Convention Actions to Guide Union through 2020
JOURNAL: ISSUE 4 - 2015
Delegates are sworn in.
A total of 50 resolutions were referred by the Executive Board to 11 Convention Committees. Each Committee reviewed, discussed and heard delegates’ testimony on the resolutions referred to it and at the conclusion of those deliberations, prepared a report with recommendations on its respective resolutions. The Committees’ reports and recommendations were read to the full Convention and delegates voted on each resolution. The measures approved by the Convention will guide the Union’s programs and policies until the next Convention in 2020. The following is a summary of each resolution and the action taken:
Resolution No. 1 - Approved
Recognizes and celebrates the contributions of retired IU Executive Vice President Ken P. Lambert, who retired in 2012.
Resolution No. 2 - Approved
Honors the memories and recognizes the service of IU officers and staff who passed away since the 2010 BAC Convention: International President Jack Joyce; Executive Vice President Jim Richardson, Craft Director for TMT Finishers Bobby Douglas, Regional Director Bill Christopher; Organizing Director Don Newton; Organizer Pat Flynn; Organizing Director Jack Doyle; and National Outreach Coordinator Al Weaver.
Resolution No. 3 - Approved
Invokes our earliest days as an international union one hundred fifty years ago, acknowledges our Union’s adaptation to an international union representing trowel trades craftworkers across the continent and from around the world, expresses deep gratitude to the members and leaders who formed this Great Union and commits us to continue to build, adapt, and change BAC so that it may serve future generations of trowel trades craftworkers throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Resolution No. 4 - Approved
Addresses trade jurisdiction and new building products, systems and technology in the construction industry and recognizes that, throughout our 150 year history, our ability to adapt to the changing opportunities within our industry accounts for our Union’s longevity and enduring value, including through new and expanded use of: Building Information Modeling (BIM); emerging technologies; and new building products. The Resolution urges all affiliates and members to increase efforts to preserve our trade jurisdiction and to increase efforts to advance that jurisdiction over emerging building products, systems and technologies.
Resolution No. 5 - Approved
Addresses a number of information technology tools that improve communication and membership services including: BACWorks on the Portal; BACRecip electronic reciprocity system; BACRemit fringe benefit reporting system; and the Training Management System (TMS). The Resolution also applauds the increasing use of networking tools to mobilize our membership and build solidarity and reaffirms our commitment to the use of technology and encourages affiliates to take advantage of IU- and IMI-provided software and systems.
Resolution No. 6 - Approved
Reaffirms the importance of political action at the state/provincial and local level and calls on all Locals and Administrative District Councils (ADCs) to commit to an effective state or provincial and local lobbying program and encourages affiliates to form or participate in local political action committees and, in those affiliates that share jurisdiction over a state or province, for affiliates to join together to sponsor a single, statewide or provincial PAC.
Resolution No. 7 - Approved
Reaffirms our Union’s commitment to maximizing BAC registration and voter turnout, calls on BAC affiliates to become educated on the Labor Action Network (LAN) system, increase member outreach, ensure our eligible members and their families are registered to vote, and volunteer in labor election and advocacy activities. The Resolution also recognizes that the greatest strength of the labor movement in critical elections is our ability to turn voters out to the polls; condemns voter suppression in all its forms; and pledges to work to expand access to the polls.
Resolution No. 8 - Approved
Opposes anti-worker legislation, including so-called “Right-to-Work,” calls on BAC and its affiliates to work for repeal of such legislation where it has been adopted, reaffirms our commitment to state and local prevailing wage laws in particular, and opposes repeal or any other rollback of essential construction wage provisions.
Resolution No. 9 - Approved
Describes the ways in which the International Masonry Institute (IMI) protects and expands the union sector of the masonry industry including by: bringing together IMI staff, local union officers, contractors and other industry stakeholders in the Campaign for Jobs, or C4J, program; working extensively with new products and systems; creating education and training programs to ensure that BAC members are well-prepared for new products and processes; and developing technical resources, tools and studies that demonstrate why union masonry is the best solution. The Resolution reaffirms support for BAC’s long-term goal of working toward funding IMI at the 3% level and calls on all BAC affiliates to utilize IMI’s services through the Campaign for Jobs approach.
