Building Power

JOURNAL: ISSUE 1 - 2016

In the last issue of the Journal, I focused on the critical need for BAC members and their families to register and vote. It has been several months since that issue landed on your doorstep, and since then Locals and ADCs throughout the U.S. have engaged in aggressive voter registration campaigns. The response from the membership has been tremendous, and I applaud the leadership that our Locals have shown in this effort. 

As the last Journal went to press, members in Canada helped elect Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister who began his term by doing what no Prime Minister in 50 years has done: by sitting down with Canadian Labour Congress and more recently, meeting with Canada’s Building Trades (see page 20 for more information). These meetings give us hope for a new era of partnership. This is an example of what voter engagement can do—create a more responsive government, focused on how to keep people working, keep corporate interests in check and help provide what is needed for healthy communities.

BEYOND VOTER REGISTRATION

Registering to vote is just the first step in the process, so we have also focused on each Local and ADC having conversations with EVERY BAC member in their jurisdictions. These conversations are critical for our movement as a whole, and we’ve been reminded of a truth we can be proud of: our members are interested in talking to each other about the issues that matter in their lives, and they want to help create a changed economic reality. When asked about the issues most important to you in the upcoming election, we’ve heard insightful concerns ranging from jobs and the economy, to climate change and healthcare. As a Union, we need partners in government and in industry to secure good jobs, to protect our environment and to improve the healthcare systems in the U.S. and Canada. We can’t always pick our employers, but we CAN choose our governments. By the time this reaches you, the primary process for U.S. elections will be nearly half over, but for many states including some of our most BAC dense states, New York and Pennsylvania, the primary elections are coming up. I urge you to participate if you are eligible. 

ENGAGED MEMBERSHIP MEANS A STRONG UNION

Throughout the political process, we are reaching out to members, but member engagement goes far beyond the election. Members are the heartbeat of this Union, and we need your voices in our Union meetings, in our communities, in social media, and in our training efforts. Union meetings are one way to make sure your voices are heard. If there are issues such as childcare that get in the way of your attendance, why not suggest the Local offer childcare during the meetings? Much of our work is done under Project Labor Agreements, many of which include local hire policies as well as apprenticeship standards. During the negotiations for these Agreements, it is often helpful to have apprentices speak out at town hall meetings to talk about the “earn while you learn” benefit of union apprenticeships. Social media plays a growing role in how people get their news and information. Consider sharing union issues on your Facebook page, tweets, etc. As a BAC Sister told me recently, “we need to come out of the closet as Union members!” Finally, our training efforts have increasingly focused on pre-job training, but there remains a need for journeyworkers to take apprentices under their wings to teach newer members our Union’s culture. These relationships can be a two-way street, with newer members helping to show the “oldtimers” how to use tools such as social media to get our message across to our friends, family and decision makers. 

Our new member engagement program, BAC-UP (more information on page 11) is designed to engage members across all BAC industries in helping to move our Union forward.