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CHAPTER 6 — UBC MEETS THE CHALLENGE Initially, many of the unions were taken by surprise by the non-union sector's developing economic clout. In the absence of a comprehensive counter-strategy, a number of Locals and District Councils adopted wage concessions in order to stay competitive with the non-union sector. Non-union employers effectively undercut that tactic by simply driving their own pay rates down further. At the same time, the ABC grew in political sophistication and became one of the linchpins of the "New Right" that propelled Ronald Reagan to the Presidency in 1980. "Our organization was set up to deal with the industry as it was in post WW II - North America," declared a major UBC policy statement in 1989. "Today the industry has changed, and we must change with it." The Brotherhood developed a variety of important initiatives during the 1980's in response to the changing world of construction. Through the Special Programs Department and a re- invigorated Organizing Department, the International has sought to train Local leaders in a number of strategic areas. * The "New Tools of the Trades" manual offers a comprehensive approach to construction research by explaining information-gathering techniques and how to use them in organizing. * The Comprehensive Construction Stewards' Program seeks to increase union presence on job sites by training Stewards to build a climate for organizing and action among both union and non-union carpenters. * The Market Area Programs are used by Local Unions and Councils to make an honest assessment of the state of their organizations in order to put in place the appropriate levels of membership education, bottom-up workforce organizing, targeting campaigns, and political action. * National Organizing Campaigns have been set in motion to take on giant companies, such as B E&K, P.C.L. and Fluor Daniel, whose scope exceeds the capacity of any single Local to affect. This strategy has been accompanied by campaigns directed against major financial institutions, whose lending policies have a major impact on the union or non-union status of construction projects. The ultimate goal of these initiatives is to organize and re-organize every carpenter in North America and set decent standards of wages, benefits, and safety on every job-site. It is an ambitious goal and one that will take a long-term effort to complete. But is can only start with a serious commitment to organizing. The UBC faces a complex and challenging future. New tools, new materials, and new methods of construction are entering the industry at an accelerated rate. In many ways, the carpenter of the 1990's is not that different from the carpenter of the 1880's. But all indications are that the dawn of the 21st century will bring much more rapid technological innovation. Increasingly, the on-site carpenter is more of an "installer" than a "fabricator" with the development of prefabricated materials, modular components, and panelized building sections. The multi- faceted general contractor is giving way to the construction manager. Union apprenticeship training programs will have to address these new developments while maintaining the high level of all-around craft competence that union carpenters still need. Ultimately, maintaining and extending a strong union for carpenters will depend on combining an awareness of the dynamics of the future with the finest traditions of the past. The days of "country club" unionism, i.e., providing job security through keeping union numbers down and the unorganized out, are numbered. Labor's growth in the future rests on its ability to reach out and open its doors to every member of the working community. Just as Peter J. McGuire built the Carpenters Union in the 19th century by organizing, educating, and agitating, tomorrow's Union Leaders will have to embody that same spirit of inclusion in order to organize the unorganized and mobilize current Union Members. In 1882, for example, W.F. Eberhardt of Philadelphia's Carpenters Local 8 wrote a letter to the Carpenter. He outlined the efforts of Local 8's members to contact every single carpenter in the city on a ward by ward basis. He described how those pioneering volunteer carpenter/organizers held regular meetings across the city to bring the unorganized into the new union. The Brotherhood's task is to use today's techniques to spread the modern-day version of Eberhardt's still relevant message of unionism. Peter J. McGuire preached the virtues of labor solidarity as he linked the fortunes of Union Carpenters to the fate of all working people. The importance of this theme has not changed in the last hundred years. The future of the UBC is indeed connected to the ability of the entire labor movement to genuinely represent the interests of all working men and women and to stand up on behalf of basic worker's issues, such as decent housing, health and safety, civil rights, and a secure environment. The American workforce may look different today -- more multi-cultural, multi- racial, and multi-lingual. But the underlying principle of organizing all the men and women who make their living at the carpentry trade is exactly the same as it was when thirty-six carpenters met in Chicago in 1881. Next Chapter Back to Table of Contents