That Fighting Spirit

JOURNAL: ISSUE 2 - 2012

Conventional wisdom holds that U.S. political campaigns don't really start in earnest until after Labor Day (Labour Day in Canada). Whether or not that's accurate, I respectfully suggest there would be wisdom in our taking a few moments during the upcoming holiday, a day that is 
rooted in decades of sacrifice, perseverance and activism, to reflect on those who came before us and on the future direction of the labor movement and our respective nations. This fall's presidential election in the U.S. will decide not only our economic future, but the fundamental vision of America – we'll have a choice between an America that honors working people and values the contributions of skilled union trades workers to our communities and our economic growth, or an America that openly disparages many of the ideals that inspired the first Labor Day observance and those that followed.

Labor Day is a reminder that no one handed us the rights and benefits we enjoy as BAC members. They were fought for and won. No one gave North America a pass some 70 years ago when tyrants threatened our democratic way of life. We fought back and won with the help of patriots like Brother William Tomko (page 29) who epitomizes that fighting spirit. And when terrorism raised its ugly scepter a little more than a decade ago, we responded first with force in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and later, with a moving national memorial built with skill and pride by the members of Local 1 New York that is helping a nation heal and move forward (page 3).

Four years ago, when the nation's financial stability nearly caved in, we fought back with similar resolve. While much, much more remains to be done, it appears we're making headway. July saw the passage, with bipartisan support, of President Obama's transportation construction and infrastructure bill (page 7) that will create or save more than 2.8 union construction jobs. IMI's success at responding to substantial shifts within the construction industry (page 18) is already yielding dividends in the form of jobs for our members. BAC's campaign to convince government officials in the eastern U.S. to take earthquake preparedness more seriously by investigating older masonry structures for needed seismic retrofitting is on a fast track in Maryland, where state buildings are being reviewed (page 8). At a time when the non-union is clamoring for weaker safety regulations, a labor-management Masonry Partnership with  BAC, ICE and IMI is working together tostrengthen safety on the jobsite (page 10). And for the first time in a long time, we are seeing an upward trend in the number of BAC hours worked reported.

Although I doubt any of us are satisfied with the rate or pace of this economic recovery, given the deep hole we had to dig out of, we are headed in the right direction. Let's keep our principles and priorities in mind as we head into the fall election season and keep that fighting spirit alive and strong on Labor Day and every day.

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