WHAT CAN UNIONS DO?
EXAMPLES FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING TRADES
by
Barbara J. Lipski
A.B., Boston University
(1967)
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE
DEGREE OF
MASTER IN CITY PLANNING
at the
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
June 1985
C Barbara J. Lipski
The author hereby grants to M.I.T. permission to reproduce and to
distribute copies of this thesis document in whole or in part.
Signature of Author;
Department"of Urban Studies and Planning
-Mayi28, 1985
/
Certified by;
Judi-th~Te~dj~r~
Thesis Supervisor
k~
/
/
Accepted by
Chairman,
/ IPhillip L. Clay
eartmental Committeebn Graduate Students
Rotch
k.,A 'SAiHU!;F-1'3 S ;'ITUJi
0OF :ICNDOG~
JUL11 1985
L-R AtE S
WHAT CAN UNIONS DO?
EXAMPLES FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING TRADES
by
BARBARA J.
LIPSKI
Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies
and Planning on May 28, 1985 in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Degree of
Master in City Planning
ABSTRACT
There are several recent examples from the Massachusetts building
trades unions of successful tactics being implemented, or at
least initiated, in order to regain the union's power to maintain
high and stable wages and job security for their members.
In this paper I will describe some of these tactics, analyze
their effectiveness, discuss why trades union leaders chose
them, and speculate about how adaptable they may be for unions in
I propose that because workers in several of the
other sectors.
new and growing sectors of the U.S. economy share many of the
"craft" characteristics, of the building trades workers, a model
of union structure can be developed to use as a guide for
organizing new workers and for maintaining the strength of
Fundamental to this inquiry
already organized " craft" sectors.
are the many interviews and conversations I have had with leaders
and rank and file activists both in the trades and in other union
sectors.
The characteristics of craft workers that allow successful union
activity stem from the nature of the work itself, and require a
complex mixture of flexibility and rigidity, of autonomy and
cooperation, but most of all the ability to use the broad
problem-solving skills inherent to the crafts.
Thesis Advisor:
Title:
Dr. Judith Tendler
Professor of Urban Studies and Planning
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
A.
I.
U.S.
THE BU-ILDING TRADES
A.
B.
History
and Nature of
the Building
Trades.......
9
9
1.
Craft
Production...........................
2.
Craft
Jurisdiction.........................
12
Unionization of the Building Trades.............
History....................................
I.
Union Structure and Organization...........
2.
Work Rules.................................
3.
15
15
17
4.
The Union Business
Agent...................
20
23
C.
Wages,
Collective Bargaining:
Hiring and Job Training.
Wages..............
1.
Hiring.............
2.
Training Programs..
3.
D.
Relations with Minority Groups..................
Union-Minority Antagonism in Boston........
1.
37
Massachusetts Building Trade Un ions:
The Erosion of Strength......
Technological Changes...
i.
Growth of the Non-Union Sector..
2.
41
45
47
E.
II.
6
Unions Today............................---
SPECIFIC EFFORTS BY LOCAL UNIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS
A.
B.
Strategic Investments of Union Pension Funds....
The Massachusetts Development
1.
Finance Foundation................
The Lowell Hilton.................
2.
53
Traditional Ties and New Alliances..............
Back of the Hill...........................
1.
53
58
2.
South Boston...............................
60
62
68
3.
Proposal to the Roxbury Multi-Service
Center........ .............................
Rosie's Place......... .....................
70
72
4.
3
-
C.
III.
Organizing
74
and Coalition-Building...............
WHAT CAN BE LEARNED?
A.
Controlling the Labor Supply....................
Training Programs..........................
1.
Equal Wage Rates and Job Rotation..........
2.
Pay for Knowledge and Opportunity
3.
to Use Knowledge...........................
81
81
83
and Protection...........
88
Flexibility
84
B.
Work Rules:
C.
"Co-Determination": Labor Influence
on Management Decisions.........................
91
Conclusion......................................
95
D.
IV.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................
V.
INTERVIEWS..............................---....
1" 4-
98
... 102
INTRODUCTION
As a member of
Boston
the
was
strength
enough
frustrated that we were not able to build
I
Union,
Teachers
to avoid the massive layoffs which devastated not only
the
also
the
thousand
us teachers who lost our jobs, but
of
union itself.
the losses of 1981 and
Many of us felt that
years to form alliances
broaden
to
members,
with
the
and other community
parents
include
to
issues
our
over
inability
1982 were attributable in part to our
more
than
organize
internally
to create a culture of unionism rather than the
atmosphere
traditional contract concerns, and to
of
racial
division and individualism which
weakened
our
union.
Nuch to my surprise, I discovered that local building
were
trades
security
responding to similar threats
and
quality
creativity and breadth of vision that
able
to
generate.
many
Like
activists, I had stereotyped
than admirable.
the
lives
work
their
of
other
to
our
union
their
job
with
the
was
not
progressive
building
union
trades as less
I dismissed construction workers and their
unions as racist and politically reactionary, and felt that
- 5 -
activities of these craft workers.
several
I
months,
time and skills to
construction workers volunteering their
rehabilitate housing
for
the
of
about
articles
newspaper
noticed
period
a
Yet over
the
from
learn
therefore had little to
unionists
other
their
investing
homeless,
pension funds in order to create union jobs, and initiating
members of community groups
talks
with
much
needed
income
moderate
developing
about
their
in
housing
neighborhoods.
to
In this paper I have attempted
some
examine
of
these strategies, to describe the climate and institutional
traditions
that
these
made
speculate what might
be
generalized
and structure of the building trades
to
unions
this
inquiry
interviews and conversations I
have
had
rank
those
in
are the many
with leaders and
file activists both in the trades and
and
to
from the experiences
Fundamental to
other sectors.
and
possible,
actions
other
in
union sectors.
U.S--VD!99§-1922
Indisputably, unions in the U.S. are in
crisis.
Memberships
become commonplace;
have
dropped
and
a
concessions
unions' political influence is
and there is a generally
negative
unions do.
- 6 -
public
state
image
of
have
minimal
of
what
There has been much analysis of why the unions are in
which
have
experienced
remaining
The
the less unionized
in
concentrated
industries tend to be
industries, and are often located
tech"
in geographical areas likely to be non-union, such
to
According
south.
have
unionized
disinvestment.
national
service and "high
strongly
been
historically
a
manufacturing industries
northeastern
The
such trouble.
Farber,
Henry
in
shifts
account for at most 40
force
the composition of the labor
these
however,
gender
industrial, regional, occupational, and
the
as
over
unionization
percent of the decline in the extent of
1
This analysis
the past 25 years.
within the
power
of
unions
the
revitalize the labor movement
in
it
is
positively
to
that,
suggests
act
to
traditional
sectors--as
well as to reach out to new and growing sectors of the work
force.
labor's
Organized
inability
to
maintain
wages,
working conditions and job security for its members can
attributed to its failure to
changing
several
face
levels.
of
American
respond
On the shop floor,
to
the
organization
on
effectively
industrial
be
workers
are
losing
the
in
of Unionization
1. Henry S. Farber, "The Extent
States," in Challengeand Choices Facing__American
United
NIT Press,
MA:
(Cambridge,
Thomas J. Kochan
Labor, ed.
38.
1985), p.
- 7
-
and
control over the organization of the work process
social
traditionally
alienating.
and
which
relationships
benefits
kept
work
are
being
These
eroded.
too
wages
can
be
to economic crisis and
these
meet
in part with its increasing political and
negative
status
public
image, which have
the necessary popular support
hindered the mobilization of
its
losses
forcefully
Labor's inability to
cultural isolation and
maintain
or
At the level of collective bargaining,
challenges rests
to
sectors,
many
being too tedious
from
attributed to labor's vulnerability
instability.
in
have,
the
more
as
than "another
special
interest group."
There
are
recent
several
examples
Massachusetts building trades of successful
at least initiated, in
implemented,
or
union power.
In this paper
tactics
order
the
from
to
being
regain
will describe some of these
I
discuss
tactics, analyze their effectiveness,
why
trades
union leaders chose them, and speculate about how adaptable
they may
be
that.because
for
unions
workers
sectors share many of
in
sectors.
other
in several of the
the
"craft"
new
I
propose
and
growing
characteristics of the
building trades workers, a model of union structure can
developed for organizing
new
workers
and for maintaining
the strength of already organized "craft" sectors.
-
8 -
be
2
THE BUILDING TRADES
Historgnd_ gture of the Buildingq_Tgra
In
to
order
which
motivations
the
understand
led
to
the
Massachusetts building trades we
nature
unique
institutions.
recent
of
actions
the
must first understand the
of the work and the origins of
Construction
and
circumstances
workers
are
the
trades
perhaps
the
3
archetypal craftsmen,
of
the
building
and this
fact affects every aspect
its
industry,
history
and
its
unionization.
Craft Production
Craft production requires workers
with a broad range
the Boston
from
2. Though my anecdotal evidence is drawn
the validity of the
that
area building trades, I feel
derived model is still relevant for sectors sharing similar
characteristics in other geographic areas.
of women
number
an increasing
there are
Although
3.
the vast
true that
still
involved in the trades, it is
Men have
are men.
construction workers
of
majority
dominated these trades, historically and currently, and to
a
play
women
that
misperception
fostering a
avoid
masculine
significant role in the industry, I will use the
pronoun when referring to construction workers.
-
9
-
of skills who can exercise control over their work and work
environment.
than
Rather
performing
repetitive
tasks,
construction workers take much responsibility for their own
at
4
work, making judgments about how, by whom,.
and to what standards,
will
work
be done.
what
pace,
Furthermore,
construction work is a sequential process, so that "failure
to
be
ready
with
the
nail, board or screw puts
5
it is necessary
Thus
hold."
right
everything on coffee-break
for every worker to have
understanding
full
a
of
every
aspect of the building process.
tradesmen
Building
integrate a wide
variety
be able
must
to
organize
of materials, skills and workers
over the period it takes to build a project--anywhere
a few weeks to several years.
themselves.
in crews of around five,
periodically
to
of
craft.
coordinate
work
these
decisions
are
Construction workers work
informally
workers of that particular
from
Though some of this planning
is done by the contractors, many
made by the workers
and
managed by one of the
The
among
crew leaders meet
the
different
industrialized
of
amount
increasing
is
an
There
4.
in factories, and though this
construction now being done
by
the trades
some extent
sector is being organized to
separate sector, and will discuss
a
unions, I see this as
the
on
influence
its
to
with respect
this work later
traditional construction sector.
5. Bob Reckman, "Carpentry: The Craft and
ed.
Process,
Labor
Case Studies on the
(New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979), p.
-
10 -
in
the Trade,"
Andrew Zimbalist
77.
Because each building is unique, and production is
crafts.
of limited duration, workers must think and act quickly and
how
window
over--but
joint
to
have
I'll
reframe
sheathing,
outlet.
move
to organize the work: "Sure, I can
decide
that
outside
electrical
that
move
wall, and
the
the
off
pull
to
order
in
trades
interact with workers from the other
Plus, we'll probably have an additional sheet rock
6
Decisions
that."
tape and bed when we get to
to
determine
process
made at any point in the building
what
will be possible later.
Sabel sees the essence of a craftsman as the
in
unforeseeable
and
flexibility,
knowledge
general
his
"[applyJ
to
ability
7
initiative
This
situations."
characteristic of the building trades workers, is necessary
in the creation of
Even
the
and
reinforces
their
6.
similar
buildings
site
differences,
new
weather
conditions,
and
other
technologies,
unexpected complications.
are themselves unique.
apparently
of
construction
varies due to geological or
materials
which
products
That the work is often dangerous
an acute awareness that the interdependence
various
skills
not only the
ensures
quality
of
and
Ibid.
of
Division
The
Politics:
7. Charles F. Sabel, Work and
Press,
Labor in Industry (Cambridge: Cambridge University
23.
1982), p.
-
11
-
respective
trades
crafts.
ruled
were
likely
illegal, all workers on a specific project were
to
For examplejif
join a strike initiated by one craft local.
the iron-workers
building
among
strikes
sympathy
their
in
pride
has led to solidarity
Before
workers.
personal
their
also
with
along
awareness,
This
safety.
bvt
work.
their
of
productivity
felt that not enough skilled workers were
hired, and that their safety
contractor refused
was
endangered
because
the
to remedy the situation, not only would
the iron-workers walk off the job, but so would the workers
from the other trades.
This support had
more to do with a
sense of brotherhood than with generating the power to shut
down a
job: due to the cooperative and sequential nature of
the building
process,
a
strike by any one craft can stop
work on an entire project.
Craft Jurisdiction
The
of
interrelatedness
the
building
created not only solidarity, but territoriality:
crafts
has
each craft
has strict jurisdictional control over the right to perform
a specific set of tasks.
A carpenter, for instance, is not
supposed to put in an electrical outlet.
carpenters do
in
electrician who is
knowledge
Even though
many
fact have the skills to do this work, an
paid
higher
a
wage
because
of
of this special precedure has jurisdiction
-
12 -
his
over
this job.
Despite the fact
workers
that
work
site,
skill
culture, they do not
share
wage
trades share a
impact
(The
control.
from
levels
a
and
similar
rates and jurisdictional
is
disputes
jurisdictional
of
different
discussed later in this chapter.)
Historically, the
planning,
project
of
and
even
financing
by
one
person--the
coordinating,
were
designing, engineering,
tasks
executed
a
building
builder.
According to John Joyce, a bricklayer, all functions of the
building process were combined in the job of
master
mason
8
in
the
Bob
century.
sixteenth
documents the master
a
Reckman,
carpenter,
responsibility
carpenter's
design and construction of buildings two
entire
for
the
centuries
9
later.
the
In the first half of the nineteeth century
Large projects
of the craftsmen began to change.
bridges,
warehouses,
buildings were built
economy.
At
this
responsibilities
as
railroad
to
time
meet
stations
the
craftsmen
planners,
needs
began
organizers
and
of
such
as
commercial
a
changing
to lose
and
role
their
designers
(President, International Bricklayers and
8. John T. Joyce
paper
the
AFL-CIO),
Allied
Craftsmen--representing
presented to the International Labor Organization Symposium
May
5-8, 1980), p.
on Workers' Participation (The Hague:
9.
