REMARKS
Mark H. Ayers
President
Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO
To
Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council
Convention
October 9, 2009
Thank you, Larry.
Ladies and Gentlemen…Brothers and Sisters…it’s a great pleasure for me to be with you here today in the Bluegrass State.
But, before I begin…I want to take a moment to personally acknowledge Larry Roberts. Because Larry epitomizes everything that is right about our movement. He is a man who consistently demonstrates loyalty to, and concern for, the men and women that we are privileged to represent.
But, he is also a man of vision. A man who understands what it will take for us to succeed in these transformational times in which we live.
And that is what I want to speak to you about today.
I want to discuss The Past…The Present…And the Future.
Brothers and sisters, we have a rich and storied history…a history that emerged from the age of the skyscraper in the early 20th century through treacherous fights over craft jurisdiction as new building materials and methods evolved over the years. We also endured numerous fights to improve safety standards in the construction industry just as we have constantly worked to forge cooperative partnerships with our contractors to promote the benefits of union construction.
And through it all we have engaged in a series of never-ending efforts to construct a sense of unity among the fifteen craft unions that comprise America’s Building Trades Unions.
And all of those efforts continue today.
Several years ago, the Building Trades Department commissioned a book to commemorate our 100th anniversary.
Written by Grace Palladino, the book is titled “Skilled Hands and Strong Spirits.” In her introduction to the book, Grace invokes the memories of 9/11 in order to accurately paint a portrait of who we are…and the values that we embody.
Allow me to read to you a passage from that introduction because I want you all to reflect upon it:
“While New York City was still in shock after the devastating attack on the World Trade Center…union construction workers were already on the job. Within minutes of learning the horrifying news, they raced downtown from construction sites all over the city: a bridge in Staten Island; high-rise projects uptown; and a rail job at Kennedy Airport were all shut down fast.
“Every tradesman in New York is here,” a carpenter noted. “All the construction jobs have ceased.”
The only non-uniformed workers allowed at the site…they hauled away buckets of rubble, carried in heavy equipment…and basically did whatever they could to help firefighters search for victims. Within hours their unions were organizing volunteer rescue squads from all over the country…and rounding up the equipment they would need to cut through structural steel, shore up the unstable site, and handle potentially lethal materials.
“The rest of us don’t know where or how to begin,” wrote the Washington Post…“but the impromptu volunteer army of workers does. They come in carrying Skill saws and wrenches, spades and Halligan tools. They drive loaders, and excavators, backhoes and bulldozers. They commit grand acts of improvisation and problem-solving. Despite the possibility of cave-ins or gas main breaks…and the emotional toll of a heartbreaking job that had to be done ‘no matter what’.
As one union member put it, the trades performed as a team.”
Now, those 238 words paint what I believe is an accurate portrayal of who we are and what we stand for. Think about some of those words I just read to you:
“did whatever they could to help…”
“commit grand acts of improvisation and problem-solving…”
doing the job “no matter what…”
“The trades performed as a team.”
Brothers and sisters…can there be anything more that needs to be said about who we are…our values…and what we mean to this nation and to our industry?
I certainly don’t believe so.
And yet, for too long, and in far too many instances, we have strayed from those values. We got cocky…we got lazy…and we got our heads handed to us in a marketplace that increasingly became focused upon value, efficiencies and bottom-line thinking. We weren’t prepared for those new demands…and our loss of market share proved it.
But, now…as the song says…‘the times, they are a changin’. And our unions are adjusting rapidly to change with them. Because if we have learned anything from our past mistakes it is this: How we conduct ourselves in the present moment will determine the level of success we enjoy in the future.
And this is important, Brothers and sisters, because our nation…even, the entire world…is undergoing dramatic and transformational change. Game-changing technology advances are seemingly occurring by the week…and industry upheaval is everywhere.
For all of us in the labor movement it would serve us well if, from time to time, we took a step back and looked at the big picture of what is happening in our nation. All too often, we are so obsessed about what is going on within and around our own local areas that we fail to see the larger trends that are occurring. Trends which offer numerous possibilities for our growth.
America is probably the most adaptive nation on Earth. And by that, I mean that we are constantly evolving and changing in order to meet or respond to the challenges of our times.