Resolution No. 10 - Approved
Calls on all BAC affiliates to send, or encourage their affiliated joint apprenticeship and training committees (JATCs) to send, their instructors to the Instructor Certification Program for at least five years. The Resolution also encourages BAC-affiliated training programs to send their instructors to train-the-trainer events, and then ensure that those instructors offer the certification and safety programs they learn at these events in their local areas.
Resolution No. 11 – Approved
Notes that BAC’s national apprenticeship standards have recently been amended to allow direct entry to the apprenticeship program for returning veterans with masonry experience, particularly through the Helmets to Hardhats program, and calls on BAC-affiliated training programs to make the same change to their apprenticeship standards. The Resolution also affirms our commitment to the Helmets to Hardhats program, and to all veterans.
Resolution No. 12 – Approved
Endorses the mission of BAC’s Apprenticeship and Training Task Force, composed of representatives from labor, management, training programs and IMI and authorizes the IU Executive Board to take any steps necessary to ensure that the Task Force’s recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible. The Resolution also asks the International Masonry Training and Education Foundation (IMTEF), BAC affiliates and JATCs to fully embrace the recommendations, as well.
Resolution No. 13 – Approved
Supports and encourages the work of BAC, IMI and their allies, including the Masonry Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and the International Council of Employers of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (ICE), to promote pro-masonry codes and standards at both the national and local levels.
Resolution No. 14 – Approved
Reaffirms BAC’s commitment to the Davis-Bacon Act, the state-level “little Davis-Bacon” counterparts, and the policies and procedures underlying these critical laws. The Resolution pledges that the Union shall continue to devote resources to the preservation of those laws, to making sure that all Locals and ADCs regularly furnish current wage and benefit rates and collective bargaining agreements to regulatory bodies, so that BAC rates are reflected in prevailing wage determinations, and to support North America’s Building Trades Unions’ Davis-Bacon Committee’s proposed Davis-Bacon regulatory changes to strengthen and protect the Act.
Resolution No. 15 - Approved
Reinforces collective bargaining as a primary function of BAC and outlines collective bargaining priorities for Locals and ADCs. The Resolution also calls on Local Unions and ADCs to consider encouraging the contractors and contractor associations with whom they bargain to explore affiliating with ICE.
Resolution No. 16 – Approved
Calls for the consolidation of collective bargaining agreements and the merger of wage rates, wherever appropriate and possible, to stabilize Local Unions and ADCs and our industry and to allocate resources towards other key priorities like organizing, political activism, and member representation and services. The Resolution also calls for the merger of health and welfare funds, defined contribution pension funds, and joint apprenticeship and training funds with similar funds of the same type, where appropriate, to realize administrative efficiencies and eliminate wage and benefit package disparities within a Local’s or ADC’s jurisdiction. Finally, the Resolution calls on Locals and ADCs to strive to replace “reduced rate” market recovery programs with “rebate” approaches.
Resolution No. 17 – Approved
Relates to travel and transfer, and reaffirms BAC’s commitment to the principle that all journey-level members of the Union have the right to work at the trade on any union job where they can command the scale. The Resolution encourages affiliates to: eliminate overly restrictive local manpower ratios; eliminate policies prohibiting members from working at more than one BAC craft; and follow the travel/transfer rules set forth in Code 4.
Resolution No. 18 – Approved
Calls on BAC affiliates to exclusively use the dues check-off authorization card designed and printed by the IU, which has been reviewed by the IU’s Legal Department to make sure it has the maximum effect, and to cease using any locally-designed check-off cards. The Resolution also directs affiliates to ensure that current member representation and check-off authorization cards are up-to-date, and that fresh cards are obtained at least annually.
Resolution No. 19 – Approved
Calls on all U.S. affiliates and their officers and members to participate in the financial piece of BAC’s political program – BACPAC. Specifically, the Resolution calls on all U.S. affiliates: to use their best efforts to negotiate voluntary BACPAC language into their collective bargaining agreements in their next bargaining cycles; to work diligently to obtain voluntary check-off authorizations from a majority of their members in an amount that is at least 2 cents per hour by the end of September 2016; for U.S. affiliate officers to make personal investments in the PAC at a rate of at least 1% of salary; and calls on the IU to encourage and track each affiliate’s participation in the program, to ensure the intent of the Resolution is carried out, and to encourage increased participation.