9.
Reckman. p.
78.
-
13 -
because these new complicated projects needed the expertise
of specialist engineers.
master
Also at
cost
carpenterswho had traditionally financed the
of a building, no longer had access to
for
smaller
the
time
this
10
"speculators,"
class
a
Therefore
size.
this
of
projects
capital
sufficient
the
to
many without previous connections
of
building trades, began to usurp the financing function, and
former journeymen who had risen to become masters began
master
carpenter,
no
job
producer.assumed
conflict with those of the journeymen:
keep costs
The masters
had
to
competitive by cutting wages and increasing the
hours worked per day; the journeymen, on
protect
11
prerogatives.
had
into
came
often
that
functions
small
merchant
independent
an
longer
the
Thus
contractors.
assume a new role as labor
to
to
traditional
their
cognizant
The craftsmen were
position of their masters.
of
other
hand,
status
and
the
the
contradictory
We would not be too severe on our employers
are slaves to the capitalists as we
they
to be
bear
we cannot
. . . [But
are to them.
slaves tO oppression,
servants of servants and
let the source be where it may."
2
10. Reckman, p.
84.
11. Ibid.
al.,
12. John R. Commons, et
(Cleveland,
American History
388; in Reckman, p.
1910), p.
-
A__GuMgtgry_
OH:
Arthur H.
85.
14 -
Historyo__f
Clark Co.,
This history helps to
relationship
explain the apparently contradictory
building
between
tradesmen
respect
Though on the job there is mutual
employers.
their
and
and
(it is common,
labor-management roles are sometimes blurred
in fact, for a worker to be self-employed, even to hire his
own crew, during periods when
construction
jobs
is
scarce),
awareness of workers' need to
work
well-paying
there
protect
is
also
on
large
a
clear
rights
their
with
formal mechanisms.
Unionization o'f -the Building Trades
History
Organization of craft workers has a long history.
As
recorded instance
of
early
as
1790,
before
the
first
collective bargaining in this country, master carpenters in
had
Boston
formed a local association
to
regulate
rates, working conditions and apprenticeship training.
the
1820's
journeymen's
awareness of the
split
in order to preserve
trades.
ten-hour
acting
on
a
By
growing
from the masters, began organizing
traditional
their
For example, in
struck for a
unionsJ
wage
regulation of the
1825 Boston journeymen carpenters
workday.
-
15 -
Early organizing efforts
reflected
as
values;
characteristic
craftsmen's
E.
P.
Thompson explains,
of
craftsmanship
Customary
traditions
normally went together with vestigial notions of
and
Social
wage.
'just'
a 'fair' price and a
pride
moral criteria--subsistence, self-respect,
standards of workmenship, customary
in certain
rewards for different grades of skill--these are
as
prominent in early trade union disputes as
strictly 'economic' arguments.
1
Employers
by
imposed
manufacturing
source of
to
the
industries, the trades unions were the
only
tradesmen
had
the
working
employer and
these
demands
contrast
in
because,
Thus
labor.
trained
to
ability
negotiate with employers, the
hours and
conditions
the
accept
to
willing
adequately
have
workers
were
demand,
conditions.
Since
were
yet
employee
not
rather
than
their wage rates,
of
terms
construction
the
lines between
sharply delineated,
were not seen as radical.
In New
York
in
1850, for examplethe Bricklayers and Plasterers Protective
Association gave notice
employers
to
that "Commencing on
the first day of March up to the thirteenth day of November
inclusive, wages will be $2.00
per
day.
Similarly,
in
1833 the bricklayers of Baltimore collectively proclaimed a
13. E.
Class
14.
English
The
Making__of_ the
P. Thompson,
(New York: Vintage Books, 1966),p. 236.
Joyce, pp.
8-9.
-
16 -
Working
14
the power to set their own
to
resistance
to
threats
current
crucial
most
single
the
be
may
tradition
This
of
source
building
the
the
action,
direct
and control has survived.
pride
tradition of worker
by
terms
lost
have
Though tradesmen
ten-hour-maximum work day.
trades
unions.
Structure and Organization of the Building Trades Unions
eighteen crafts affiliated with
At present there are
and
the Building
AFL-CIO.
of the
Department
Trades
Construction
materials
Due to changing production methods and
some specific crafts have merged with others and some
have
been added to the list, but each craft maintains automonous
control over its jurisdiction.
trades
(bricklayers,
engineers, laborers,
iron-workers,
grouped into three categories:
carpenters,
etc.),
operating
mechanical
basic
(electricians,
trades
sheetmetal
pipefitters,
Currently the crafts can be
workers,
plumbers
specialty
and
etc.).
and
trades (asbestos workers, lathers, painters, etc.).
In 1982 78 percent of all construction
Of this, 41 percent was
was private.
residential
commercial.
percent non-residential, or
the
in
The
and
U.S.
34
bulk of the
remainder of the privately build construction was in public
utilities.
Most of the publicly built projects, 20 percent
of which were
federally
financed,
-
17 -
were schools, highways
15
and
In 1972 there
other institutional structures.
were
16
over 920,000
construction companies,
companies
The small
small.
generally
do residential and
dominate
while the large firms
work,
subcontracting
most of them quite
the
large-scale building contracts.
World
Since
II,
War
the
have
trades
building
accounted for approximately 11 percent of the GNP, and have
every twenty workers in the
of
employed approximately one
17
The construction
country.
proportion of
comparison
only
to
any
higher
other industry.
foremen, and kindred workers,"
Almost half are "craftsmen,
in
than
workers
skilled
a
have
trades
20 percent in
the
manufacturing
kindred
"craftsmen and
18
Although there is
workers" are employed in construction.
sector.
Thirty
percent
of all
a general decline in the number of blue
is notable that
industry
whose
is
construction
share
of
total
collar workers, it
the only goods-producing
employment
has
15. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Construction_Rgeorgt,
C30, 1982.
16. Reckman, p.
not
series
75.
and
17. Julian Lange
Industr
(Lexington,
p. 1 .
18. Reckman, p.
75.
19. Reckman, p.
74.
Quinn Mills,Theg Construction
Daniel
NA: D.C. Heath and Company,
1979),
-
18
-
19
significantly
dropped
the
since
mid-1950's.
These
for
workers are not striving for upward mobility, but
the craft tradition and
of
preservation
the
in
pride
their
their status and skill; a tradesman's greatest hope is that
his
son
follow
will
him into his
strength
trades
building
the
of
function of the craft nature
jurisdictional
of
are largely
unions
construction
a
The
work.
this
in
inherent
also
control
relative
The
daughter will marry a member of the trades.
his
that
and
craft
traditionhowever, has been a mixed blessing for the trades
unions.
Piore and Sabel explain that until World War II, when
new materials on processes came into widespread use, a
jurisdiction
craft
hoisting or
became
would be created.
operating
commonly
to
used, a new jurisdictional
of
created, because the skills
from the skills
of
war,
the
however,
used
machines
For
this
contrary
apportioned the new work forms
on
a
when
example,
dig foundations
category
to
After the
craft
case-by-case
logic,
basis,
equally among the existing crafts:
new
a
creating
than
For example, rather
the
or expanding
workers,
of
plastic
union
plastics,
of carpenters to include
jurisdiction
each new plastic material was assigned by rota to
to
carpenters, some
union--some to
given
a
to
masons, some to iron-workers... [the] goal was
-
19 -
was
craft were different
the existing jurisdictions.
unions,
new
over
jurisdictional
the
wildcat strikes
avoid
the construction industry.
disputes that plagued
20
over
The consequent squabbling
"right" to control the work
often divided the trades
traditional
of
the
emerging
a
way
that
in
between
members
crafts
has
undermines
the
of
various
the
Jurisdictional disputes are sometimes
21
that at times they can
"unbelievable intensity"
autonomous
of such
respect
trade has the
which
trades.
take up the entire business of a union
meeting,
directing
time and energy away from organizing efforts.
Work Rules
In spite of the
trade has maintained authority over
jurisdiction is to be performed.
set of work rules
which
Generally these rules
are
put
how
each
problems,
interjurisdictional
work
within
its
This control has led to a
incorporated into contracts.
on output levels,
restrictions
piecework, subcontracting, overtime, the hiring and
firing
of workers, and an employer's right to work
with the tools
of
employment
the
trades;
they
also
require
the
of
20. Michael J. Piore
and
Charles F.
Sabel,
The
Second
Industrial Divide: Possibilities for Prosperity
(New York:
Basic Books, Inc., 1984), p.
123.
21.
Interview
with
Mark Erlich,
Carpenters Local 40-Boston.
22. William Haber
and
United
Brotherhood
of
Harold M. Levinson, Labor Relations
-
20 -
22
Non-union contractors give the
"unnecessary" men.
but
as an example of union inefficiency,
the
jobs than on
23
rules.
three
such as a St. Louis painters' local requirement that
hired
men must be
first paint spray gun and two
24
most of the rules do
gun,
the
for
more men for each additional
protect
the
customs
of
economic
fundamental
contractually with a greater amount
An
satisfaction.
the trade
the
is
brush used
and
to apply oil paint be four-and-one-half inches.
as
painter.
also the welfare of the
larger
a
heavy,
painter's arm and wrist.
if
this
Bourdon
g29e-h22_92Cetruction
Company, 1980),
p.
would
limits
merely
quality
Because
brush
the
job
paint
fatigue
and
is
the
Also, in order to have a smoothly
and Productivity in the Building
University of Michigan, 1956), p.
Clinton
security
requirement that the maximum width of a
productivity, in fact the rule assures a
23.
workers
provide
job
of
social
example of a rule more characteristic of
Though at first it may appear
relatively
and
character
thus
and
industry,
the
work
regulations,
absurd
Although there are instances of
union
by
governed
not
jobs
non-union
on
lower
not
do
studies
is
support their claim that productivity
rules
Trades
157.
(Ann
and Raymond E. Leavitt,
D.C.
(Lexington, MA:
82.
24. Haber and Levinson, p.
178.
-
21
-
Arbor,
MI:
Union _and
and
Heath
painted
the
surface,
continuously so that the edge of the point
is
stroke
before the next
know that this size brush
25
continuity.
of
of
often
and
to
the
from
the
provide
the
maintain
tasks,
discrete
and
autonomy
Rather
on-the-job independence of the construction worker.
than dividing the work into
an
Also,
traditions.
rule-of-thumb
serve
rules
derived
are
They
experience.
historic cataloguing
work
from
are
rules
craft
The
contracts.
union
traditional ways of doing the work
the
necessary
and rigid job descriptions typically found in
the detailed
product
the
facilitate
important to distinguish these work rules
It's
industrial
doesn't dry out
Experienced painters
applied.
will
paint
the
apply
must
painter
rules
these
serve to preserve jurisdiction over a broad range of skills
the
and to keep task distribution within
workers
than
rather
employers.
the
ensure the flexibility construction
for
to
example,
a
technological
flexibility even enables workers
rules: Workers
or
their
union
to
control
Thus they
of
help
the
to
workers need to adapt,
innovation.
change
This
inappropriate
representatives
commonly
suspend rules in order to facilitate production--as long as
and formal control over the building processes
work safety
25.
Ibid.,
p.
164.
-
22 -
continue to be protected.
These concessions are made on
case-by-case basis and do not
the
affect
status
of
a
any
negotiated agreement.
For example, Walter Ryan, the business manager of the
Operating Engineers, Local 4,
who asked him if a
men on
After
a
contract
by a contractor
called
requiring a certain number of
could be modified to require fewer men.
machine
carefully
was
questioning
the
about
contractor
the
effects the relaxation of the rule would have on the safety
of the workers, Ryan agreed.
Ryan feels,
type
This
cooperation,
of
can make union contractors more competitive in
bidding for jobs;
he'd rather
see
wages than eight
jobs
lost.
In
selected
flexible in
six men working at full
can
circumstances,
the
way
this
unions,
maintain
still
formal control of the manning requirement.
The Union Business Agent
To
job
reiterate,
control
historical strength of building
the broad
and
their
management.
source of
trades unions.
the
Another is
are
which
class
relationship
their
to
the lines between the roles of workers
Because
managers
functions
one
craft knowledge and initiative of the tradesmen,
who are not cowed by
employers.
is
blurred, union
are
in
other
members
sectors
often
perform
reserved
for
Since foremen belong to the same unions as the
- 23 -
consider
to
apt
men they supervise, they are
union
the
de
business agent, rather than the contractor, to be their
facto employer, going to him for instructions or support.
and
the other elected officers, the president
While
vice-president, are responsible for internal union matters,
it
and enforcing contracts,
on-site
handling
informally
on
incredible power
the
been
union
basis
check
members
alienated
as
going
or
contractors
however, the business agent's power can
hold
is
to find work.
friends
one
their
The
unions.
characteristic
workers
reasons
the
of
of
the
contact
day-to-day
The business agents'
paralleled in the trades unions.
solidly
abuses
used
from
relationships
from
such
When
helping
unions together.
with
union
of
the business agent is an
that
collecting "strike insurance"
judiciously,
cases
notorious
of
elected union official can help to
in
The
halls.
hiring
of the union business agent, when abused,
corruption--though the fact
overboard
deciding when to
projects, collecting union
specific
the
disputes
jurisdictional
grievances and
controlling
and
dues,
not calling strikes,
or
calling
(and when necessary, formally),
modify work rules
in
responsible for negotiating
is
He
members' daily lives.
has
role
the business agent who plays the critical
is
are
intimate
work
are
thus
crafts
Building tradesmen may be
behind union leadership, or vehemently opposed
-
24 -
not
to
it, but they are never unaware of their union status!
Collective-Bargining-WagsL-Hiring-Job-Training
The
stability
large
of
industrial unions to
In 1948 the
This cannot
its first union election in
stipulated by the
Labor
National
the
election of union representation for
done
in
craft
Relations Board held
trades,
as
Preparations for the
western
Pennsylvania
three
months of staff
and twenty-five mobile crews of NLRB
representatives
road construction workers
work
be
construction
Act.
