Masonry Magazine August 1994 Page. 8
FROM THE PRESIDENT
By L. C. PARDUE, JR.
President, Mason Contractors Contractors
Association of America
For A Few Dollars More
I'VE BEEN a good, loyal union member since 1958 when I began working during the summer while attending school. I completed my apprenticeship, worked in the field and finally took over the helm of our company in 1970. We have been and are currently 100 percent union.
I feel that this preface is needed before I continue with what I am going to attempt to bring you abreast of this issue. I think it is very important for you to understand that I am not a union hating, union breaking individual. Let's look at what the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen have in store for you next time you sit down across from them at the bargaining table.
In a recent memorandum sent to all BAC local officers, John Joyce, President of the International Union, made the following statements and demands to his officers regarding contributions to the International Masonry Institute.
"That full participation in IMI is not just 'desired' or 'suggested' or 'urged' it's required by convention action."
The "full participation" they are looking for amounts to three percent of their total wage and benefit packages. I don't know what that amounts to in your neck of the woods but in my little corner of the world it amounts to 85€ an hour. The total amount they are looking for is in the rough vicinity of $60-million dollars a year.
The memorandum continues, "If you anticipate any problems with your employers on this matter, contact your IU Regional Representative immediately. Failure to do so will result in the initiation of IU proceedings against the local. Well I guess that about says it all. If your local BA doesn't get you to sign up they are out of a job. Last time I checked contributing to the IMI was not a mandatory bargaining item.
If you have a local promotion and training program, look out. Contributions to IMI specified in the suggested new provision are the only contributions permitted to fund local, regional, promotion, training. R&D and labor/management relations programs. That means that if you have any local programs you need not worry about them any more. All you have to do is send your money to Washington and they will do the rest.
I don't know how your local area may be set up, but ours has first class promotion and apprenticeship training programs. No one has a better idea of promotion and training needs than the people in their own local areas. The IMI attempts to address that in its basic concept. In areas that have no local promotion or training, this approach makes a lot of sense but not in regions that have on-going first-rate programs.
On December 7th (why does this date seem significant to me), and on two other subsequent occasions, the IMI made a pitch to the contractors in Washington and Oregon to take over the management chores of running their local promotion and training programs. After carefully listening to the presentation, the one question that was continually asked was, "For every dollar that we send to Washington what percentage will the IMI guarantee to be returned to fund local training and promotion activities."
The reply was that there could be no guarantees, but they could expect around forty to sixty percent would find its way back to fund local activities. Well the old boys out in the Northwest may seem a little slow at times, but didn't take them long to figure out that if they formed their own regional training and promotion program they could put one hundred percent of their money to work in their region.
After each meeting, the IMI was informed that the contractors were not interested in their proposal. At the last meeting this spring it was learned that the IMI had already leased a building for a regional training center and hired an instructor. One contractor was heard to comment that "he didn't understand what part of "no" the IMI guys didn't understand."
One local area was in the heat of negotiating their contract and the contractors were so infuriated by the push push... push tactics of IMI, that they negotiated the then current 10€ per hour contribution completely out of their contract.
8 MASONRY-JULY/AUGUST, 1994