Guest Commentary

Making change the new status quo

By Mike Cullinane

Contractors with union tradespersons who work and do business in the Chicago area are fortunate. For more than a century Chicago has remained largely union. That fact, however, must never be taken for granted. As the market share of union contractors continues to erode, fresh ideas will increasingly be needed to stop (and more importantly) reverse the decline. This point was emphasized repeatedly last July at the Mechanical Contractors Association of America’s (MCAA) 2005 Summer Board of Director’s meeting.

MCAA Board members’ companies represent all facets of mechanical contracting and come from all areas of the country. The 24 board members and a few other industry leaders discussed ways to reverse market share declines. All agreed that progress will demand a cooperative effort between labor and management. An example of such cooperation may be seen in the CURT (Construction Users Roundtable) “Tripartite Initiative” (Summer 2004 edition JobScope). Here national union leaders (including the UA), trade associations (including MCAA), and construction users (owners) agreed to work aggressively to eliminate three of our industry’s biggest problems: High Absenteeism, Extended Overtime, and Workplace Disruptions. While administering a black eye to the union sector these problems, the longer they exist, are also helping introduce non-union contractors and tradesmen to traditionally union projects. The national Tripartite Agreement made to correct these three areas is an important first step; however, change must be implemented at the local level by unions and contractor groups to achieve any good.

The MCAA Board discussion was largely inspired by UA General President Bill Hite’s address to the MCAA convention last March. Mr. Hite was straightforward and brutally honest when he stated, “We felt we had inherent rights as union members, and nothing would ever change — how wrong we were.” He also said: “We have to address issues as they arise in order not only to stop our market share from further erosion, but also to gain ground wherever and however we can.” Our goals are the same, but only through open and frank discussion will the necessary changes occur.

The work of CURT is ongoing. Their next two subjects to address are Drug Testing and Workplace Attitudes.

The MCAA Board expressed the opinion that, if we are to succeed, our industry must accept and execute CURT’s initiatives. They must become the norm in the future. MCAA President Stanley Berger recently wrote: “It seems to me that contractor associations and unions alike must open their eyes and their ranks to new ideas and new people. It’s time to think not just outside the box, but outside the room the box is in.” In other words, we must recognize change, be creative and reject the notion of “business as usual.”

Union contractors’ most obvious advantage is the level of training and skill of UA pipefitters, plumbers, and sprinkler fitters. MCAA Board members repeatedly stressed the necessity of holding and strengthening that advantage. Continuing education for journeymen and supervisory personnel is just as critical as apprentice training. Let’s face it, the work we do is very complex and becoming more so all the time. Nobody is able to keep up with our rapidly changing technology without additional training. We cannot and should not wish away progress or be content with the status quo.

In Chicago the training advantage is pronounced. Last spring Pipe Fitters Local Union 597 opened their expansive new training facility in Mokena, Illinois. Local 597 Business Manager Jim Buchanan is to be commended for his foresight and commitment to the future of the piping industry. All pipe fitters must see this facility as their home away from home. Training is not just for apprentices. This is really no different from the education offered by MCAA or its affiliates around the country. Whether the target audience is management, estimators, administrators or field crews, the concept is the same. Education in our industry is essential and must continue throughout the careers of everyone in the office and in the field.

Another serious topic the MCAA Board addressed was the overly contentious nature of negotiating local agreements. We often lose sight of the biggest obstacle to our success, namely non-union contractors and labor. Instead of truly studying our “real” opponent, we fall into the bad habit of competing against other union trades and other UA locals. Other unions (with a few notable exceptions) are not our competition, but non-union contractors surely are. Maybe we don’t like to study the “real” opposition because there is such a wide gap in wages and benefits, but collectively hiding our heads in the sand serves nobody’s best interests.

When we truly know the competition then we can begin to compete. There are ways to lower our crew costs without sacrificing hard earned wages and benefits, but changing our pre-set ideas and notions will be required. Long-range strategic thinking should always be present in our negotiations. In his address at the UA’s recent North American Pipe Trades Conference, 2001 MCAA President Smitty Belcher said, “If we claim jurisdiction of all the work, we must figure out a way to serve it all — past, present, and future.”

Personally, I’ve had the privilege of serving more than 10 years on the Local 597 Joint Apprenticeship Committee in Chicago. When we recruit young people into our industry we have an obligation to their futures and this obligation should never be taken lightly. Elections are important and so is that next big job, but we should not sacrifice the future for expediency. It is not good enough to plan one to three years ahead.

The UA’s Sean O’Ryan has written an important study titled “The United Association in Transition, the Impact and Challenge of Demographics.” In it he explains what challenges need to be addressed today. Those who fail to plan do so at their peril. When negotiations start with the goal of improving our industry for the long term we’ve gotten off to a good start. Improving our market share means more jobs, better health and pension benefits and an improved standard of living. This is important for us all — new, younger workers and veterans alike.

At the center of O’Ryan’s thesis is what he terms the “Triple Effect,” the convergence of 1) mass retirement of the Baby Boom generation, 2) increased demand for workers because of industry growth and 3) a diminished pool of “traditional recruits.” This enlightened approach of looking decades ahead is necessary if today’s critical problems are to be tackled.

The next few months and years will go a long way in determining the ultimate success or failure of our current way of doing business. In Stanley Berger’s words, “If we are to meet these challenges — and the other challenges that will certainly occur — we must shrug out of the tight skin that history has placed on us and, with no preconceptions or philosophical constraints, adapt. Otherwise, we will take our place on the bone heap with the dinosaurs.”

Let’s face it, we all have a vested interest in this industry and we all work for its success, but we haven’t all worked together. This can and must change.

Mike Cullinane (Bert C. Young & Sons Corp., Bellwood, Ill.) is President-Elect of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America.