Taft-Hartley
allows
plants
elections for entire
union
organize
companies and industries.
unions.
mass-production
to supervise
the voting.
required
Despite this enormous effort and
expense only 2709 workers out of an eligible 18,000 were on
the job that day, and they
voted ten to one for the union.
This case involving "only" one hundred contractors and five
26
for
the
industry.
was
a
relatively
simple
one
unions
Obviously,
the
unique
characteristics
of
the
employer-employee relationship in the construction industry
26. Haber and Levinson, p.
67.
- 25 -
from
require a form of union recognition that is different
the form appropriate for a large industrial firm.
Construction workers work at a large number of small,
have likely moved to new jobs at
construction
sites.
like
other
trades,
construction
the
Therefore,
new
workers
the
organized,
By the time an election is
long.
for very
job
one
scattered sites, and do not work at any
multi-employer sectors like garment workers, have different
holding
elections
for workers, the unions and a group of employers
negotiate
Instead
procedures for unionizing.
workers
all
city
of a specific craft in a particular
Though
region.
bargaining usually consists of
The collective
a contract.
of
there are some state
national
even
and
autonomy,
craft
contracts, given the previously discussed
or
to give up
it's unlikely that local unions will be willing
their negotiating power to a national union.
sector
the
specifics of contracts vary widely from craft to craft
and
signed,
all
by
the
the
As with all facets of
from region to region.
union
Once
construction
is
contract
a
done in that trade and area is
work
unusual,
bound
however, for a contractor to
contract.
It's not
request a
modification of the contract, often with respect
to
work
between
rules, on a specific project.
the
contractor and the business
members.
- 26 -
This is
agent,
a
matter
not
the
Wages
unilateral declarations were all
Since the days when
that building trades
collective bargaining became the norm,
of their work,
and
direct
control
worker
needed to set the conditions
workers
of
production process have
the
in
especially
Since 1965 their wage
able
increases
industries
27
differential since 1947.
One reason for the
Because each
bargains
on
pressure
trades
'leapfrog,"
28
wage levels.
area
contributes
to
this
their
increase
have
exceeded even those
average
the
percent,
55
made
gains
structure
craft
the
economic expansion.
By 1970 the
by
construction is the
and
to
hourly
in
contract construction exceeded those
in
manufacturing
craft
and
of
times
won by other skilled workers.
earnings
supply
the bases of union strength.
been
Building trade workers have been
wage rates,
labor
of
by
thereby
creating
spiral.
in
the
bargaining.
wage
The competition
wage
greatest
workers
collective
separately,
all
rates for
an
upward
between
the
Within
the
established hierarchical craft structure, each craft
tries
27.
Daniel Quinn Hills, Industrial Relations and _anggwer
60.
(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1972), p.
in Construction
28. Ibid.,
p.
61.
- 27 -
the
to win a larger wage increase than
Although
others.
there is wage competition between crafts, within each craft
apprentice sheetmetal workers earn
there is wage equality:
wage,
hourly
is
mechanism
The effectiveness of
etc.
construction workers,
settlements
by the
enhanced
they
29
region.
when
even
settlements in the
often
are
concessions
same
militance
to
comparable
of
proposed
rejected
other
Tom Evers, President of the
Massachusetts Building Trades, says that most
workers see wage
the
bargaining
this
traditional
have
who
earn
plumbers
the same hourly wage, journeymen
construction
as an admission of weakness.
it is against
Though they may concede work rules at times,
30
traditions of the crafts to concede wages.
the "manly"
Another way that construction workers have managed to
the
large
number of non-union workers
is through legislation.
Bills
such as the Davis-Bacon Act
require
keep wages high and
out
of
competition
with
that
contractors
on
29. Ibid.
30. David Montgomery gives many examples of the craftsman's
toward the
"a
'manly' bearing
code
requiring
ethical
enjoyed
During the nineteenth century, "few words
boss."
all
its
. . . than this honorific, with
popularity
more
defiant
respectability,
dignity,
of
connotations
This
male supremacy."
egalitarianism, and patriarchal
for construction workers
characterization is no less apt
in
America:
Control
Workers
Montgomery,
today.
David
Studies
Struggles
13.
p.
in
the
History--of-WorksT echnolo gyz__and
(Cambridge:
Cambridge
-
28 -
University
Labor
Press, 1979),
federal projects pay workers in each craft no less than the
in
prevailing wage rate for work
the
This
area.
local
means that during periods of recession, costs cannot be cut
by
hiring
strongly opposed by non-union contractors,
firms as well as union
Bricklayers,
employers,,"
contractors
calls
Tommy
members.
a
Davis-Bacon
because it
bill,
benefits
union
McIntyre
of
"creature
to outbid union contractors by hiring
McIntyre
for less than union scale.
members,
yet he is also
the
the
workers
is well aware of the
importance of this bill in maintaining wages and
union
of
impossible for non-union
it
makes
This
at low wages.
workers
non-union
expressing
a
jobs
for
traditional
legal mechanisms rather than
ambivalence toward relying on
31
The
strength.
maintain union
action to
direct worker
trade
unions'
militant self reliance, however,
does
not
promote the broad political base of support that will allow
the trades to hold on to legal mechanisms, which
reinforce
union strength even though they are not fundamental to it.
Hiring
The ability of the building
trades
unions
to
keep
BLS statics to point out that "rarely is
31. Mills cites
time
there a year when the proportion of estimated working
fails to
stoppages in construction
to
[work]
due
lost
and it usually
average,
all-industry
exceed the national
Mills, p.
48.
doubles or triples it."
-
29 -
to
wages high can be attributed
supply of skilled
labor.
over
control
their
the
critical function that
Another
building trades unions have historically controlled is that
need
employers
boom,
fluctuation
the
Given
a
building
for
demand
the
labor.
skilled
ready supply of
of
building
a
is
there
When
of linking workers with jobs.
construction, employers do not want to carry the burden
whom
hiring permanent employees
during
pay or lay off
they would have to either
therefore willing to concede their right
unions.
union
placed in a job.
union rather
while
to
the
hire
to
Mark
their
32
relationship."8
network,
hall
through
which
employer,
he will be
Thus workers develop an allegiance to the
Furthermore, until
spent many hours socializing at the union
A
waiting for job assignments.
entire
As
union.
hiring
than to any one employer.
recently workers
worker's
are
A worker is bound not to one particular
but to the
hall
employers
The
times.
slack
of
social
life often
explains,
Erlich
community,
a
revolved
"It's
construction
around
their
his
family
twenty-four-hour-a-day
No doubt this personal contact promoted an atmosphere
of camaraderie, especially in times when jobs were few
far between.
"Once you're in, you're in.
32. Interview with Mark Erlich
-
30 -
and
You take care of
33
Erlich
each other."
even
extends
to
a
operation.
new
for him when he was absent
from work because he was at the
he was sent by the
more
regulation than jurisdiction.
sacrosanct
The spirit of brotherhood has even become codified as
of the constitution of
"warm
provide
the responsibility of
about
section
their constitution a
example, includes in
for
Boston,
part
The Plumbers and
locals.
several
Pipefitters Local 12 in
members to
an
apprentices to a non-union job, violating what
director of
is an even
needed
him, but covered
accepted
When Erlich was out of work,
hospital.
jurisdictional
daughter
his
only
The union not
brotherhood
this
a carpenter who had to
about
because
state
that
geographical
across
He told a story
boundaries.
move
explained
assistance in
and
friendship"
it is
the
relationships, not the rules, which are most valued by
the
finding
work
for
unemployed
flexibility and power to
This
construction trades unions.
Yet
brothers.
serve the needs of members is not always
possible in other
unions, even when the friendship exists.
control
Because unions
resemble a closed
shop.
discriminate against
by
Though
law
workers,
non-union
non-union workers will be sent
The
hall.
33. Ibid.
also
directly
labor to contractors, and therefore
of
control the supply
hiring, they
to
jobs
must
not
reality
few
they
in
through
a
union
Taft-Hartley Law in 1947 outlawed closed shops.
- 31 -
Yet it wasn't until ten years later that
the Supreme Court
ruled that hiring halls couldn't use union membership as
hiring
Especially
standard.
there
because
are
a
few
complaints from contractors, who are free to hire non-union
workers
at
workers,
times
unions
when
still
the unions cannot
supply
consider
membership
union
enough
a
prerequisite for employment in a union shop.
practice
Building trades unions
job allocation.
a
While industrial unions
unique method of
follow
seniority
rules in determining who gets or keeps a job, most building
trades rotate work among members.
The business agent keeps
a list of people looking for work,
ranked by how much time
has elapsed since a worker's last job.
Some
simply assign jobs by matching skills.
Because jobs are of
short
duration,
job-sharing is necessary to
young
and
old
workers
available.
This
craft
unionism,
workers equally.
job
alike
share
rationing,
like
trade
ensure
whatever
other
promotes union cohesion by
work
is
treating
all
Yet even this system is flexible and
can
modified, but "only by communally sanctioned
of
equity:
exceptional
that
elements of
be
families,
unions
in periods of adversity,
extraordinary
needs
medical
may
34. Piore and Sabel, p.
be
given
116.
-
32 -
workers
expenses,
priority
judgments
with
large
or
other
in
job
34
assignments."
Training Programs
Building
trades
supply
distribution, but also the
nature
of
craft
proficient in a
of
variety
skills,
another important institutional
years,
has
This
been
labor
force
to
plan,
able
own work, training programs are
its
apprenticed workers were
and
a
the
Because the
labor.
production necessitates
execute and supervise
specific trade.
of
only
not
control
unions
trained
practice,
structure.
Historically,
by master craftsmen in a
not much changed over the
institutionalized
into
formal,
state-certified programs, which are jointly administered by
the unions
and employers groups.
Sabel describes not only
the functions of the apprenticeship training, but also the
root of the craft culture:
[The apprenticeship experience teachesJ two
and
The first concerns objects
related lessons.
preconditions
the second the social
techniques,
and
implications of the craft's knowledge...The
craftsman must be able not only to make things,
the
but to make them as quickly as possible with
waste.
available materials and tools and minimum
as
he
And
he can learn only on the job.
This
gains practical experience on the job, he learns
he
itself--that
learning
a second lesson about
about
the
to
know
there
is
know
all
never
will
work, and that
of his
materials and techniques
in
learned
only
can be
he
does know
what
collaboration with other craftsmen... [they3 have
diligence, attention to
the capacity to teach
mixture of reverence for
detail and the peculiar
the capacity to
large
and
in
the
tradition
small that is characteristic
disregard it in the
who is successful doing things the old
of anyone
-
33 -
way.
Apprenticeship
encourages
these
traits,
giving them at the same time a concrete form that
often separates the young worker from the culture
him
all
the more
of
his
family and
united
securely with his
mates.
The
French
say,'Le
mnetier fait l'homme,'
the
craft
makes the man.35
Though
organization of
employers
exact
the
apprenticeship
typically
cents-per-hour
to
years
of
traditional
a
finance
vary
by
certain
trade.
Apprentices
off-site classroom
is
limited
contractual restrictions on
by
the
hour
The
more
number
of
and competition for entry into these
is fierce.
Slots
grandsons
often
of union members.
through
of apprentices to
journeymen,
are
their
and
unions
the
ratios
of
receive three or
instruction
training.
and
trade,
amount
training programs for each
on-the-job
apprenticeships
the
programs
contribute
employees work in a
four
of
terms
awarded
to
the
programs
sons
Although this practice
and
helps
to build a membership which shares social values, including
strong union affiliation, it
excludes
workers
who do not
belong to the predominant ethnic culture of the trade.
Most
entrance
into
trade
unions
is
through
the
apprenticeship programs, but there is a small proportion of
construction
workers
who enter by other
means.
Certain
trades, carpenters for instance, will allow a contractor to
35. Sabel, pp.
83-84.
-
34 -
if
hire a non-union worker
a
within
after
week
worker
the
union
the
number of
The
hiring.
joins
tradesmen
entering unions through the "back door" is not large enough
to alter the
tradition
that
fact
one
through
mechanisms,
fundamental
its
of
craft
the
of
perpetuation
the
leaves the building trades unions open
apprenticeship,
to
criticism for their exclusionary practices.
Relations with Minority Gro22
"The building trades don't
they discriminate
dismissed
leader
against EVERYBODY!"
There are in fact historic
than
racism
blacks.
The
and
trades
black
at
North,
the
on
the
other
(bricklayers, plasterers, cement
because there
- 35
time
and
way for newcomers to break
a
In the South,
members
a
for family and friends of
reserved
union members, there was not
into the trades.
in
and
earliest
the
organized
craftsmen
black
because membership was
accepted
immigrants
building trades unions, among
when there were few
other
reasons
recent
for the exclusion of
trades.
the
in
structural
unions formed in this country, were
trowel
is the way one union
of racism
accusations
anybody,
against
discriminate
-
was
a
hand,
the
finishers)
sufficient
36
number
of
black workers with skills
Since craft unions
in
to
these
trades.
this country were organized shortly
after the Civil War, however,
"improper"
in
when
whites
have social relations with
considered
it
37
blacks,
the
southern unions that did admit blacks set up parallel local
unions
rather
than
including
black
members
in
white
"brotherhoods."
Blacks were not the
participation.
A
only
group
significant
technology at this time enabled
excluded from union
change
the
in
production
contractors
to
hire
"greenhands," women, children and immigrants "who displaced
a
score
of
carpenters
hundreds
of
thousands
at
half
[of
38
idleness on the pavement."
the wages of one .
carpenters
were3
thrown
Although there had been prior technological
the
nature
of the tradesman's work
hadn't
.
.
in
changes,
changed
much
before 1872. After this point,
36. F. Ray Marshall, Allan
Labor Economics:--WagesL
M.
Cartter, and Allan G. King,
Egm2lo Xment±
(Homewood,IL: Richard D. Irwin Inc.,
and
1976),
Trade
Unionism
p.530.
37. Ibid.
38. Robert Christie, ErMire
in
Wood:
A
HistorY__of_ the
of
CaER2etEs Union (Ithaca, NY: The New York State School
Industrial Relations, 1956),
p.
25; cited in Reckman, p.
87.
