This New Year’s marks the end of yet another year and the decade; both the year and the decade have been tumultuous for Organized Construction.  We have seen work markets blossom into “good times” grow to “great times” and eventually expand to “super heated” in some parts of the country.  During these significant and extended periods of exceptional employment our bargaining gains have been among the largest and most sustained of any time in our history.  All of this is to the good.

Lest you think I revel in the black lining in every silver cloud I think it is more important to look at what wasn’t nearly as attractive as what is related above.  When the projects started cancelling our share of the market – big jobs of all sorts – were the hardest hit.  Both Construction Unions and Organized Construction Contractors took the brunt of all of this.  The people who were doing the “smaller” jobs continue to do them now and they will do them tomorrow.  Our market share across Canada has continued to decline (I know that everything is fine in your area/Local/jurisdiction – it is positively amazing how many times I hear that and somehow overall and everywhere we are losing).  Our Organized Contractors need to win bids to put our members to work; we don’t need to work for less, we need to do a few simple things.  Show up every day and actually work the hours scheduled, take the breaks that the Collective Agreement allows and quit on time.  We cannot make up for things like contractor/owner disorganization, lack of material, failure in the provision of engineering drawings or a host of other things.  We can however make sure that those things in our control are done correctly.  We advertise ourselves as the ultimate Construction professionals; it behooves us to act like that. 

In some ways this message is just preaching to the choir, from the Canadian Vice-Presidents down to the local Executive Boards you all know the real and sometimes brutal truth.  This message needs to be heard by our members who show up with their lunch bucket every day on the job.  They are smart people who will do the right thing if they know the facts; I pause to exclude the loud and obnoxious voice at the Local Union meeting.  Those few people create enough interference to keep the message from getting to the people who really need to hear it.  I would ask, respectfully, that you allow this message to get to those people who are led to believe that the world is wonderful.

At the beginning of a new decade we need to use new thinking.  An absolute truth is that what we have been doing for the last 25 years hasn’t paid real dividends.  If we hope to prosper we need to use new methods, approach new markets and be the consummate Construction professionals in Unions that are open to take in those people who have our skills or who hope to acquire them.  Things like “Value on Display Everyday” ought to mark us out as different and superior.  We need to add value to both our members and our employers (and even those owners who choose to build Union).  Slogans alone won’t cut it; we need you to influence the people you lead and to influence them positively.  We all know that given leadership, material, equipment and proper planning our members are the best Tradespeople on the planet.  We need to enable them.  Although it isn’t very popular with youth today most of you were in Scouts, remember that one of the cardinal principles of Scouting was to leave a campsite better than you found it.  No one should think with pride that they were the person who rode Local XXX into the ground!
There is a time for action – that time is NOW!!

On behalf of the Canadian Executive Board, the staff of the Canadian Office and those hundreds of thousands of Canadian Construction professionals, we wish you the joy of the Season and hope that the New Year holds health, happiness and success.