Alternate Facts to the max, the Building Trades Sean McGarvey released the statement below. This isn’t “spin” – it is rearranging “FACTS” in a manner to deceive. What is pathetic – is not the Trades BS SPIN, it is that members just accept it. Good ole boy wannabees and mostly men that just go along to get along.
February 7, 2017
FOR IMMEIDATE RELEASE
Contact:
Tom Owens
202-756-4623
towens@buildingtrades.org
Union Construction Continues to Expand – And That’s No Accident
WASHINGTON, DC – The following statement was released today by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) in response to the recent release by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics of its annual report on union labor membership and market density:
“The recent release by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reaffirms the fact that the union construction sector continues on an upward growth trajectory for membership and market share. Construction unions added 99,000 members in 2016, with the percentage of construction workers represented by a union increasing by 1%. Since 2010, at the low point of the Great Recession/Depression for the U.S. construction industry, North America’s Building Trades Unions have added 238,000 members, according to BLS data.
“But, the BLS numbers do not tell the whole story. For 2016, actual union density in the US construction industry, exclusive of residential construction, is fast approaching 45 percent nationwide, an increase of 5% in just a few short years.
“These numbers are not surprising given the fact that large segments of private industry, especially in the commercial, heavy and industrial sectors, are increasingly turning to unionized craft professionals because of our value, reliability, quality workmanship, workforce development programs, and the consistent delivery of ‘on-time, on-budget’ project results.
“North America’s Building Trades Unions continue to be well-positioned, via our formal apprenticeship training and apprenticeship-readiness programs, to meet the significant projected and future construction labor demands in the energy sector, as well as to meet the skilled craft workforce needs associated with bi-partisan plans for public infrastructure investments.”
###
It is very clear in the first paragraph that the entire statement following the 1st paragraph and in “quotation marks” are that of the Building Trades; with an interpretation of the statistics provided in official BLS reports – which BTW are NEVER attached.
Here is the link for just one of those pertinent BLS reports. Real Facts in context! https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf
For those that like facts – here is another.
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpslutabs.htm
For the Trades, International LM-2. Click on this link or cut and paste – https://olms.dol-esa.gov/query/getOrgQry.do Put your unions File number in the top box.
UA File # 000-111 IW File # 000-052 IBEW File # 000-116 SMART File # 000-073 OE File # 000-159 Laborers File # 000-131 Roofers File # 000-135 OPCMIA File # 000-132 BAC File # 000-034 IUPAT File # 000-035 Boilermakers File # 000-074 Elevator File # 000-197 Insulators File # 000-090 Carpenters File # 000-085
The Building Trades continue to take huge liberties with hard facts and reported numbers. And nothing the Building Trades has said in the past 18 years has been in CONTEXT regarding the world of union construction vs. non-union construction. NOT ONE THING! Labor Rising has written 174 blogs over 7 years with the trades numbers in context and links always provided. NOT ONE has ever been disputed by Sean Mc Garvey or the National Building Trades – not one!
Every single number since 1973, and especially from 2008 – IN CONTEXT shows the Trades across the board and IN CONTEXT – “NET” – getting its butt kicked.
For example, the artful turn of alternative facts would be – “Construction unions added 99,000 members in 2016, with the percentage of construction workers represented by a union increasing by 1%.
So, is this apprentices, recruited, organized, all of the above? What about those who retired, left the trades, paying dues but not qualified for H&W benefits, underemployed and unemployed – the real numbers reported by the trades in the LM-2’s which stand in stark contrast – “NET”!?!
The entire statement above and the previous statements released for several years are inaccurate portrayals of a massively failed strategy called Value on Display.
It is usually buried in the news feed of the Building Trades’ website.
However, it is passed off as fact at the upcoming legislative conference! And the point of this is NO ONE SAYS A F*#king word!
Look at the same old tired agenda for 2017, yet again. The Trades stand on the brink of extinction, with barrage after barrage of anti-union sentiment and action coming their way – and we claim we are winning and go party at the finest venues D.C. has to offer!
And that is why the workers in the non-union instinctively know not to join what has long ceased to be a MOVEMENT defending workers!
The senior leadership of the trades live with Alternative Facts and the membership goes quietly along –
Danny L Caliendo
Organizer
Labor Rising/Labor Combat