-
36 -
a host of
woodworking
machine inventions
rained down upon the unprotected craft. A sander
which smoothed wood as fast as a dozen carpenters
which truned out six wood
and a compound carver
carpenters
and
replaced three-score
duplicates
were but two of a series of such inventions which
lured handicraft work into the factory
. . .39
With the centralization
doors,
simple
of
production
moldings and the like
in
of
windows,
factories
where
specialized labor was used, carpenters were deprived of the
occasion to use their
skills,
Though it may today seem
been
unionized
and
that
thus
and
thus
of
their
the new workers should have
controlled
"greenhands" were excluded because
at
they
the
were
time,
They were perceived as a threat to the
ability to
protect
workers
"willing"
overt racism
members
to work for lower
from
the
not seen as
craftsmen.
their
jobs.
unions'
competition with
wages.
Direct
and
and ethnic chauvinism, of course, also played
their role in excluding blacks and immigrants.
Union-Minority Antagonism in Boston
The antagonism between the building trades unions and
the minority communities in Boston came to a
head in 1967,
when federal funds were pouring into Boston.
At
Model Cities
time
was designing its building program, there was
federal support for the
39.
the
construction and rehabilitation of
Ibid.
-
37 -
public facilities,
expansion
of
homes,
on
apprentices,
Racial
and
tensions
insensitivity of
and
the
funds
for
black
But
were being excluded from this work by
In 1968 only two percent
unions and union contractors.
black.
contributed
campuses.
university
construction workers
all union
construction
Airport. HEW
Logan
construction
highway
many
fewer
even
were
white
of
journeymen, were
heightened
by
by the
typified
unionists,
overt
the
statement of the Plumbers Union president who, at a meeting
of the union-controlled advisory committee to the Bureau of
Apprenticeship, on the day after
Luther
Martin
have
assassinated, said that his union didn't
40
more because "we let one in last year."
In
response
to
Community Construction
the entire
Workers
situation,
(UCCW),
the
King
was
do
any
to
the
United
first
black
union since Reconstruction, was started to get a fair share
41
of the federal "plunder" for the
community.
A
decade
later,
workers,
the
in
unions
spite
were
of
still
several
community groups, such as the
House,
which
provided
minorities and women.
Ibid. pp.
to exclude
initiatives
Third
training
and
World
job
new
by
minority
Jobs
Clearing
placement
for
The minority construction workers in
40. Mel King, ghain ofChange
170.
1981), p.
41.
managing
(Boston, MA: South End Press,
97-100.
-
38 -
1977 formed a coalition with white residents
who
were
also
Coalition,
Boston
excluded
organized
People."
and
formed
of
the
the
city
Boston
Jobs
under the slogan, "Boston
Because
of
the
Jobs
increasingly
for
suburban
character of the construction work, the demand for jobs for
Boston residents was not just a minority demand.
In
1979
the Boston Jobs Coalition was finally successful in getting
Mayor White to sign an Executive
principles
of
hiring
a
minimum
residents, 25 percent minorities
work
Order,
of
and
agreeing
50
percent
to
the
Boston
10
percent women to
42
on any publicly funded or subsidized developments.
In 1983 the Boston Jobs
signed into law.
Residency
Ordinance
was
finally
In 1984 the unions and union
contractors
43
renewed a lawsuit against the Boston Jobs Ordinance.
Today,
unions
are
admitting a
growing
number
of
women, as well as blacks and Hispanics. Minorities make
up
over 14 percent of
the
apprenticeships
(9.1k black, 3.6%
Hispanic).
The training programs include over six percent
44
women.
No doubt this is attributable in
large
part to
national civil rights legislation, as well as local efforts
42.
Ibid.,
p.
192.
43. The Labor Page, March/April 1985, p.5.
44. Barbara Lipski, "Minority Participation in the Building
Trades," unpublished paper, JFK School of Government, Fall,
1984.
-
39 -
of minority groups
which
resulted in regulations like the
Boston Jobs Ordinance. There are $500 million in
stake
generated
by
current
wages
at
city-funded
and
45
Yet
city-administered projects.
white
rank and file members are increasingly aware
that there are
workers.
other
Given
the
leaders and
union
of
the
practical reasons for organizing new
rising
power
of
the
non-union
contractors, unions need to accept the fact that
no longer control the labor supply or exclude
the work:
fact
the new workers
should
unions, for if new workers are
be
not
become competitors for the jobs
they
people
organized
included,
currently
can
from
into
the
they
could
by
union
held
members.
The
building trades have recently made an
with the Boston public schools
apprenticeship
programs.
to
recruit
agreement
graduates
Each union has agreed
for
that
in
three years 15 percent of their apprentices will be Boston
46
public
school
graduates.
This is
important
for the
minority
communities
because
percent black and 20 percent
the schools
Hispanic,
minorities.
One recent illustration of
cooperation
with
45. The Labor Page,
community
p.
groups
1.
46. Boston Globe, November 22, 1984.
- 40 -
is
are
about
Asian,
and
a
spirit
new
that
Tom
50
other
of
Evers,
President of the
spoke at
black
a
Massachusetts
Building
Trades
Council,
large and militant May Day rally in support of
South African workers and against apartheid.
spoke about educating his
become more actively
of social
justice
constituency
involved
for
important in beginning
have, now that many
so
Evers
that they will
in fighting for such issues
These initiatives are
all workers.
address the problems the unions
to
members
Alienated from the growing
have
moved
out
of
Boston.
minority communities, they need
to reach out in order to establish ties
of communities where they want to
with the residents
work.
I
more substantive efforts to build these ties
will
in
discuss
the
next
chapter of the paper.
Massachusetts Building Trade Unions: The Erosion of
Strength
The building
effects of
trades, like other sectors, are suffering the
a changing economy and an aggressive anti-union
environment.
estimates, the
The Business Roundtable
reports that by some
percent of construction done in the country
by union firms decreased from 70 to 40 percent between 1973
and 1980, and that
during
those
-
41 -
years,
"the
number
of
craftsmen identifying themselves as union members
by 125,000, to only
1.6
declined
while those identifying
million,
had
risen by 400,000, to
themselves as non-union workers
47
These figures parallel the increasing
nearly 3 million."
proportion
of
large
non-union
Congressional Budget Office show that
volume)
in
only
1969
firms
construction
percent of the 400 largest
from
Data
firms.
the
four
sales
(by
This percentage had increased to
48
In 1969,
1979, and to 24 percent by 1982.
were non-union.
13 percent
by
for the first time, the largest contractor in the
49
by sales volume was non-union.
Construction workers, like workers in
other
bargaining.
have been pressured into concession
industry
unions,
Plumbers
in Portland, Oregon took an hourly wage cut for residential
and repair
work from 023.74 to 014.79. Operating Engineers
in Northern California took a
15
benefits, as well as a reduction
classifications from
agreed to
260
to
6.
percent cut in wages and
in
the
number
Carpenters
of
work
in Baltimore
accept a new worker classification, which allows
employers
to
hire
unskilled
47. The Business Roundtable, p.
48. Congressional Budget Office,
Act:-ImRli cations for
(January 1983) p.
49. Mills, p.
the
workers
at
a
13.
NodifyinSthe_DavisgBacon
Labor Market and Federal Budget
12.
57.
-
42 -
50
'pre-apprenticeship' rate
other cities
proven
According
Unions in
have given up similar concessions, which have
but
all
of only 05 an hour.
in
useless
protecting
workers'
to the.BLS, average construction wage
jobs.
increases
percent in 1981 to 6.5 percent in
51
1982, and -. 2 percent in the first quarter of 1983.
have dropped
from
13.5
of
the
where nearly 3.5 percent
52
workforce is engaged in construction,
non-union
shops
53
are
West to
wcreeping
east."
The success
of the
In
Massachusetts,
non-union sector in Boston
is
vividly
described by Bruce
Mohl in a Boston Globe article on work-preservation clauses
in recent contracts.
from
operating
both
These
clauses
union
and
prohibit
non-union
contractors
construction
companies in the same area.
somewhere around
The first line was drawn
1-495. Then the construction unions closed
ranks
behind Route
128.
Now they
are circling the
contract
wagons around Boston, relying on tough
remaining
to
protect
their
last
language
stronghold in Massachusetts from further inroads
to Beat
Them
Jane
Slaughter,
Concessions and How
50.
Project,
1983),
(Detroit, MI:Labor Education and Research
pp.
16-19.
51. Ibid.,
p.
27.
52. US Census-Detailed Population Characteristics-1980.
"Drawing
53. Bruce A. Nohl,
Preservation Clause," Boston
51.
-
Win Work
Unions
the Line:
Globe, October
23, 1984, p.
43 -
54
by non-union contractors.
Though melodramatic, this image does dramatize the struggle
between
the
unions
importance to the
and
the
non-union
sector, and
the
of maintaining their strength in
unions
the city of Boston.
In Boston
the
unions
control
non-residential projects as
housing
projects.
concentrated
There
strength.
building boom.
well
families.
Quincy,
Though many
they
still
hotels
been
Second,
citizens
tradesmen
return
institutions
to
such
with old friends.
a
is
an
old
largely from union
have moved to areas like
Boston
in South Boston where they
neighborhoods,
as Amrheins, a
The
can
be
city's
is the tradition of
worker
bar
assured
and
of
administration
reflects its citizenry's pro-labor orientation.
unrelated,
this
and several more
Boston
are
restaurant
not
for
retail and office
completed,
at
up
city-sponsored
reasons
and
gathering
meeting
many
all large
First, the city is experiencing
major projects are under way.
city whose working-class
as
are several
Several new
complexes have recently
virtually
Third, and
militance
in
Boston, so well-known that Herbert Northrup, of the Wharton
School
of
Business
at the
University
of
Pennsylvania,
comments that "no open shop would build in Boston downtown,
54. IlL
55. Ibid.
-
44
-
55
they couldn't get enough police protection!"
At
one
the
time
unions
residential work in the Boston
individually built
controlled
most
of
the
Even
most
of
the
union-built.
But
area.
triple-deckers
were
from the post-World War II construction boom until the 1972
recession, there was so much work that unionists were
to choose
the
jobs
they wanted, and they chose the large
commercial jobs which paid
lower
able
paying residential
well,
leaving
the smaller and
jobs for non-union, less
workers.
Now the unions control only five to
56
They
of the residential work in the area.
ten
skilled
percent
continue
to
large-scale developments built for
dominate the medium- to
commercial use, but this too may change.
Technological Changes
There has been a continuing progression of technology
over the decades which had enabled
organize the construction process.
balloon-frame
house
significantly change
or
choices
adapt to a new method or use a
new
pride for the craftsman.
56. Interview with Erlich.
-
45 -
how
to
The development of the
hand-held power
the trades.
about
tools
did
not
In fact, learning how to
tool
is
a
source of
What did
change the very nature of construction work
was the introduction of mass-production
increasing
reliance
production--first,
factory
on
and
technologies,
standardized doors and windows in mills, and more recently,
the rise of pre-fabricated and manufactured housing as well
as mobile
homes.
new
These
divide the skilled labor of
the
methods further
into
craftsman
an
Not only is the factory work itself
tasks.
job,
production
separate
industrial
who
rather than a craft job, but construction workers
assemble the factory built-homes
on
site
the use of their broad skills as well.
are deprived of
Tom Evers describes
the new work as a "division of labor into small pieces each
done by a specialist,
so
a
main
foreman's
function
is
57
changing to personnel management, not decision-making."
In 1970 the mobile home industry produced almost half
in
of the single-family homes in California and 40 percent
58
Now it is possible to factory-produce an entire
the U.S.
home
in
another
state,
transport
Massachustts, and use very few men
major characteristic
of
the
by
it
to
assemble
construction
site-specificity, is now being changed.
- 46 -
it.
industry,
to
The
its
Large contractors,
57.
Interview
with
Tom
Evers,
President
Massachusetts Building Trades Council.
58. Clyde Johnson. grS~gizeor__Die
27.
Johnson, Publisher, 1970), p.
truck
(Berkeley,
of
CA:
the
Clyde
like auto manufacturers, can now
non-union areas
Executive
of
Office
the
of
move
country.
Communities
currently researching ways to
production
out
to
Massachusetts, the
In
and
Development
facilitate
is
manufacture
the
changing zoning regulations
59
owners.
and possibly arranging subsidized financing for
and sales of mobile
by
homes
control
Union workers are concerned with the loss of
their jobs, but even more
their jobs.
and
The City
Employment
immediately
the
Agency
is
involved
I'll discuss
union
in
promoting
reaction
this technology to severely diminish the
unions'
power.
to organize these
yet;
of
to this in
potential
construction
(The building tkades unions are
factories,
New
solution to the city's
the next section, but here want to emphasize the
for
loss
of Boston's Neighborhood Development
Hampshire-manufactured housing as a
housing problem.
with
over
beginning
but not very successfully as
perhaps this is where they may
learn
something
from
the industrial unions.)
Growth of the Non-Union Sector
Union influence is also declining because of the easy
entry of
new non-union firms
into the industry
and
(which are often short-lived)
the rapid expansion of construction
59. Mobile Homes: Housing_for_ Massachusetts
of Massachusetts, March 1977).
- 47 -
(Commonwealth
in the
suburbs and sunbelt, where unions are traditionally
less
influential.
immediate
Boston
Not
area
but
residential work,
only
are
beginning
non-union
unions
to
lose
firms
are
outside
the
more
the
of
beginning to
expand their influence to the larger commercial projects as
well.
In
the past, non-union contractors have been poorly
organized, but
Contractors
groups
(ABC),
like
the
the
Associated
largest
and
Builders and
fastest
growing
non-union association in the industry, have been increasing
their membership and influence.
Stephen
P.
Tocco,
executive
Massachusetts ABC, holds
that
unions,
general
the
in
construction
protect the rights
of
David Finnegan--show
times
that
of
non-union
position
which represent roughly 40
construction workers in the state,
place
diredtor
may
percent
once
the
of
have
the
had
a
but
longer necessary
are no
to
60
workers.
When interviewed on The
last
fall,
Tocco
mentioned several
open-shop contractors show concern
for
their
employees by giving them turkeys at holiday times.
