State of the Unions

A little cooperation goes a long way

By Jeremy Harrell

The Washington, D.C., headquarters of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America occupies some prime real estate. Looking down the Mall toward the Washington Monument from Capitol Hill, the 10-story building is about the only nongovernmental structure visible among the familiar landmarks of the Smithsonian, National Archives and, in the distance, the White House. The building used to be an older and more modest affair, the maintenance alone costing the union $1 million to $2 million per year, said Mark Kramer, organizing director for the Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters.

But when Douglas McCarron became the union's boss four years ago, he instituted a series of structural shifts for Carpenters, some more literal than others.Under his guidance, the union tore down its old building near the Capitol and built its new 10-story edifice.

The Carpenters claimed the top five floors for itself and rented out the remainder to high-priced lobbying and consulting firms, the kind that would pay top dollar to be just a few blocks from the nation's Capitol. And what did McCarron do with this newfound cash? "He took the money and went to Vegas," Kramer said.

But McCarron's move wasn't a gamble. It was a studied calculation. "Where does every airline fly to cheaply on a daily basis?" Kramer said.

The union built a $22 million training center, a state-of-the-art facility designed to train the trainers. Union reps from around the country now flock to Las Vegas to gain certification in the many disciplines that define the Carpenters' trade, and they take their skills back to the training centers in their own locals and regional councils. The idea, Kramer said, is to build trust among signatory contractors while also fortifying the Carpenters' own members. "Contractors know that if they pick up a job, and they call the hall and say they need 15 to 20 guys qualified in scaffolding, they know they'll get qualified people," Kramer said.

Believe it or not, this is called organizing. McCarron put organizing at the center of his union's master plan, citing the AFL-CIO's lack of dedication to recruiting new members as the main reason the Carpenters, the largest union among the building trades, made waves by pulling out of the umbrella group three years ago.

Union membership nationally is on the wane, with labor losing 200,000 workers in the last year. The picture is somewhat similar in Wisconsin, where membership dropped from 16.2 percent of all workers in 2001 to 15.6 percent in 2002, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Construction trades nationally remain rather robust — 18.1 percent of workers nationally are union members — compared to manufacturing and other industries, but that figure is also on the decline.

	"We're very progressive, and we're going to try to maintain a market share. We're very strong, and we're going to be very strong in the future. Organizing is our No. 1 deal." Billy Harrelson Business Manager/Financial Secretary International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 159
	"I believe we are strong, and it shows in the contracts we negotiated last year. We negotiated raises of $1.60 last year. If you didn't have market share, you might get only a buck. I believe we will keep getting stronger." Bill Burg Organizing Director International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139
	"We're right now as strong as we've ever been. Obviously, we'd like to get more of the market share. We've got a lot to offer." Thomas Fisher Business Manager Laborers Union Local 464
	"Wisconsin is a big union state. Even with the economy the way it is, the sprinkler industry is one of the locals that is growing." Jack A. Neuhauser Business Agent, District 15 Road Sprinkler Fitters Union Local 699
	"I think we have a fairly strong union, and one of the things that keeps us strong is education. We are growing, and we are making a concentrated effort on organizing around the state and across the country." Francis Faber Business Agent Steamfitters Local 61
	"We have a good contractor base, a fairly large volume of work right now and a large volume of work down the line. In the Madison area, with the university, the UW Hospital and all these local developments, it looks promising." Sam Wilcox Business Manager Iron Workers Local 383

In response, the Carpenters and other building trade unions have scaled back on some of their internal operations and put more money and resources into recruitment and retention. But what's changed isn't just that unions are refocusing their energies on organizing. There's also been a shift in basic tactics.

Though some old strategies — such as salting — die hard, unions are less about bullying contractors into signing collective-bargaining agreements and more about positioning themselves as partners to contractors. Kramer called this a "philosophical realignment of direction."

"No. 1: The employer has to make money," he said. "What do you need to be profitable in this industry? If a contractor is buying a 2-by-4 or concrete at a certain price, he's a fool to not check with the competition and see if he or she can get a better product for the same price. It's a professional operation, and we're treating it as a business."

Put another way, Kramer said, "We're finding out that the vote system is so antiquated that it's not even worth the time."

This new approach is paying dividends. For the last several years, the Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters has signed 50 to 70 new contractors per year. In 2000, which Kramer called "not an exceptional year," the council signed 72 new contractors, bringing in 550 new members.

The story is similar with the Wisconsin Laborers District Council, which has seen membership growth in each of the last eight years. The union's Joe Oswald said the Laborers is employing a "holistic" attitude toward organizing. "It's premised on the idea that we have a lot to offer workers and the entire construction industry," he said. "We simply believe that we add value not only to workers but also to contractors and project owners."

This holistic approach is playing out in a number of ways, training foremost among them. This fall, the Laborers will open a new one-stop shop just north of Madison. The facility includes a training center more technically advanced and ideally located than its current building in Almond, and the union's office staff will work in the same building where its members are honing their skills. "Our focus is the same as contractors'. We can't be successful if our contractors aren't successful," Oswald said.

The partnership also includes government relations, in which the union works alongside the associations of its signatory contractors on topics related to economic development and infrastructure funding. The union's joint labor-management education trust tracks jobs on a statewide basis, providing both contractors and the Laborers with information on emerging economic trends. "We obviously can't do it alone," Oswald said. "We're trying to sustain their work force and grow their companies."

Unions are also trying to spread their new message outside the close-knit world of the building industry. In the last few years, the Construction Labor Management Council of Greater Wisconsin has embarked on a full-throated advertising campaign around Madison. Billboards on interstates leading into town trumpet union workers' roles in building some of the city's most prominent structures. Radio, television and print media ads, as well as signs in the Dane County Regional Airport, contain testimonials from contractors and government bigwigs touting the professionalism of the union work force.

"We want to raise the profile of what (the workers) are contributing," said Santiago Rosas, the CLMC's executive director. "They're highly skilled, and this is a big thank you to them. (The ads) point out that unions are alive and well."

It also doesn't hurt that the Dane County Airport annually serves 600,000 travelers, many of them company executives, businesspeople and decision-makers, the people who need "to recognize us as a competitive force," he said. Signs on the backs of Madison city buses have lured young workers into apprentice programs.

A goal of this new approach is to explode the "myths and stereotypes" that tend to dominate discussions about unions' roles in the industry, Oswald said. The Laborers is working to soften the adversarial tone and develop a sense of trust with its contractors. Organizing is the lifeblood of unions, but it's not going to work if labor doesn't hold up its end of the bargain and prove it's an ally, he said.

"Trust takes time, and it means showing results," Oswald said. "This is what is going to keep us going."