know through the MCAA also seem to be affected with this kind of issue. Each group of immigrants that comes seems to cut the price of the one before it. It drives labor down, which is not good for the industry because you will not attract quality people; you'll just attract people to do this for a little while and move on.
Masonry: Which group do you feel has the bigger impact on masonry's future: architects, engineers or general contractors?
Stevens: Architects, by far. They design the structures that we build. We need to lobby architects and educate them. We need to get involved and show the cost comparisons and the lifecycle costs. The most prudent designers and architects will incorporate masonry.
Masonry: What do you like most about being a member of MCAA?
Stevens: I like that they have a technology advantage. I have since asked to join their Legislative Committee. I think they're the only group that I know of that will actually go down and have face-to-face meetings with our legislators. No matter all the different points of view that may be brought into a meeting or all the different contractors, at least you're going there with one voice to express concerns on behalf of the whole industry.
On the union side, with as many years as being a union mason contractor -celebrating 20 years this year-I don't remember once anyone going to speak for us, except they would maybe tell you to vote Democrat or to vote for a certain candidate. I don't remember any kind of forum where you could go talk to them on any of these issues.
I think the MCAA is progressive and they're proactive.