It
seems
will be able to
security,
unions
unlikely that this display
offer
personal
have
been
construction
safety
for
60. Boston Globe, November 14,1984.
- 48 -
generosity
workers the financial
and human
struggling
of
dignity
over
for
a century.
which
The
building
trades
problems that their
injury
the highest
patterns" of any
Hourly
workers.
They have
unemployment and
and the "most wildly
rates
underemployment
highest
the
rates,
agriculture.
and
mining
workers
workers in any
have a higher accidental death rate than do
other industry except
serious
Construction
face.
members
the
address
actively
unions
wage
erratic
construction wages are
high, but the average worker is employed for only 30 to 35
61
Though Tocco's talk
"good" year.
forty-hour weeks in a
of turkeys may seem laughable,
the
ABC
ABC has grown from
threat to the unions.
with about 500 member contractors in the
force
large and sophisticated
the late 1970's. The
a
presents
an
real
organization
mid-1950's
to
a
with over 12,000 members by
Massachusetts division counted almost
500 members in 1984.
The
aggression
of
non-union
groups
specifically
threatens the craft tradition that has been the
the building trades unions' strength.
labor
force.
have
hold on training
a monopoly over the skilled
The primary characteristic of the
training is the "task-oriented"
non-union
approach, which many union
workers believe is incompatible with craft production.
61. Joyce, p.
13.
-
of
A major priority for
ABC, for example, is to break the unions'
so that unions no longer
source
49 --
The
non-union apprenticeship programs are requesting permission
from
the
state apprenticeship board to
graduate
after they pass an objective test, forgoing
interactive learning and
62
union programs.
skill-building
the
workers
years
of
in
required
the
Charles Yelin, a public relations specialist for ABC,
says that there is "a horrifying shortage
of entry- level
63
workers."
Stage one of ABC's training plan is the Merit
Shop
Institute,
which
had
500
Massachusetts
enrolled in 1982. As the title of
its
workers will be rewarded for
against the traditions of
the
benefits of all members of
a
the
program
"merit,"
trades,
been
again
an
idea
craft are paid equally.
able
to
important
He says that
lead to the division of labor into more
One
things
accomplish
maintenance of a standard wage (all journeymen in
make the same hourly wage).
indicates,
where salaries and
union activist said that one of the most
the trades unions have
workers
is
a
the
craft
"merit" pay will
pay categories;
at
the heart of the open-shop philosophy is a system that will
enable
contractors
to
pay
their
workers
standard wages applied to all workers.
shop a
leadman
less than
Whereas in a
if
union
is informally in charge of a crew of three
62.
Lynda
Gorov, "Nonunion
Contractors Cry Foul
Apprenticeship Issue," Boston Globe, April 2, 1985, p.
63. Interview with Charles Yelin, ABC.
-
50 -
on
39.
or four and is not paid extra, in an
more than
open
shop he is paid
other workers, and supervises more people.
"The
workers
in
charge of 100 low-wage eighteen-year-olds and just pray
64
killed!"
one gets
no
open-shop sees progress as one or two
skilled
Another goal of ABC is to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act.
effective in capitalizing
on
claiming that the Act was an
opportunities
this
for
union
attempt
"explicit
find
with
concern
this
workers less than genuine, and there is evidence
least in
the
somewhat better
training.
jobs
Boston
the
area,
union
non-union
than
the
and
stable
wage
to
limit
that
65
accomplishment."
blacks and other minorities"
leaders
been
the 'Union as Racist' label,
had in fact been its "outstanding
Though
have
goal
pursuing this
experts
relations
Public
sector
sector
and
work
and
minority
that,
is
at
doing
in providing
rates
for
64. Interview with Erlich.
65.
Construction Labor_Re2ort (Washington D.C.: Bureau of
April 9, 1975), pp.17-19,
National AffairsInc., No. 1016.
Build
America
Works
to
cited by The Davis-Bacon Act: It
Construction
Trades
The Building and
(Washington D.C.:
Department, AFL-CIO,1979), p. 5 8 .
66. Unions train many more minorities
than do
non-union
Although the non-union program includes 15.8 X
programs.
minorities, and the unions 14.2%, the non-union sector has
have 445.
only 180 minorities in its programs; the unions
the
non-union
The drop-out rates are also much higher for
The NDEA figures, which being government-regulated
sector.
the
show
that
at
their
best,
should show both sectors
The
an
hour.
04.97
lowest-paid non-union worker earned
- 51 -
such tactics can be quitem-pouwerfui,
minorities,
trade union strength has been eroded
Traditional
changes
the
in
and
practices,
environment.
technologies
economy, new
an
and
active
The next
section
aggressive
will
and
by
business
anti-union
describe and analyze
how the Massachusetts building trades unions are developing
new strategies
in order to save union jobs--without giving
conditions
67
which the unions have struggled over the years.
away
the
control over wages and
working
for
Furthermore the
$7.17.
worker earned
union
lowest-paid
The non-union minority
non-union wages were more variable.
are
workers are more concentrated in low-paying jobs than
a
-. 83 correlation between
was
the union workers. There
and
non-union trade
the percent of minority workers in a
-.65.
only
the correlation was
the unions
For
wages.
33.
Lipaki, p.
political
67. I will not here discuss the more traditional
are also
unions
that
the
strategies
and organizational
the
work
is
example
An
success.
with
some
pursuing
These
contracts.
in
recent
clauses won
preservation
operating both union and
clauses prohibit contractors from
same area.
non-union ("double-breasted") companies in the
as a major victory, and
Most people in the trades see this
consider this a short-term
still
while I'd agree, I would
gain, and I want in this paper to discuss strategies which
could lead to more substantial institutional and structural
changes in the building trades.
-
52 -
SPECIFIC EFFORTS BY LOCAL UNIONS IN
MASSACHUSETTS
68
Strategic Investments of Union Pension Funds
The Massachusetts Development Foundation
Given the
contributed
elements of the craft tradition which have
to the present organization of building
unions, construction
workers
have
adaptable in their responses
and the decline
of
been
trade
resourceful
and
to changing market conditions
their unions' influence.
This chapter
describes some of those responses and addresses some of the
political
implications
of
the
Boston
Area
building
tradesmen's flexibility in the face of change.
The
protect
Boston
their
contractors
tactics:
non-union
building trades unions are
jobs
with
from
further
traditional
and
collective bargaining and
construction
in
the
inroads
fighting
by
relatively
militant
city.
non-union
successful
picketing
But they
to
are
of
now
68. Much of the following section
is
drawn
from Michael
Giaimo,
Barbara
Lipaki,
and
Elizabeth
Strom,
"Stragic
Investment of Union Pension Funds: The Case of the
Boston
Bricklayers," unpublished paper, MIT Department
of Urban
Studies and Planning, Fall, 1984.
- 53 -
realizing that their
financial
as well as their political
strength can be a powerful tool.
include direct
involvement
Thus
in
their
new
tactics
strategic decision-making,
usually the sole prerogative of management.
One of the most exciting innovations, and what Barney
Walsh of the carpenter's union describes as "the future of
69
the
New
England
labor movement,"
is
the
strategic
investment
of
projects.
jobs
pension
their
restrictions
encourage
members
for
can
and
fulfilling
to
The
complying
create
of ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income
benefits
Department of
unions
the
beneficiaries.
while
union-built
with
Security Act) and
alone,
to
Through careful investment,
for
provide
funds
their
retired
Building
primary commitment to
workers
and
and
their
Construction
Trades
the AFL-CIO estimates that in their industry
every
$100
million
invested
in
union-only
70
construction projects, 5000 new jobs are created.
This initiative
union members, but
can
also
potentially
unionized
benefit
not
only
construction firms and
the communities in which projects are built.
69. Wilfred C.
Rogers,
"Pension
Investing
Boston Globe, October 8, 1984, p.
62.
Union members
Paying Off,"
70. Randall Smith, "Use of Pension Funds
to
Create
Union
Jobs
Raises
Issues
of
Loyalty,"
Wall
Street
Journal,
January 17, 1984, p.1.
- 54 -
can benefit not only from jobs but
of return on
their
also from a better rate
pension fund investment.
For example,
between 1965 and 1975 the California Pipefitters' return on
traditional
stock
and
bond
investments
percent, while funds placed in real
71
percent.
Union
estate
only
1.75
by
8.25
grew
construction firms can benefit from the
work and also from the special efforts that
union members will
put
jobs are completed on
into
spin-off
extra
the unions and
ensuring that union-financed
time.
only from the use value of
also from
was
Communities
the
economic
projects
can benefit not
themselves,
activities.
They
but
are also
likely to benefit from good financial deals arranged by the
unions.
Construction workers are in a unique position to make
strategic investments.
Building trades unions have a legal
right, under the Taft-Hartley
jointly with representatives
Act,
of
right does not belong to public
representing
to
manage their funds
employers
sector
groups.
unions
or
unions
workers of a single employer (usually
large,
oligopolistic firms such as those in the auto,
communications
This
steel,
industries) who have no legal control
and
over
71. Anita Landdecker, "Strategic Pension Fund
Investment,"
unpublished
thesis,
Department of
Urban
Studies
and
Planning, MIT, 1982.
-
55 -
The
their funds.
pension
funds
initiative
could
entrepreneurial
function
unions
The
tradesmen.
Through
supply.
to
lead
strategic investment of
for
reintegration of
the
which historically
much
control
now
investment
strategic
the
belonged
to
of the
labor
can
also
they
influence the demand for their skilled labor.
Eight
years
leaders
several
ago,
the
from
Massachusetts Building Trades Council initiated efforts
create
what
become
has
the
Development
Massachusetts
Finance Foundation, modeled after
to
a similar institution in
southern California. The Development Foundation of Southern
California was founded in mid-1980 by trustees of seventeen
construction
industry unions.
15,000 members,
These unions,
representing
and 01.75 billion in assets, had committed
0286 million to local,
union-only construction projects by
January 1984. Each union may buy shares according to
own financial abilities and goals in any of the
projects.
their
Foundation
These are large building projects, selected
provide union members with
work.
Over
to
half the projects
are residential, with a sales price ceiling imposed by
the
72
unions
on
the
houses funded.
There
is
still
some
confusion
about
the
legality
and
prudence
investments, but as yet there is no clear ruling.
72. Landecker, pp.
3-5.
-
56 -
of
these
Union leaders were motivated to take this action when
they discovered that their pension funds were being used to
finance
non-union
projects in the Sun
Belt.
"They
were
using our members' money to put us out of jobs," is the way
73
Walsh described the situation.
The Foundation seeks the
advice
of
meet the
financial advisors to ensure
possible
participate
in
in
investments.
Union
Foundation-initiated
locals
well.
shares on a project-by-project
This
opportunity
individual action is
for
therefore
can
enterprises
basis
leaves them free to pursue other investments on
as
investments
"prudent investor" regulations of ERISA, and then
suggests
investing
that
either
by
which
their
collective
own
or
in keeping with the strong
craft traditions of worker autonomy and independence.
According to Rich Kronish,
Foundation, participants
continue
Executive Director of the
to
debate
its
future
course,
citing
several
possible
strategies
for
job
74
creation.
One strategy would be to help developers known
to be friendly to union labor by making capital
perhaps at slightly below-market
would be
rates.
available,
A second strategy
to offer financing to developers less sympathetic
to union labor, on the condition that they
73.
Ibid.
74.
Interview with Rich Kronish.
- 57 -
use union labor
on the financed project.
It
unclear
is
whether
actually create jobs, since it
probably
likely
that
pro-union
create
to
union
new
developers
pro-union
antagonize
would
anyway, and while
labor
likely
the second strategy is more
strategy
first
is
union
developers would have used
jobs, it would
the
with whom the unions have close ties by offering advantages
to traditional adversaries, such as members of ABC.
and
The third,
preferred,
strategy
union funds.
the condition that
Opportunities
the
Unions then offer funding on
developer employ only union labor.
to apply this strategy have been
rare since it requires a project that has
by
other
return.
to finance
all without the
projects that would not have been built at
availability of
is
investment
sources
yet
been
offers
Also, since the Foundation is not
only commit a small percentage
of
its
given development, the project should
relatively
a
overlooked
good,
large
portfolio
ideally
be
safe
and
can
to
any
one
in
which a small investment will make a difference.
The Lowell Hilton
Such
an
opportunity
Foundation several years
presented
ago
in
itself
to
the
Lowell. Developer Arthur
Robbins could not get financing for a proposed $22 million,
-
58 -
251-room hotel designed as part of a larger package for the
redevelopment of downtown Lowell. The initial commitment of
$5.5 million by the Foundation enabled Robbins to negotiate
for a
federal Urban Development Action Grant, and convince
the banks to provide the
balance.
In
timely support, the Foundation was
percentage of room
rental
exchange
able
to
insist
union organization of future hotel employees.
for
the
its
on
a
revenue, a percentage of future
appreciation and a promise by the developer not
the Foundation
for
to
oppose
In addition,
obtained a reasonable annual rate of return
participating
locals,
and a commitment
by
the
developer to hire union construction workers.
This was a case, says Kronish,
genuine difference of
opinion
where
about
"there
was
a
the risks involved,"
and the established
banking community was proven wrong in
75
its initial evaluation.
The fact
that
the project was
completed nineteen days ahead
future
union-supported
immediate
gains
of
schedule
projects
of
this
in
new
the 17 locals who participated.
gains will come from the good
created
kind.
to unions were a good rate of
their $5.5 million investment, and 310
members of
bodes well for
Lowell,
a
will
town
75. Ibid.
-
59 -
with
toward
an
The
return
jobs
for
on
the
More long-term
trades
unions
interesting
and
particularly
contractual
militant
union
guarantee
jobs typifies the
history.
The
Foundation's
for the protection of
building
union
hotel
trades unions' support for the
unionization of other sectors.
The
Foundation
developments.
has
funded
two
other
The South Shore Shopping Mall
and an office building in East Cambridge are
commercial
in
Braintree
much
smaller
projects than the Lowell Hilton, though still the
commercial projects which are
the unions.
traditionally
type
of
organized
by
By investing in projects outside of the
city,
the unions are trying to tighten their control over an area
in which they have been losing ground.
goal of
the
Foundation-sponsored
projects
creation, they serve also to broaden the
control
and
to
strengthen
While
worker
the
is
union job
scope
of
worker
solidarity.