Resolution No. 20 – Approved
Recognizes the irreplaceable economic and social stability that Social Security’s guaranteed, defined benefits have brought to America’s workers and their families for 80 years, and ensures BAC will strongly support efforts to strengthen Social Security, bolster its long-term stability, and find ways to increase benefits and calls on the Union to aggressively oppose any legislative or other proposal that would reduce Social Security benefits or fundamentally alter the Social Security system to the detriment of America’s working families.
Resolution No. 21 – Approved
Addresses the Union’s continued support for comprehensive immigration reform at national levels, endorses the Obama Administration’s efforts to expand work authorization and allow undocumented workers to come out of the shadows, expresses BAC’s commitment to defend our immigrant brothers and sisters, organized or not, by asserting that all labor and employment laws covering workers and the workplace must be extended to all immigrants, regardless of status, and calls on the Union to expand its efforts to connect immigrant workers, organized and not, to programs that can assist them with naturalization or gaining work authorization.
Resolution No. 22 – Approved
Recognizes that misclassification of employees as independent contractors remains a crisis of national urgency in both the U.S. and Canada, reaffirms BAC’s strong, united position against misclassification of workers as independent contractors, commits the IU and all affiliates to continue to take steps to educate the general public and lawmakers about the gravity of this wage theft crisis, and calls on our Union to work diligently for passage of effective legislation, at both local and federal levels, to combat employee misclassification.
Resolution No. 23 – Approved
Acknowledges climate change as a significant and defining issue of our time and those responses to climate change will necessarily impact BAC members and their families and the scope of work performed by our members. The Resolution calls on BAC affiliates to become actively engaged in state and local groups organized by the BlueGreen Alliance’s labor and environmental affiliates around climate change issues and policies and to reaffirm the importance of establishing good, union jobs in a greener, clean energy environment. The Resolution also calls on affiliates to promote new and established masonry products installed by BAC-IMI/IMTEF-trained mechanics in construction and to affirm the integral role of masonry in green building construction and as a green material.
Resolution No. 24 – Approved
Outlines the educational offerings and opportunities available to BAC officers, members and their families, including the Building Trades Academy, the Bonnie Ladin Union Skills Training Program, BAC’s Local Leadership Conference and New Leaders Program and the Harry C. Bates scholarship, and calls on all affiliates to fully participate in the Local Leadership Conference and in the New Leaders Program and should, when appropriate, send members to the Building Trades Academy and the Bonnie Ladin Union Skills Program.
Resolution No. 25 – Approved
Affirms BAC’s support for the development of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Masonry. The Resolution encourages all BAC affiliates to work with IMI to educate signatory contractors and BAC members in the jobsite use of BIM software, and it urges all affiliates to coordinate with their contractors in pursuit of work opportunities that emerging building technologies may offer, in addition to providing the necessary training and support to assert jurisdiction over new building systems.
Resolution No. 26 – Approved
Addresses the devastating implications of failure to adhere to sustainable practices. The Resolution recognizes that addressing climate risk can be accomplished not only directly, by transitioning to greener practices, but also by influencing others to do the same through investment policies that prioritize sustainability. The Resolution encourages Trustees of BAC-related trust funds to recognize the impact of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues and their impact on the performance of investment portfolios, and to adopt – consistent with their fiduciary responsibility – sound, sustainable investment policies that consider ESG risks. Moreover, the Resolution encourages every local officer to advocate for strong climate and energy policies that promote sustainable investment.
Resolution No. 27 – Approved
Amends the IU Constitution, Rules of Order and Codes, Article XVIII, Section A(2) to remove the word “seventeen.”
Resolution No. 28 – Approved
Amends the IU Constitution, Rules of Order and Codes to reduce the size of the IU Executive Board from five members to four. Specifically amends Article XIV, Section A, to state “The International Union shall have the following officers: President, Secretary-Treasurer, and two Executive Vice Presidents.” And amends Article XIV, Section B, to change the reference from “three” Executive Vice Presidents to “two” Executive Vice Presidents. The Resolution authorizes the IU Executive Board to make such other adjustments to the IU Constitution as are necessary to effectuate this change to the composition of the International Union Executive Board.
