A Union Committed to Building Power: Executive Council members focused on organizing and bargaining strength
At every turn of the winter meeting of the BAC Executive Council, local and IU leaders made their priority clear: to organize, grow the union, and build bargaining strength. President Tim Driscoll set the tone early on with his call to “expand market share for BAC members and contractors by converting nonunion masonry work into BAC work hours, organize non-union craftworkers into our union, and expand project opportunities for the building systems and products — brick, block, tile, stone, and more — that BAC members and our local signatory contractors regularly and actively pursue.”
That message carried through all the sessions of the Council and the subsequent Labor-Management Craft Committees. Council members were excited to learn more about the organizing opportunities opened by the National Labor Relations Board’s Cemex decision, as General Counsel Joyce Goldstein explained how the Biden-Harris NLRB made it easier for unions to obtain bargaining certifications at non-union firms. Organizing Director Lou Padilla led a discussion of how BAC can make the most of the NLRB’s change, with several Council members citing examples of non-union contractors in their locals that could now be viable priority organizing targets.
Several elected officials and political commentators addressed the Council, highlighting how the pro-worker accomplishments of the Biden-Harris Administration — including the massive push for project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal projects, the dramatic expansion of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage standards, and the bold move to rescue troubled building trades pensions — are giving BAC the opportunity to drastically increase union work opportunities. Congressmen Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), and others warned the Council that these pro-union initiatives would be quickly repealed should former President Trump — whose administration banned federal PLAs, undercut prevailing wage laws, and did nothing to help pension plans — win in November.
The Labor-Management Craft Committee meetings, which followed the Executive Council, continued the emphasis on promoting BAC materials and building systems. Speakers focused on the sustainability and lifecycle advantages of masonry and tile, and the need to actively publicize the advantages offered by skilled union installation of these products. Attendees also learned about exciting new innovations in building products and discussed the importance of training to ensure that BAC members and signatory contractors will be the first choice to install the building systems of the future.