They
furthermore provide a much-needed opportunity for
trades unions to
establish
primary
building
new ties with community groups
and thus promote a more positive public image.
TraditionalTIes and New Alliances
The ability
in
the
city
of the unions to maintain their strength
depends
not
only
on
maintaining
traditional ties to friends in power, but also
new
alliances
historic
with
animosities.
groups
with
whom
there
on
60 -
forming
have
One of the building trades
-
their
been
unions'
most durable
Archdiocese
and important relationships has been with the
of Boston--a natural alliance because so
members of the trades are active in their
A
large
local
majority of construction workers
Irish, Italian and
in
many
parishes.
Boston
are
French-Canadian Catholics. Construction
workers have therefore volunteered, for example, to rebuild
community churches like
Plain,
which
was
the
Blessed
Sacrament in Jamaica
partially destroyed
by
an
arsonist's
fire.
The
Catholic
church
in
Boston has been
supporting the unions politically,
vocal
in
by fighting to maintain
prevailing wage legislation, and economically, by employing
union labor exclusively
on
their
construction
This policy has come under aggressive attack
years
76
archdiocese to reverse its position.
to
have
union
who
has
tried
charged
workers, the
workers.
for
that
Church
over
by
two
hiring
is
Though a church
only
discriminating
by
projects.
the
ABC,
convince
the
The ABC contractors
construction
against
minority
official defended the union-only
policy, saying it was
"based
accusations continue.
One union
on
the church's theological
77
teaching, which is pro-worker and, thus, pro-union,"
the
leader sees the exclusion
76.
Bruce
A. Mohl, "Union-only Contracts of
Archdiocese
1.
Scored," The Boston Globe, November 14, 1984, p.
77. Ibid.
-
61
-
of minorities as the biggest problem they have to
because it has enabled ABC to
78
racist image.
capitalize
on
overcome
the
unions'
Therefore trades unions, led by the Bricklayers, have
proposed
union-funded
projects
resourceful response to their
to
community
for
need
jobs
and
a
new
base of political
public image, as well as to the changing
Boston. While their negotiations with such groups
power in
as the
groups--a
Back
of
Multi-Service
the
Hill
were
Center
implications of
association
and
economically
the
Roxbury
inspired,
the
this new contact are far-reaching, as will
become clear in the following discussions.
79
Back of the Hill
The
Foundation
is
investing their funds in
has
been
primarily
Bricklayers Local 3
member
that
in
not
interested
primarily
residential
non-union
for
construction,
some
time.
in
which
The
Boston, however, is one Foundation
has indicated an interest
in
investing
its
funds in residential projects located in communities within
the Boston city limits.
The Bricklayers Local 3 is smaller
78. Interview with McIntyre.
79. Much of this section
Strom.
is
drawn from Giaimo, Lipski and
- 62 -
than most other
construction
unions,
and therefore feels
that the specific needs of their
members
adequately addressed through the
Foundation.
did participate in
the
geographic
that the Back of the
Hill
specific
discussions
unions.
the
In the spring
always
Though
jurisdiction,
project
They
needs.
with
not
they
Lowell and East Cambridge projects
located within their
their
are
would
better
therefore
felt
address
entered
community
independent
of
Tommy
1983,
they
into
of
McIntyre
other
of
the
Bricklayers union approached the Back of the Hill Community
Development Association (BOTHCDA) and expressed interest in
working with the community to develop 100 units of low- and
moderate-income brick-built housing.
The Back of the Hill is a racially mixed neighborhood
in the Roxbury section
of
BOTHCDA was formed
1972
coalition
in
in
response
Boston
to
by
of
an
the
about
ad
hoc
destruction
institutions in the area during
the
past
540
people.
neighborhood
of homes
fifteen
by
years.
One of these institutions, Lahey Clinic, in anticipation of
a plan to build a facility in the neighborhood, acquired 40
houses and 10 acres of land.
torn down before the decision
39 of
these
was
made
homes
to
had been
relocate
the
entire facility in Burlington. BOTHCDA was able to generate
enough
unfavorable
publicity
over
abandonment of their neighborhood
- 63 -
the
destruction
and
to convince Lahey Clinic
to agree to
give
land, at
reasonable
a
them
the
first option to buy the Lahey
price.
The Back of the Hill group
has also shown its ability to stabilize the neighborhood by
its development, in conjunction with HUD, of 125
units
of
rent-subsidized apartments for elderly and handicapped area
residents.
They are justifiably proud of this project and,
aware of the continuing
housing
crisis,
are motivated to
work with the Bricklayers to develop more
housing
on
the
site of the Lahey land.
No doubt part of
the
motivation
of the Bricklayers
for the selection of this neighborhood was
a
response
to
the fact that BOTHCDA was at the time also negotiating with
the city's Neighborhood Development and
(NDEA) to build, on a site
close
to
Employment
the
proposed
units, eighteen units which were a part of a
Housing Initiative." The
fact
Agency
brick
"Hanufactured
that NDEA has recently been
promoting the use of manufactured housing in Dorchester and
Jamaica Plain, as well as on the Back of the Hill, has been
of concern
to
the
local building trades unions who see a
80
growing trend of city support for non-union construction.
The unions are troubled
potential union
jobs,
but
not
only
by
the
loss
of
also by the fact, noted in the
80. The proportion of non-union work granted by
the city
between
1983 and the first quarter of 1985 rose
from
13
percent to 20 percent.[NDEA figuresJ
-
64 -
previous
housing
section
is
of
built
the
out
paper,
that
of state, by
the
manufactured
predominantly
young
minimum-wage workers in New Hampshire. Essentially, Local 3
hopes to convince community
than
manufactured
proposals:
financing
The
at
homes
union
groups
by
will
to
build brick rather
presenting
arrange
the
construction
a point or two below market rate,
supply apprenticeship positions for
exchange, the community's
following
local
development
loan
and
will
residents.
will
employ
In
union
bricklayers.
The union and
the
community
agree that brick-built
homes are preferable aesthetically and
union has also been able
to
functionally.
demonstrate
that
though
first glance, cost differences appear prohibitively
a
closer
analysis
comparable
necessary
from
to
reveals
the
that the costs
standpoint
purchase
one
of
of
the
brick-built
are
actually
family
estimated
house
at
large,
income
proposed homes.
1100-square-foot manufactured house is
063,O63. The same size
the
The
to
An
cost
is estimated at
about 071,278. We can assume that both families are able to
get
the
NHFA
10.65 -percent,
thirty-year
mortgage
(now
Housing
Initiative)
and
available under the Manufactured
that both
families
their homes.
We can
put
5 percent of the purchase down on
also
assume,
conservatively, that a
family spends a quarter of its income on housing.
-
65 -
A family
needs
to
earn
at
least 026,628 a
year
to
afford
the
manufactured home, and 030,096 to
afford the brick-built
81
house.
Neither family would qualify as low-income, and
both would be considered from the same income.class.
In addition, by using their pension funds as leverage
to encourage a bank to offer below-market-rate construction
financing,
the
Bricklayers can help to
offset
the
disadvantage that does exist for the housing they
supply.
The
union
plans
to
arrange
to
cost
wish
deposit
substantial portion of its pension assets in a local
in
exchange
for
the
bank's willingness to
community project at a point or
The
Bricklayers
two
below
currently have their $8
million
a
bank,
finance
market
to
the
rates.
pension
fund and their $2 million annuity fund invested through the
Boston Trust, where 60 percent of the funds are invested in
fixed investments and 40 percent in equity.
are
made
in
foreign
or
anti-union
possible that the International
be
convinced
to
invest
No investments
companies.
It
is
Bricklayers Union may also
part of its
$20
million
in
a
suitable project.
The Bricklayers can also
service to the community.
provide
BOTHCDA does
another
not
necessary
have
front money to pay architects and engineers to plan
81.
Giaimo, et al.,
p.
45.
- 66
-
the
for
upa
project, especially a project with a very high
going forward.
The
Bricklayers
can
risk of not
provide
the actual
packaging of the development plan.
Not only can they raise
the necessary money, but in
so they can indicate to
doing
BOTHCDA that the union is committed to this project and has
confidence that it will be satisfatorily negotiated.
What
venture,
has
blocked
however, is
the progress
of
this
the continuing- perception
community members that the unions do not show
the
community's
right
to
neighborhood.
BOTHCDA
excluded
important
from
minority
communities
relationship between
a
reservations
by
members feel that they
decisions.
Some
many
respect
determine the shape
for
of
their
are
often
leaders
doubt
the
Boston
construction
black and Hispanic community.
expressed
promising
feasibility
in
of
union
a
and a
At this point each group has
about the sincerity of
the
other
group and, while realizing that a partnership would benefit
all involved, wants the other side to make the next move to
prove its intent to be truly cooperative.
One
member
BOTHCDA said
get
the
[Clinic3
place"
land
to
that
they
would
developed,
get
the
"love
and
to
would meet any
time,
82
going.
Although
project
Bricklayers and Back of the Hill residents
both
82. Interview with Steve Norris, BOTHCDA member.
-
67
-
say
of
Lahey
any
the
they
are
still
benefits
interested in the project,
for
each
group,
which
discussions
has
have
obvious
at
least
temporarily been suspended.
The Back
how
historic
which could
of
the
Hill project is but one example of
union-community antagonisms
be mutually beneficial.
thwart
efforts
Despite the fact that
their project has been temporarily shelved, the Bricklayers
have learned, from their experience with the
Back
of
Hill Community, not only the importance of trying to
the
build
solid relations with community groups, but also some of the
mechanics of putting together a project to build affordable
housing for Boston's communities.
South Boston
The Bricklayers have recently
made an agreement with
the city to build 17 brick row-houses in the Andrews Square
neighborhood of South
were
with
the
Boston.
city,
Although
rather
than
community, many aspects of the Back
of
the
negotiations
directly
the
Hill
with
the
project
have been incorporated into this development.
These houses, like those proposed for the Back of the
Hill, will be 1100 square feet and will cost about 065,000.
In
both
cases the factors keeping the cost down
availability of cheap land
and
- 68 -
below-market
are
the
construction
loans facilitated by leveraging
Since one
was
the
of
the union's pension funds.
the problems of the Back of the Hill project
inability
to
find
a
suitable
developer,
the
Bricklayers have now taken a bold step and have proposed to
take on this role themselves.
expertise to
will enable
the
They feel that they have the
coordinate the project and maintain that this
them to waive the developer's fees, "bypassing
profiteers"
and
thus making
residents of the area.
housing
affordable
The estimated saving on each
to
house
could be from $1000 to $2500.
By demonstrating
the
benefits
of
their
plan, the
Bricklayers hope to ensure that city and state policies now
favorable to manufactured
union-built
housing.
housing
In
can be altered to favor
addition
to
keeping
costs
affordable and building quality housing, the union can also
guarantee a
83
residents.
number
Thus
of
apprenticeship
the union not only
jobs
to community
creates
jobs for their members, but also changes the
immediate
climate to be
more positive toward union-built housing in the future.
83.
This
job
is
very roughly
calculated
to
create
approximately 34 six-month jobs, but it's likely that there
will be a small group of bricklayers working for only a few
weeks.
Clearly, not many apprenticeships will be
created
by
this
project, but if the union takes on a
number of
have the
apprentices for this job, these new workers will
year
program.
Source of
opportunity
of
a
full
four
calculations was John Rowse, Architect.
-
69 -
Proposal
to the Roxbury Multi-Service Center
Last
called
with
fall
Tommy McIntyre of the
together
people
several building trades leaders
from
the
Roxbury
discuss the possibility of
in
Bricklayers
Multi-Service
union
to
meet
Center
to
rehabilitating 99 housing units
the mainly black neighborhood.
as they had with the Back
The unions
emphasized,
of the Hill group, that it would
cost nearly the same amount to hire competent union workers
as poorly trained
The
main
and
less
productive non-union workers.
advantage to the community
workers would have
been
apprenticeship positions
the
provision
to
talked about the need for
Roxbury
a
of
employing
of
a
union
number
residents.
long-range
planning process: the possibility
housing
of
McIntyre
approach
building
of
to
the
affordable
while also providing well-paying, stable jobs
for
union workers.
The
growing
meeting
power
of
marked the unions' recognition
community
groups
like
Multi-Service Center to recommend or reject
contracts.
the
Roxbury
city-sponsored
More significant than the proposed contract for
the 99 units, then, was the
improve their relations
the city.
the
of
unions'
with
the
Instead of relying on
church and politicians in
power,
decision
to
try
to
minority communities in
old
the
alliances
with
the
white union leaders
had begun to communicate with former adversaries like Chuck
-
70 -
Turner, one of the leading
Third
World
Jobs
forces
clearing
in the formation of the
house
and
the
Boston
Jobs
leaders
with
Ordinance.
Turner directly confronted
the
union
accusations of past and continuing racism, and claimed that
the unions
had a "credibility problem."
There followed an
open and exhaustive debate over issues such as Boston
and
Ordinance, affordable housing,
months
later,
Turner to
the
Mayor
union
Flynn appointed
committee
jobs.
both
responsible
for
Jobs
Several
McIntyre
and
monitoring the
enforcement of the Boston Jobs Ordinance. Rumor has it that
the relationship between Turner
and that one reason for
this
and McIntyre has improved,
is the unions' suspension of
action on their suit against the Boston Jobs Ordinance.
this rumor
proves
unions are
willing
to
If
be true, it is significant that the
to
forgo
what
feel
they
is
their
jurisdiction over Boston jobs, in order to better relate to
community groups.
The establishment
of
the
Finance Foundation and the
that the building trades,
Bricklayers'
as
locals, can make investment
management.
of
financier
Massachusetts Development
a
group
initiatives
or
as
individual
decisions usually reserved for
Their assumption of the entrepreneurial
and
craftsmanlike ability
developer
to
show
is
made
understand
-
71 -
and
roles
by
the
coordinate
the
possible
tasks of a complete building
been
further
tested
project.
in
their
This
ability
recent
has
experiences
coordinating volunteer projects, such as Rosie's Place.