Resolution No. 29 – Approved
Supports the goals and achievements of the National Refractory Agreement, to bolster our presence in the refractory industry and to increase our market share in every geographic area of North America. The Resolution establishes an organizing assessment to be paid to the International Union by each member working under the National Refractory Agreement in an amount equal to 0.9 percent of the “national average hourly wage package” for the relevant category of membership for all hours paid.
Resolution No. 30 – Approved
Directs all Locals and ADCs to: 1) implement a system of sound internal financial controls with written accounting policies and procedures, including a business travel and expense policy for officers and employees; 2) consider establishing a financial review or internal audit committee to provide oversight of the affiliate’s finances; and 3) formally adopt a goal to have one year’s worth of expenditures in reserve and the objective of a balanced or surplus budget each year in furtherance thereof.
Resolution No. 31 – Approved
Urges all BAC Locals and ADCs to work with their signatory employers and fund offices to use the BACRemit program for their dues and benefit reports and payments.
Resolution No. 32 – Approved
Reaffirms BAC’s commitment actively to identify, organize, train, mentor, and support all women, immigrants, and people of color who are interested in a career in the masonry trades, and to collaborate with IMI, IMTEF, JATC programs, and signatory contractors to identify and overcome any barriers to organizing those groups. The Resolution calls for continued cooperation with community coalition groups and union constituency groups, such as NABTU’s Tradeswomen Committee, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; A. Phillip Randolph Institute; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement; Coalition for Labor Union Women; and Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance.
Resolution No. 33 – Approved
Calls on all BAC Locals and ADCs to commit to fully organizing their respective masonry markets. Additionally, the Resolution requires all BAC Locals and ADCs to create an organizing plan and to actively pursue the goals set forth within it. Finally, the Resolution requires every affiliate to designate, commit and educate a lead person to execute their organizing plans.
Resolution No. 34 – Approved
Pledges support for enactment of a budget and other legislation to increase infrastructure spending with prevailing wage protection in order to fix crumbling infrastructure and to create good middle class jobs. The Resolution also encourages pension trustees to consider infrastructure-related investments that are prudently selected to increase covered work hours while also producing a reasonable rate of return.
Resolution No. 35 – Approved
Expresses deep gratitude to those BAC members, past and present, who have served their countries in the armed forces, expresses support for excellent benefits for both active military and veterans, particularly disability benefits in light of the grievous injuries service members may suffer during on-going conflicts worldwide, and further reaffirms BAC’s support for the Helmets to Hardhats program, specifically calling on affiliates to register with the Helmet to Hardhats program and recruit veterans, and also, where appropriate, to negotiate contract language supporting that program.
Resolution No. 36 – Approved
Calls on Canadian Locals to educate members regarding the dangers of the real agenda of the Conservative Canadian Harper government and of Merit Canada, so that they can protect their own interests and those of all working families in Canada in the 2015 election. The Resolution also calls on the Canadian Locals to encourage Canadian members to vote and hold their elected officials accountable on issues affecting workers’ rights.
Resolution No. 37 – Approved
Supports legislation and policies that will end the privatization of correctional facilities, that will alleviate prison overcrowding, that will ensure criminal sentencing commensurate with the crime and consistent with public safety, that will increase opportunities for ex-offenders to enter our trade, and that will end blanket employment discrimination against ex-offenders who have paid their debt to society – especially the “ban the box” campaign to prohibit employers from asking about criminal history of job applicants (except where required by law).
Resolution No. 38 – Approved
Addresses the need to invest in the future by encouraging more young persons into the craft and into our union, reaffirms the Union’s commitment to the AFL-CIO’s Young Worker Organization and the Next Up Young Workers Summits, and calls on the IU to establish a Young Craftworkers Programs designed for young BAC members. The Resolution also encourages all BAC Local Unions and ADCs to participate in and develop young workers through these young worker programs.
Resolution No. 39 – Approved
Advocates for raising the minimum wage, establishing living wages laws, and to support ongoing and future campaigns geared toward achieving greater income equality.