Often, those changes and evolutions occur through government action. Other times they are spurred by social movements. And still others are launched through product inventions or innovations.
Today, we are again entering a period of immense economic and social change.
Americans and American businesses are re-examining the idea of what it means to be a responsible citizen and what it means to provide value. Not just through volunteerism and philanthropy, but through commerce. In other words, people and corporations are starting to put their money where their ideals are.
Whether it’s an individual who vows to reduce his or her personal carbon footprint…or a major corporation that develops sourcing guidelines for its suppliers…there is no doubt that we are witnessing the birth of what experts are calling “a responsibility revolution.”
Years ago, the idea that any corporation should have any responsibility…beyond increasing shareholder profits would have been ridiculed. But today, it’s a whole different world.
Since 1995, the number of socially responsible investment mutual funds has grown from 55 to 260. These funds now manage approximately 11% of all the money invested in the US financial markets…which equates to roughly $2.7 TRILLION dollars!
Here’s what all of this means:
Part of corporate America has discovered that being socially responsible attracts investment capital. And that is fertile soil upon which America’s Building Trades Unions can sow the seeds of growth and prosperity.
But, before we start planting those seeds…we need to first step back and conduct an honest assessment of where we stand today in the minds of the our industry…in the minds of lawmakers and the media…and most importantly, in the minds of the American public.
If we are honest with ourselves, we would recognize that right now, all across this nation…there are millions of people who simply do not see how our unions fit into the way the world works today.
We’ve all seen the slick public relations campaigns waged by those who seek the complete eradication of unions from American society…and living here in the mid-South, you all know this as well as anyone. Americans from all walks of life are increasingly skeptical that unions are capable of providing value to our economy and our society. And if people don’t perceive the value of unions then it doesn’t matter what history tells us or what we, as trade unionists, believe.
Because perception is reality.
And we have to wake up to a few new realities. First, we have to recognize that, for better or worse, our society has been cultivated and conditioned by marketers and advertisers to be very “brand-oriented.” Today consumers define themselves, in some small or large part through the brands by which they associate themselves.
Again, that is the impetus for this new era of responsibility.
People will buy a four-dollar cup of coffee at Starbucks because of its commitment to using only Fair Trade coffee beans. People buy a Toyota Prius because they want to adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Others are loyal to Apple because of their cool technology…as well as their commitment to the multi-brand RED campaign that assists AIDS relief efforts in Africa.
Today, throughout America, people are incorporating the ideal of “value” not only into their purchasing decisions, but also into their lifestyle and political philosophies and in their general outlook on the world.
Put simply, Americans look at things today through the prism of “value.”
And this presents us with an opportunity. An opportunity to demonstrate to the American public that we…America’s Building Trades Unions…are “agents of change and innovation” who are already working to provide increased value to the economy and our society.
In short, we have the wherewithal…through pride, performance and professionalism…to offer the prospect of a partnership that will enhance the brand value of construction owners and contractors who seek not only a better bottom line, but also a better public image.
Brothers and sisters…you and I…all of us…have made great strides in recent years to re-build a new kind of movement…and a new public image that is shaped and constructed to meet the needs of a new America and a new American economy.
Our unions have never been more ready to embrace change and new ideas.
And we have also come to the collective realization that we must reject the notion that a love of nostalgia…which fosters a corrosive mind-set of “that’s how we have always done it”…is in no way an effective strategy for winning the future.
In fact, and let me state this as clearly and forcefully as I can, the continued embrace of the practices and strategies of the past is a recipe for failure!
Success for America’s building trades unions will occur because we have adapted new ways of thinking…combined with a stiff dose of candor about the troubles we face…and the root cause of those troubles.
The question is: Are we prepared to do that?
Are we prepared to lead by example?
Will we understand that it is our attitudes, our actions and our performance that speak for us?
And can we make a convincing case to owners, contractors, politicians and the public that a relationship with America’s Building Trades Unions is good for everyone’s bottom line?
And now, because of our ability to put some friends in high places…including and especially the White House…we are now being given the opportunity to make that case and prove our value.