Rosie's Place
In further efforts
to
improve their image and their
community ties, The building
form
new
independent
alliances
and
with
trades
unions
have begun to
groups like Rosie's
well-respected
shelter
homeless women in Boston's South End.
Sue
for
had
one
fire
last
of
120,000 in
been contributed by union workers
to rebuild a five-story residence that was destroyed by
arsonist's
an
and
poor
Costa.
Rosie's board members, estimated that more than
labor and materials
Place,
year.
Union
members
an
have
also
rehabilated at least one other shelter in Roxbury and
have
pledged to donate their time and
skills to build a second
84
shelter for Rosie's.
When asked how difficult it
was
to
get construction workers
to
volunteer their time on these
projects, Tommy McIntyre said that union officials found it
easy, that generosity was
and
that
all
85
generosity."
leaders
Of
part
had
to
of
do
the workers' character
was
to
"tap
their
course when a union business agent asks
84. Jeremiah V. Murphy,
"Restored Rosie's
Place Has Open
House," BostonGlobe.April 28, 1985, p.
44.
85. Interview with McIntyre.
- 72 -
members to generously volunteer
to
work
at Rosie's, they
are likely to respond positively.
While projects like
Place help to create
the
rehabilitation
favorable
of
Rosie's
for the unions,
publicity
unions' role as developers in
South
Boston.
cooperative
Though
planning
union
in
like
projects
the
in
one
participate
workers
their
the
for
they also reinforce the skills that are necessary
work crews, it
has
in
been
generations since they have assumed all of the functions of
a
developer.
Yet.
at
Rosie's leaders from
each
craft
gathered informally to plan the timing and responsibilities
for the delivery of
materials,
head of the Laborers'
from a union
local
contractor
promised
doing
Bricklayers promised to get
and
machines
to
do
Engineers promised to
a
the
A
and labor.
The
to borrow dumpsters
in
work
the
contractor
masonry
have
the appropriate time.
equipment
area.
The
to donate mixes
work.
The
Operating
a "cherry picker" available at
schedule was roughly drawn:
Laborers would go in first to prepare
the
building,
carpenters would work the next
and
so
week,
on.
The
the
Tommy
McIntyre took on the overall coordination of the project.
Because
practical
this
solutions
was
to
a
volunteer
what
disputes over jurisdiction.
job,
otherwise
There
were
from architects who were hired to work with
- 73 -
there
may
some
the
have
were
been
complaints
tradesmen
at
Rosie's
materials
that
well-coordinated.
While
labor
and
of
much
this
not
were
can
problem
be
attributed to the difficulties of using volunteer labor, it
is true that formal planning
at
is
levels
strategic
an
the unions are to be
ability that must be improved upon if
successful developers.
The unions' outreach to potential new allies like the
Roxbury
Multi-Service
Center
or
Rosie's
Place
is
reminiscent of their historic link with the Catholic church
in that both efforts are motivated by political and
social
economic
needs
rather
considerations,
alone.
Union
experience
publicity
members
of
than
will
coordinating
from
their
immediate
ultimately
projects
efforts.
and
the
Union
emphasized, however, that though
communities
benefit
good
from the
positive
have
leaders
with
relationships
are important, tradesmen cannot give up
traditional reliance on collective bargaining
their
strength
to
promote the common welfare of their members.
Members of industrial and
taken the lead in
organizing
broad
link labor'a concerns to
those
example of this in Boston
is
(LSP),
service sector unions have
of
the
political groups that
other communities.
Labor
a network of unionists that formed
-
74 -
Support
in
An
Project
response
to
the Greyhound strike.
a local strike
assistance.
in
The LSP alerts members when there is
need
It also
of
extra
trains
equipment so that they can
them
Members of
arrested
with
or
the
the
well
use
of
video
work
of
their
as
to
TransAfrica
of
financial
their
own
LSP participated in and were
the
leaders
on
publicize
locals to Boston's communities as
memberships.
pickets
for
occupying
Deak-Perera, a local Krugerrand dealership, and organized a
May Day rally in support of the South African workers.
It is to the credit of local building trades
that they
recognize
others.
Building
the
need to work with and learn from
trades
transcend traditional
leaders
have
jurisdictional
the
rally
was
the
not
construction union
he
was
May
been
able
to
independence in order
to show support for other labor sectors.
example, spoke at
leaders
Tom
Evers,
for
Day demonstration--even though
organized
members.
or even
well-attended
by
A machinist told me that when
collecting for the striking
British
miners
this
winter, the construction workers could always be counted on
86
for their
generosity.
At the Greyhound rally where 5000
unionists demonstrated
drivers, 4500 of
86.
the
in
solidarity
with
the
striking
demonstrators were from the building
Interview with Tom Grouper.
87. Interview with Evers.
- 75 -
87
trades.
This
broad
encouraged.
inception
political activity has not
always
been
Samuel Gompers, the leader of the AFL from its
is
best-known
for
his
philosophy--that is, "the union
"business
union"
combined the principles of
fraternal organizations (an injury to one is an
all) with business organizations
injury
to
(the task of the unions is
to secure the highest possible wages that the
market will
88
bear)."
He maintained that
labor movement could succeed
only by relying on its own resources, and that political or
social ideals that went beyond
workers were not
only
the
immediate
demands
of
irrelevant but detrimental to their
interests.
In
other words,
89
simple"
brand of unionism.
he
supported
a "pure
and
Piore points out that with the rise of the industrial
unions, the Gomper ideology faded, and that labor
in
fact
gained its power because of its new role
90
of
a
broad
progressive
alliance."
as the "spearhead
attributes the recent decline
strength with the
of
union
He
therefore
88. Stanley Aronowitz,
W92King__g1Mss Hero: A New Strategy
for Labor (New York: Adama Books, 1983), p.
11.
89. Ibid.
90. Michael J. Piore, "Can Labor Survive Re-Gomperization?"
in Proceedingsgofthe Thirty-Fifth Annual Meeting% Madison,
WI: 1951, P.
37.
- 76 -
"re-Gomperization" of the movement after the passage of the
1964 Civil Rights Act, when labor "found itself suddenly in
conflict
with
the
other
legislation for blacks,
members
women,
the
of
the
coalition;
environment, and even
health and safety began to conflict with the provisions
of
collective agreements," and retreated to the pursuit of the
91
constituency.
The
narrow interests of their
immediate
activities of groups like the LSP can counteract what Piore
calls "re-Gomperization."
It is
the flexibility of the building trades unions,
along with the motivation of hard times, that enables
to
suspend
their customary
community movements today.
aloofness
YFeademen
strong supporters of labor;
new
movements.
is
their
cross
alliance
Crafts unions have
backwardness
is
organizations.
out
to
ability
91.
not
and
and
have always been
picket
line.
political
criticized
primarily
their
own ranks,
that
any
that
broader
for
necessarily
The fact
community
to
their
with
been
for their political isolation and
minority groups from
social
it is rare, for example,
a construction worker would ever
What's
to
them
but
exclusion
of
this political
inherent
to
crafts
they are beginning to reach
minority groups attests
change customs or rules in order to
Ibid.
- 77 -
to
save
their
old
jobs, create new jobs, and
craft
tradition--not
preserve
exclusion
autonomy and equality, which
essence
of
divisiveness,
the
but
now are necessary to preserve
craft unionism.
-
and
the
78 -
WHAT CAN BE
LEARNED?
When I asked Walter Ryan
of
could
union strategy
characterize
trades, he
the
the Operating Engineers if he
of
the
building
said, "In typical building trades' fashion: the
strategy is
unformulated."
When I asked Tommy McIntyre of
the Bricklayers
Union the same question, he said, "There's
no
we
real
plan;
statements
as well
just
seize
the opportunity."
These
characterize the nature of the building
trades
as their union strategy-- autonomous, flexible and
sometimes unpredictable.
What then
might
be
generalized
from this workforce to be applied to industrial or
service
sector unions?
Many
workers
pride
themselves
on
their
broad
knowledge and ability to learn new skills quickly and enjoy
solving
problems
they
High-tech workers and
haven't
those
encountered
before.
in the service sector possess
the resourcefulness that has been the essence of the
tradition.
Becuse
their jobs depend on
forces, they may move from employer to
method to method.
Therefore
their
- 79 -
changing
employer
craft
market
and
from
self-definition
must
come from an identification
with their employer: they
General
employees,
with
are
craft rather than
engineers
homemakers
ever-changing households.
their
rather
All of
rather than Data
than
maids
these workers also share
the construction workers' vulnerability to changing
of
the
economy
Furthermore
and
their
geographically
the
immediate
U.S.
short
which
organization along industrial
Though not all
needs of
jobs are often of
dispersed,
for
all
employers.
duration
makes
lines
cycles
and
traditional
but
impossible.
workers share the characteristics and
problems of the craft tradition, a model of craft
unionism
92
could be broadly, if not universally, applicable.
The primary goals of unions are to maintain high
stable
wages
members.
and
In craft
to
guarantee
unions,
job
these
security for
goals
eliminating competition for wages and
thus
can
for
be
and
losing
their
jobs
to
other
their
met
by
jobs,
so
that workers need notchoose between bidding for the
wages
and
workers,
lowest
often
92. Piore and Sabel claim it is likely that, in response to
the crisis of fragmented
and unstable markets, there will
be
a
massive reorganization
of
American
industrial
structure
which will
move
away
from
mass-production
techniques,
and
toward
small
batch
production
of
specialized products. This new production paradigm in many
ways resembles what we now know as craft
production,
and
thus we may include workers
whose
jobs
are
affected by
these changes in our list
of
workers who can be organized
according
to a
crafts union
model.
Piore and
Sabel,
pp.105-133.
- 80 -
unskilled,
who are "willing and
money.
Keeping
wages
out of
able"
to
work
for
less
competition
also
assures
of
employers 4 the ready availability of skilled workers who can
be employed as they are needed rather than full time.
Controlling the Labor 5u221!X
Training Programs
In
order
to control the supply
of
skilled
craft unions must control the supply skills.
labor,
That is, they
must guard the means by which craft workers gain the skills
needed for high-quality, efficient
production.
The
long
tradition of apprenticeship training in the building trades
does, in
effect, precisely this.
benefit by instituting
training
Other work sectors would
programs
appropriate
to
their crafts.
93
According to
Rand
Wilson,
Communication Workers of America
the high-tech industry
members
of
various
is
an
organizer
for the
(CWA), one way to organize
to run educational programs for
trades.
Groups
of
installers,
engineers, technicians and programmers could be involved in
programs to upgrade skills, set standards of competence and
93. Interview with Rand Wilson, CWA.
-
81 -
accreditation, and
become
safety
their respective
issues
of
familiar
with
the
jobs.
health and
Ideally,
the
company would fund the programs, and the union would design
and run them, as in the
building
trades.
companies sponsor training programs,
that
union
sponsorship
would
Currently
but
the
Wilson
suggests
more
program
create
consistency, more worker participation, and stronger worker
allegiance
to
the
information-sharing
union.
could
Job
be
referral
organized
along
and
similar
lines.
94
Mike
Hillard,
who has been active
in
organizing
high-tech engineers, says that engineers have traditionally
identified
careers
with
management,
threatened.
They
changing base
of
Jobs
1970's
in
hardware,
the
in
skills
the
but
need
office automation, and now
to
now
seeing
maintain
a
their
rapidly
if they want to keep their jobs.
depended
early
are
on
knowledge of
1980's on systems
on
computer
software
communications.
are becoming a mobile labor force.
two to three years, after which
an
and
Engineers
Projects typically last
engineer
who
doesn't
have the opportunity to move up in the firm must find other
work.
Just as years ago
the
production
doors was moved from the domain
94.
Interview with
Research Group.
Mike
of
Hillard.
- 82 -
the
of
windows
craft
member
and
carpenter,
of High
Tech
today the least skilled parts
of
an
engineer's
being automated and moved out of his or
Engineers are one
group
that
would
her
be
threats to their rights on the job if
job
are
jurisdiction.
able
they
to
had
resist
access to
the re-training union programs could offer.
If
these
training
respectability necessary
programs
to
set
accreditation, as the building
the non-union
high wages
achieved
their
trades
own
have
the
standards of
done, much of
competition for jobs would be eliminated and
would be maintained.
Even if training programs
could not achieve this level of control, they
would
serve
as an effective educating and organizing mechanism.
Equal Wage Rates and Job Rotation
A less direct,
eliminating
wage
but
no less important, mechanism for
competition.
attempts to divide workers
personal
and
would
professional
Building trades unions do
and
resisting
be
the
competition
this
by
in
elimination
between
of
workers.
maintaining equal wage
rates and rotating jobs among workers in
Because foremen are included
employers'
the
the
same
craft.
bargaining unit with
other workers in the craft,worker solidarity is fostered.
Although
inclusion
of
current
managers
legal
in
restrictions
the
- 83 -
bargaining
prevent
the
units
of
industrially organized unions,
in
some
cases workers are
demonstrating their awareness of the need for formal equity
between
workers.
currently
on
two-tiered
The
strike
wage
pilots
to
at
prevent
system,
United
the
whereby
Airlines
institution
workers
now
are
of
in
a
the
bargaining unit would be paid at a higher rate than workers
yet to be hired.
The strike reflects the awareness that if
some workers are paid less than others, even those
or more
threaten
equally
skilled, the subsequent competition for wages will
the
jobs of the higher-paid
workers,
who
will
likely be replaced by lower-paid workers.
Pay for Knowledge and Opportunity to Use Knowledge
Maintaining
control
over
training
and
hiring
are
broadly
institutions
can
defined.
jobs are divided into discrete tasks, skilled
If
be
achieved
only if jobs
workers can easily be replaced by unskilled and less costly
workers, and the value of a broadly skilled worker to a job
is diminished.
Therefore the
building tradesmen insist on
work rules prohibiting workers not
trained
in
the
craft
from performing what tasks are part of the craft job.
