Masonry Magazine May 1981 Page. 9
MCAA and BAC Create New Labor/Management
Institute to Cope with Industry Problems
The labor/management partnership between the Mason Contractors Association of America and the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen has been pushed to a new, higher plane by the announcement that the two organizations have created a unique, comprehensive institution to serve the interests of their members, the masonry industry, and the public.
Leaders of MCAA and BAC said establishment of the new entity to be called the International Masonry Institute-represents "an important breakthrough for masonry. The new IMI is a unique institution the first of its kind."
It will, they said, not only conduct specific programs, including two existing and two new joint programs, but will address itself on a comprehensive and unlimited basis to the problems and opportunities that MCAA and BAC have in common.
The new IMI will become a focal point for efforts to improve labor-management relations in the industry and to conduct a broad research and development program. In addition, it will continue and expand existing apprenticeship and training and market development and promotion programs. Beyond these specific operations, the Institute will evaluate and devise solutions to any problems which are common to MCAA and BAC and which can be solved or improved through joint action.
MCAA president Louis J. Helbert, Jr. and BAC president John T. Joyce said in a statement that "this action will put masonry into the forefront of the movement toward broader labor-management co cooperation and will move masonry ahead of other industries which are still seeking to find ways in which labor and management can work together in a competitive economy that demands more and broader cooperation, planning and interaction. We are delighted that the long tradition of labor-management partnership in masonry is culminating in this action.
"We expect the new International Masonry Institute to be a vital force in our industry. It will be a place where management and labor will meet to study mutual problems, and from that place will flow ideas, programs and projects that will give the masonry industry new cohesion and momentum."
Helbert and Joyce said that as part of its labor-management relations program, the new IMI will tackle problems such as the development of an arbitration mechanism which may be utilized at the option of local unions and contractor chapters in bargaining: more effective media-
Business Leaders, Government Officials Commend MCAA/BAC Liaison
The agreement of the Mason Contractors Association of America and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen to take the unprecedented step of creating a new and broad joint "umbrella" trust with comprehensive roles in the fields of labor/management relations, research and development, apprenticeship and training, and market development has received the following endorsements:
Ray Marshall, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor
"The Mason Contractors Association of America and the International Bricklayers' Union should be congratulated on creating a new forum for the discussion of vital issues affecting the construction industry. IMI labor-management programs will contribute a great deal to productivity and creativity in building. Engineers, building suppliers, contractors, architects and construction workers will all truly benefit from this new and important organization."
D. Quinn Mills, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University
"This is precisely the kind of initiative that we need to see more of in the building trades. Through the International Masonry Institute, the Mason Contractors Association and Bricklayers' Union are making a joint effort to put the building industry back on its feet and to create a real sense of pride in American craftsmanship."
Robert Georgine, President, Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO
"The Mason Contractors Association and International Bricklayers' Union have accomplished a great deal in establishing the International Masonry Institute. Through IMI programs in labor-management relations, market development and apprenticeship and training, they have taken the kind of joint initiative that we need to see more of in the building trades and in American industry as a whole."
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources
"The labor-management environment will continue to undergo major changes in the 1980s. Through the International Masonry Institute, the Mason Contractors Association and Bricklayers' Union recognize the need to comprehend and address these on-going changes. They are to be commended on this important new and innovative endeavor."
Representative Phillip Burton (D-Calif.), Member, House Committee on Education and Labor
"Improved relations between labor and management have an extremely positive effect, not only on the structure of the workplace, but on productivity and job satisfaction. Through the IMI program, the Mason Contractors Association and Bricklayers' Union are making a concerted effort to strike down barriers to true cooperation between workers and management in the construction industry."