And one more thing…because this is important and it’s something I want each of you to carry with you to understand the Building and Construction Trades Department.
Since the inception of the Obama Administration, the Department has been singularly focused on one thing and one thing only. We are devoted to creating and developing work opportunities for the millions of men and women we represent.
It is not lost on me, or Secretary Treasurer Sean McGarvey, or on any of the fine and dedicated staff that we have at the Department, that far too many of our members and their families are suffering in these difficult times. It fuels our desire, and drives our focus, each and every day.
And, I am pleased to report, we are achieving success.
If you have not already heard the Obama Administration is putting in place a new rule. One that would urge all federal agencies to use Project Labor Agreements on all federal construction projects over $25 million. Now, this rule comes on the heels of various other pieces of legislation…including the federal stimulus bill…that have, and will, provide opportunities for our contractors and our members.
And at each step of the way, President Obama and his administration has been supportive of us. In effect, President Obama has given us the ball…and for all intents and purposes, the game is on the line.
And that is exactly what we want, right?
The opportunity to prove our worth and our value with the spotlight upon us.
Make no mistake about it…we are under the microscope! How we respond today will determine our fate of tomorrow.
Will we perform?
Will we step out of the box and entertain such radical notions as openness, inclusion, cooperation, and value?
Do we embrace this new era of responsibility…and accept our role as a responsible and professional partner to owners, contractors and taxpayers all over the nation?
Or will we simply resort to the bad habits of old?
Because when you get right down to it, the notion of a return to individual and organizational responsibility is right in our wheelhouse. Our craft unions were founded upon the ideal of pride, performance and professionalism. We have, we can, we must, and we will, take full responsibility for the manner in which we perform on the job…every day, and in every corner of this nation.
As I said, opportunities abound.
Project Labor Agreements are about to become the policy of the federal government. Whole new industries…and massive amounts of new construction…are emerging as our nation begins to transition to a cleaner energy future. There is massive potential for us in the green building retrofit energy markets. And in all of these opportunities there exists the potential for us to destroy the outdated perceptions and stereotypes that have saddled us in the past and prevented us from achieving our ultimate potential.
I am talking about the perceptions that we are exclusionary…and that our apprenticeship and training programs are off-limits to women and minorities.
We know that is not reflective of who we are today…but again, we have to go out and demonstrate that to the world.
That is why the PLA rule is so important…as is our new program that we are working with the White House on, called Emerald Cities…which is designed to develop a strategy to capture the emerging industry associated with the retro-fitting of existing building stock for increased energy efficiencies.
In each instance, we are working with community and social justice groups to build pathways to secure careers for people of all walks of life and circumstances.
Brothers and sisters…all of what I am trying to tell you today can be summed up in five simple words…and you see them on the banners inside this hall…
Value on Display…Every Day.
From this day forward, it should be the intention of every building trades leader here in Kentucky…and around this nation to embrace a performance and value-based culture and to hold people accountable to it.
And just as we expect a higher level of performance from ourselves...we will demand it of others as well. Especially the politicians who, during an election year, present themselves to us as our best friends…only to shed that loyalty once in office when they are confronted with those core issues that are so near and dear to us.
We have to keep these politicians’ feet to the fire.
And we have to forcefully and effectively let them see for themselves the value that we provide…not just in an economic sense…but in a social sense.
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s high time we engage in a great debate with the Associated Builders and Contractors…the National Right to Work Committee…and their allies like Mitch McConnell. It would be a debate between two business models, and which one is better suited to meet the needs of America in the 21st century.
Is it a business model that is built upon developing the world’s safest, most productive and highly trained workforce through responsible and accredited apprenticeship programs…one that provides unmatched value to owners and contractors…and which builds strong families and strong communities through decent wages, and health and pension benefits?
Or is it a business model that predicates success on assembling the cheapest…most exploitable workforce they can…often times an undocumented workforce…and which wreaks havoc all across our socio-economic structure.
Ladies and gentlemen…brothers and sisters…it’s high time we had that debate!
Because that’s a debate we can, and we will, win!
Thank you so much.
God Bless the Bluegrass State…
And God Bless America’s Building Trades Unions.
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