In
the
years
programs and on
they need to
the
spent
in
apprenticeship
training
job, workers accumulate the knowledge
creatively
solve almost any problem relating
to their craft and to apply
their skills in the use of any
-
84 -
new
tooltechnique
or material.
The opportunity
this knowledge is a chief goal for craft
pride
in
the
challenge
Craftsmanlike
skill
is
and
the
use
workers, who take
variety
basis
to
of
for
their
the
work.
broad
job
definitions essential to a workforce's ability to work well
and efficiently and to keep up with
swiftly- changing
requirements.
A
this
indispensable
to
workforce
its
with
employer:
ability
in this way,
job
can
be
broad
job
definition fosters employer dependence on craft workers.
A
good
example
classifications
is
of
the
the
importance
situation
of
described
broad
by
job
Linda
Buchanan, a machinist at the Pratt and Whitney plant where
95
aircraft engines are
produced.
She is assigned to work
with numerically controlled equipment which
were
three
one.
The
to six milling and
introduction
of
drilling
combines
what
operations
into
this new technology
and
reorganization of the jobs have put machinists out of
and restructured the jobs of
have been assigned to the
broad
training
new
and
problem-solving, they are
the
remaining
equipment.
experience
not
workers,
Despite
in
the
work
who
their
on-the-job
permitted by the company to
edit or reprogram the tapes that run
the
machines.
They
95.
The
following
information
is
from
a
series of
interviews
with
Linda Buchanan, a machinist
at
Pratt
&
Whitney, and a member of the IAM Local 1746.
-
85 -
merely load
the machines, monitor their progress and check
the dimensions of
only a
few
knowledge
the
months
finished pieces.
the
machinists
Even though after
have
picked
up
the
needed to do the reprogramming themselves,
are supposed to call a programmer or engineer
problem that arises.
tapes.
for this, according to the foremen, is the
of sabotage.
to solve any
There are even locks on the
so the machinists have no access to the
they
machines
The reason
company's
fear
But since foremen are responsible for keeping
up productivity rates, they in fact look the other way when
the
machinists
use
keys
they've managed to
acquire
to
unlock the equipment and do the necessary editing.
Thus in
workers need
informally
order
to
break
protect their
may
prefer
feel
maintain
the
satisfaction craft
in control of a job, the machinists
the
jobs.
to
to
very
Just
work rules designed
to
help
as on a simple job a carpenter
install
an
electrical
outlet,
these
machinists act to extend the use of their skills.
Yet the machinists'
union
is trying to maintain job
control by claiming jurisdiction
over both machinists' and
programmers' jobs, rather than
one
job classification.
also hampered
by
routinely ignore
rigid
trying
to
include both in
Although the building trades
jurisdictional
boundaries,
are
they
work rules, knowing that performance of a
variety of tasks will enhance pride in
-
86 -
their
work.
What
the
machinists
and
other
mechanism for modifying
craft-like workers need
job
descriptions
is
a
that will allow
job flexibility without giving up what protection wor rules
afford.
At present, the company
as
well
as
the
union
is
working against its own best interests, limiting efficiency
by
the
limiting
Therefore, I propose a
used
in
the
building
boundaries and work
contracts,
workers'
of
flexibility
modification
trades,
rules,
the practices now
of
whereby
while
functions.
jurisdictional
specifically defined in
could be altered in certain circumstances, when
both parties agreed.
The increased job
flexibility
that
craft classifications were combined into
would cause
relaxation
fewer
categories
fewer intra-union disputes than would the mere
of
jurisdictional
currently divide tasks
benefited by improved
to
boundaries.
productivity
and
is
sense to employ a flexible workforce.
should
skills, not by
Employers
product
in
system is not only
use,
for
makes
of
The latter
skilled workers, but
inefficient and ultimately unsound for employers.
- 87 -
it
knowledge
of specific tasks.
demoralizing
quality.
Work assignments and
therefore be determined by
performance
who
limit workers' control would be
When a flexible mode of production
salaries
would result if
Work Rules: Flexib ility and Protection
A paradox of workers' efforts to maintain job
the capacity for
flexibility
apparently rigid work
seem to restrict the
and
lies in the establishment of
Though at first these rules
rules.
of
rights
control
workers
to
reprogram
a
machine or to help a fellow craftsman install an electrical
outlet, in fact they allow workers
away
or
unions
these rights on individual projects, as
unions do, when the workers
feel
to
bargain
construction
there is something to be
gained by the concession.
Since
work rules are often modified either
or informally, the worker can
even
use the right to "work
to rule" as an effective means of power
If a machinist, for example, had
formally
this
over and employer.
power,
he
or
she
couldon a case-by-case basisassume duties not included in
the usual job description.
Buchanan, for example, would be
able to judge for herself whether or not
and job
machines.
capabilities
responsibilities would permit her to reprogram her
The option to modify work rules would
reinforce the decision-making
and so is
her
quite
skill
of
serve
to
the craft worker,
different from the "job-control" unionism
currently prevalent in the industrial unions.
- 88 -
Teachers in Newton give us
another
example
of
how
collectively bargained work rules can
be
useful
in
both
96
direct and
indirect ways.
Newton teachers have a clause
in their contract exempting them from formal responsibility
to stay
school
after
school clubs.
Of
course
this rule because
they
classroom instruction.
know
that
rather
rules
they
to attend parent meetings or to run
define
as
job
more
than
important for teachers to
But it's
hours
than having extra duties externally imposed.
Such
become
voluntarily putting in
a
bargaining
concrete contract gains for
teachers
their
disregard
extra
have
are
customarily
teachers
refused
extra-curricular
to
chip
teachers.
perform
activities
any
in
of
their
gains.
of rules by
use
customary
as they "worked to
department
flexible
more
Last winter, Newton
order to pressure the school
This
winning
to
rule"
concede
skilled
in
wage
workers
responsible for a broad range of tasks is an important tool
of craft unionism.
Broad job classifications combined with stricter work
rules protect workers and
offer flexibility to management.
In many small shops and sometimes in large
ones,
suspension of rules is the norm.
the
protection
96. The following information was gathered in a
interviews with Jim Johns, a Newton teacher and
committee
of
the
Newton
the
negotiating
Association (NTA).
series
of
member
of
Teachers'
- 89 -
But
if
informal
offered by the rules
mechanisms will
is
to
be
meaningful,
more
formal
have to be developed to change contractual
agreements quickly but
not
arbitrarily.
In the building
trades, shop stewards redefine work rules on a daily basis,
and business
agents have the authority to modify contracts
for the duration of
elected to
workers
specific
projects.
Because both are
their positionstheir attention to the needs of
is
assured) and
their decisions are
honored
by
employers, who recognize the threat of a strike.
Though these mechanisms
all craft
may
not
be appropriate for
workers, a mechanism which facilitates worker or
worker-representative control must be instituted to replace
the usual
tedious grievance and arbitration method now used
when workers resist management decisions to change the work
rules.
There
mechanisms
are
minor
assigned
to
temporary
options
for
appropriate
for worker participation in modifying rules
settling
committees
several
all
could
disputes.
If shop stewards
work-sites,
be
suspension
perhaps
formed to
are
not
rotating
officially
worker
the
rules.
In
order for these shop stewards or worker committees to
information usually accessible only
implies
a
trade-off,
for a
to
to
have
to
90 -
to
This
incorporate
mechanisms permitting flexibility assumes a certain
-
make
access
management.
willingness
now
sanction
or modification of work
intelligent decisions, they will need
or
amount
of management prerogative.
"Co-Determination": Labor Influence on Manageent
Decisions
Lines
between
and
labor
blurred among craft
management
have
all
by
major
have
the
employed
workers
and
more
by
willing
Managers
to
enter
in
small
craft
into
effectively
large
are
companies
workers formally
include
management decisions;those in
less
sometimes
sub-contractors,
experience to
management activities.
more
or
firms
or
more
self-employed,
themselves.Sometimes
day
workers,
Construction
workers.
care workers, and computer programmers
manage
traditionally
firms
usually
in
allow
informal participation.
The movement toward "co-determination" is evident
the institution of quality of work life
labor-management teams, and
company boards.
ironic that
paid
more
even
John Joyce of
(QWL) programs
union
the
participation
Bricklayers
finds
in
and
on
it
advocates of these "new" institutions have not
attention to the building
trades.where
direct
Bargaining
97. John T. Joyce, "Codetermination, Collective
the Construction Industry," in
and Worker Participation in
259.
Kochan, p.
-
91
-
97
worker
participation
workers may
is
"old
hat."
Building
trades
influence any decision, from the deployment of
workers to the investment of pension funds;
involvement, derived from custom, is
collective bargaining agreements.
neir right
to
institutionalized
in
Joyce
feels
that
all
unions should expand the potential of collective bargaining
by including provisions for
and
shop
floor
workers to influence strategic
decisions.
He
contends
that
legal
distinctions between "mandatory" and "permissible" subjects
98
of bargaining are artificial.
Joyce cautions that
the
central
lesson to be drawn
from
the
building
trades
experience
with
worker
participation
is that
such
participation
is
meaningful only when it
arises from the workers'
own
self-organization:
without
strong,
vital
trade
unions to express the workers' needs,
one
can
have the appearance, -but not the
substance,
of worker involvement.
Joyce's advice is
study by
consistent
with the findings of a
Kochan, Katz,and Mower. Their study suggests that
those worker-participation programs which resulted in
real
improvements in workers' views of both their jobs and their
unions were programs in which the union was a visible joint
partner.
In those cases, the process that
led
to
actual
changes in work organization and union support for QWL
98.
Ibid.,
p.
261.
99.
Ibid.,
p.
270.
-
92 -
was
linked to larger collective bargaining and representational
100
strategies.
Workers' managerial functions
have recently expanded
even beyond relationships with current management,
the effort to save and create jobs in
a
variety
In order to influence the expansion of their
stimulate demand for their skills, the
of
Communication
initiated research
worker-owned
WorkersO America
about
company
the
to
to
salvage
their
jobs
by
recently
of
creating a
101
television.
cable
Meanwhile, steelworkers in Pensylvania's "Mon
trying
and
leadership
(CWA)
feasibility
promote
of ways.
industry
thereby
the
helping
Valley"
creating a
are
municipal
authority which would have the power to take over the local
facilities now closed by the companies,
102
eminent domain.
by
the
power
of
Both efforts are reminiscent of the worker-controlled
investment of
for
building
pension funds that protects and creates jobs
trades
union
representing employees at large
members.
companies
Other
do
unions
not at this
100. Thomas A. Kochan, Harry
C.
KatZ, and Nancy R. Mower,
"Worker Participation and American Unions," in Kochan,
p.
288.
101.
Inteview with Wilson
102.
Judy
Rusakowski and Jim Benn,
Fights
to
save the
"Mon Valley,"
1 9 85,pp.9-10.
- 93 -
"Tri-State Coalition
Labor
Notes, April
point have the legal right to manage
their
pension
funds
jointly with their employers and therefore cannot use their
financial leverage to create or
this management right
bargaining
has
agreements.
Chrysler and
salvage
union
jobs,
but
become fair game for collective
In
contract
negotiations
with
Eastern Airlines, workers have agreed to wage
concessions only
on
after gaining the right to be represented
103
pension trust committees.
Bold initiatives such
as
these, though not a formal aspect of the craft union model,
demonstrate
the independent, problem-solving character
craftsmen,which is fostered
by
organization
along
of
craft
lines.
made
The effect of the
blurring of labor-management lines
possible
institution of craft
twofold.
by
First,
the
worker
participation
unionism
in
is
management
decision-making gives unions access to the information they
need
rules
to
and
make intelligent decisions about
to
create
protection of workers.
modifying
more long-term strategies
(Their
employers access to workers'
participation
insights
Second, workers can develop the means
about
to
save
work
for
also
the
gives
management.)
or
create
their own jobs when management is unable or unwilling to do
103.
James
P. Northrup and Herbert
R.
Northrup,
"Union
Divergent Investing of
Pensions:
A
Power,
Non-Employee
Relations Issue," Journal of
Labor Research
(Fall, 1981),
cited in Giaimo, Lipski and Strom, p.
13.
-
94
-
so.
Conclusion
Organized labor is at a crossroads.
It will not be able to
recapture its strength unless
it can respond appropriately
to changes in the labor force
and
production
effective
the
methods
and
technologies.
response
are
the
reorganization
keys
The
flexibility,
As we saw
elements of craft production became
these
both the foundation and the result of the
the building trades.
union organization
They allowed
that
has
control over the supply
definitions
and
an
and
autonomy,
non-competition inherent in the craft tradition.
in Chapter One,
to
of
of
the
afforded
unionization
development
workers
construction
jurisdictions,
modification and suspension of
of
of
a
extensive
labor, broad job
mechanisms
for
the
work rules, and involvement
in managerial decisions.
The trades
unions have had to adjust their approach,
as was demonstrated in Chapter Two, to meet
a
changing
market.
They
have
the demands of
capitalized
on
traditions, such as apprenticeship training, that
to
further
their
goals
of
-
job
95 -
autonomy
and
union
continue
stable,
adequate
employment
and
wages;
and they have
begun
to
abandon the union practices, such as exclusion, that thwart
their efforts to rebuild union strength.
What the building trades arrived
at
serendipitously
craft unionsm, which with some
is the basis for a model of
adjustments, could be instituted by other sectors.
who
share
the
characteristics
craftsmen--skill, broad
training,
of
Workers
traditional
mobility and
autonomy,
vulnerability to market fluctuations-- would be well-served
by
craft union model, as is implied by
the
applications
To
the
specific
of craft unionism described in this
chapter.
facilitate craft unionization, activists must also
the legal
than
win
prerogative to organize along craft lines rather
industrial
lines.
That
is, they must
garner
the
political support needed to lift current legal restrictions
on the determination of bargaining units and the
range
of
elements
of
negotiable issues now under management control.
Many unions are
craft unionism into
already
their
incorporating
strategies.
to incorporate these elements
My intent has been
in a workable craft model
so
that unions can systematically apply craft strategies where
they are appropriate.
achieve
allow
the
In this
way
workers may be able to
many levels of self-determination
them to organize as flexible, productive
in a changeable economy.
- 96 -
that
will
workforces
-97-
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