Every number measurable in every area of the Building Trades has absolutely demonstrated Value on Display to be a huge failure for Building Trades Members, which are rapidly being replaced by employees via recruitment!
Who has embraced and benefited from Value on Display are all International Officers and appointees (good ole boys) and construction management which BTW are breaking new record levels of profit.
For 30 years the wages of workers vs the wages for leadership and construction company’s profits have gone in the opposite directions. Building Trades members disappearing from the ranks to be replaced by employees of a temp agency! Wages, benefits, conditions and hours disappearing in massive numbers along with the membership rank. All to be COMPETITIVE with non-union wages and conditions. The real reason for the “Race to the Bottom.” Our Founders on this Labor Day would have nothing to do with the leadership of today, and for the last 30 years. Meanwhile the officers and appointees haven’t missed a check or meal. Salaries of BT leadership and management profits continue to rise on the backs of tradespersons.
As our 187 blogs have been witness to, Value on Display is a sellout of BT leadership to construction management of the Labor MOVEMENT of our Founders – long ago jettisoned; which our book will clearly outline after several years of research. And it is – by design and will be detailed.
Buckle Up Tradespersons of the Building Trades, because it is going to get much worse. Why!
Harvey! The wonderful spirt of humanity is on display NOW, and it is awesome. But, it is going to be replaced soon with politics, greed and sellouts by leadership in government, construction infrastructure rebuilding and Building Trades Presidents doing ANYTHING they can to get HOURS to shore up failed strategies!
Topping the list will be prevailing wage suspension, or flat out repeal. The reason – to expedite rebuilding! Tied to all infrastructure spending for both the relief of Harvey and the infrastructure spending for the US at large via a Republican agenda is worker and union legislation! Harvey is the very vehicle/cover needed to enact all types of anti-worker, anti-union legislation.
Any bets on this!?!
And the Building Trades President and International Presidents will do nothing other than stand in line for the crumbs, and to get those crumbs (hours) they will sign away on the dotted line with concessions of every type! And it is because they will not fight! They are to beholding to management and their checks!
With the Trump administration now, and a potential Pence administration, all unions need to buckle up. Trump and his administration have been mute on Davis – Bacon. A Pence presidency would repeal it. And so, will the Trump administration. Harvey is the vehicle for the Freedom Caucus, ALEC, RTW, Business Roundtable and others to nix this law. The Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act and an alternate Bill called the Regulatory Accountability Act which are actions now before the Senate, which have cleared Congress, may now advance. Both cleared Senate committee but have stalled on full Senate vote. Harvey may very well change that. Read the Acts and tell me how they affect all forms of regulations? There are all sorts of activities now going on to defang the NLRB. And I don’t mean roll back the NLRB – I mean strip unions of the Right to Organize. A big deal! Keep in mind that the Supreme Court came within a hair of defunding many public sector unions, and only because it had 8 members.
So here we are all beating on our chests about Labor Day, and we couldn’t hang in with those Brothers and Sisters of a MOVEMENT driven Building Trades that has been passed to us. The Founders are watching – both the leadership and the Rank & File. Either or both can change outcomes.
With 90% of all construction now done non/anti-union and our IP’s not up for the fight – this version of the trades hangs on a thread.
The flock of workers going to Texas along with relief for more workers from H-2B and legal immigration legislation, the future looks as it should for a temp agency. No workers to cover work. The non-union are now paying more in total compensation in many areas, then the unions along with the BT having the single worst strategy. All combine to decimate the Value business based model – right out of existence. Well within our lifetimes, which means Pensions that aren’t already either insolvent or on the brink will fail.
Hours will hold for a period early – however with the trades beholding to business and market conditions – will fail.
This is all predicated on the IP’s and the Trades leadership staying with the failed Value on Display and even bottom-up, but especially recruitment!
“if you see a good fight – soon after Labor Day – get in it”
Danny L Caliendo
Organizer
Labor Rising/Labor Combat
