IU Launches BAC United for Progress (BAC-UP) Program

JOURNAL: ISSUE 1 - 2016

Local 13 Nevada members are excited to attend a BAC-UP program meeting on February 3rd in Las Vegas. Please stay tuned for more BAC-UP program updates in future Journals.

Unions exist to shift the balance of power for working people. Period. 

Think about it. If you ever worked non-union, you know that asking the boss for a raise was a pretty chancy thing, but acting collectively as a union, we negotiate raises and benefits that can sustain our families. Working together, BAC members are building alliances with communities to secure jobs in areas where we have had low market share (see “Shop Fireproofing Work Boosts BAC Market Share, Hours” in Issue 3, 2015). Working together, we are advancing a silica standard for the entire country. Working together, we are organizing new contractors and bringing back contractors who have left. Working together, we are electing candidates who share our values (Canada!!!)

We work to shift power in a number of ways, including political action. We support family-friendly legislation by getting involved at the municipal, county, state and federal levels, and in new organizing campaigns. In each case, members are critical to the success of the work of any union, and ours has a proud history of member engagement. 

There is nothing as powerful as a union member, who is also a taxpayer, voter and neighbor standing up and speaking about local-hire ordinances, about dignity and safety on the job, about the benefits of having a voice on the job. When your Local Union leader calls you to ask for some of your time, it’s because you matter. It’s because your involvement can make the difference. It’s because your vote can tip the balance. 

BAC United for Progress (BAC-UP) is our newly launched member engagement program, intended to educate and mobilize members and their families around specific issues affecting their Local/ADC. BAC-UP teams are being formed in every Local and Administrative District Council (ADC), and your involvement will make the difference in the strength of our union. 
A few examples of things BAC-UP teams can work on:

• News media are interested in hearing stories from a member’s perspective.
• Social media by definition is driven by rank and file users.
• No one is a better spokesperson for a local hire provision in a PLA than a community member who will benefit.
• There are too many local decision making bodies to even count that impact our work (school boards, economic development boards, zoning boards, etc.), which means that our Local Unions to train members to advocate for our issues.
• Well-prepared apprentices are best suited to speak to the benefit of learning while you earn and helping with our recruitment efforts in under-represented communities. 
• Neighbors are more likely to talk to each other (someone they know) about politics and legislation. 

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact your Local or ADC or text BACUP to 877877.

In battle, everyone needs BAC-UP!