Resolution No. 40 – Approved
Reaffirms support for efforts to preserve and strengthen defined benefit pension plans. The Resolution endorses consideration of investing a portion of International and Local pension fund assets in investment vehicles that produce competitive rates of return while strengthening the overall economy by ensuring best corporate practices on behalf of shareholders and encouraging a strong building and construction industry. The Resolution encourages all Local Unions and ADCs to consider participation in supplemental retirement savings programs and join the IU in providing as much information as possible to members to encourage their preparation for a long, active and healthy retirement.
Resolution No. 41 – Approved
Calls on all Locals to encourage the few Pension and Health and Welfare fund trustees who have not yet signed the International Reciprocal Agreements to do so. The Resolution also rededicates our Union to the principle of full money follows the member reciprocity, and reaffirms that jobsite funds must reciprocate the full hourly pension contribution, without set-off for Rehabilitation Plans, Funding Improvement Plans, differential accruals, or the like.
Resolution No. 42 – Approved
Relates to changes in the U.S. health care system since passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010. The Resolution urges BAC officers and staff to remain involved in the regulatory process to ensure that agencies implement and enforce health care reform in a way that fully delivers on the promise of the existing legislation and also encourages International, Local Union and ADC officers to monitor and adapt to changes in the regulatory and political landscape and in the marketplace and to encourage their affiliated health and welfare funds to adapt to such changes in order to ensure access to the best possible care for BAC members.
Resolution No. 43 – Approved
Urges Local Union and ADC officers to encourage related local health and welfare funds to explore options that maximize economies of scale and quality, including by having IHF conduct a merger study, to consider the advantages of participation in the IHF and when beneficial to membership, consider merging into the IHF, or consider other strategic partnerships, including participation in purchasing coalitions, such as Sav-Rx and the ULLICO Group Stop-Loss program.
Resolution No. 44 – Approved
Reaffirms the Union’s support for the Member Services Program, and encourages steps to fully inform all current, retired, and potential members of the benefits, products, and services offered by the Program.
Resolution No. 45 – Approved
Reaffirms support for the Member Assistance Program and all steps necessary to keep Local Union and ADC officers, members and potential members aware of the services offered through this Program.
Resolution No. 46 – Approved
Reaffirms the Union’s support for the Disaster Relief Fund and encourages taking all the necessary steps to communicate and coordinate with Local Unions and ADCs wherever possible to promptly provide financial assistance to members and their families.
Resolution No. 47 – Approved
Commits BAC to continue working with others in the industry and the labor movement to protect all workers’ lives through a strong commitment to occupational safety, and call on the United States and Canadian Governments to vigorously enforce worker safety laws to further reduce the number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities on the job. The Resolution opposes any budgetary or legislative efforts to weaken worker safety protections and advocates for safer working conditions both in collective bargaining and before relevant governmental bodies.
Resolution No. 48 – Approved
Reaffirms BAC’s commitment to safety training at the International and local levels and calls on BAC Local Unions and ADCs to ensure that their apprenticeship and training programs participate in IMTEF’s Train-the-Trainer Safety Programs, thereby also ensuring that their trainer(s) are certified to perform OSHA 10 and 30 and MSHA training.
Resolution No. 49 – Approved
Urges OSHA to finalize its critical work and release a comprehensive silica standard without further delay; calls on Congress to let OSHA finish its work without any further interference and encourages the International Union and all affiliates to actively oppose any budgetary or legislative efforts to delay or prevent OSHA from finalizing the silica standard; and pledges BAC support for OSHA in its efforts to implement the standard once finalized.
Resolution No. 50 – Approved
Encourages all BAC Local Unions and ADCs: to advance legislation improving fire safety in building; and to utilize resources available from BAC and IMI to support local efforts and to work collaboratively with BAC, IMI and our allies to raise awareness and educate building owners and operators, the design and construction communities and elected officials about the benefits of non-combustible masonry construction. The Resolution also supports code and standard development that encourages the use of masonry in mid- and high- rise construction and discourages use of wood frame construction in mid- and high-rise buildings unless accompanied by masonry firewalls.