Masonry Magazine April 1985 Page. 23
Through its Labor/Management Relations Program, IMI is
Through its Labor/Management Relations Program, IMI is making a substantial contribution to our ability to function effectively and efficiently. When the program was initiated about three years ago, heavy stress was laid on the development of a "disputes settlement" mechanism that would enable MCAA and BAC to reduce to a minimum the number and duration of work stoppages. That mechanism has by now proven itself. With the counsel and assistance of former Secretary of Labor John Dunlop, MCAA and BAC representatives have put in place data gathering, monitoring and evaluation procedures that help spotlight problems and solve them before they reach a critical stage. And for those few that do go into the critical stage, the plan makes it possible for our two organizations to step in and help reach agreements.
The "disputes settlement" program is not static, however. In its three-year history, it has changed twice. First, it was expanded to include a tripartite agreement among MCAA, BAC and the Laborers Union on the handling of disputes. Second, as I have already mentioned, it was amended to enable the two national organization, MCAA and BAC, to intervene at times and in places where it was necessary to do so in order to protect our markets.
Another IMI program deserves to be considered along with the preceding. It is IMI's efforts to create an International Masonry Center headquartered in the historic Brice House in Annapolis, Maryland. This effort is well into its first phase, with the Brice House now open as a meeting/conference facility. Additional phases of the program will involve the establishment at Brice House of the largest masonry library in our two countries, with access to technical and non-technical data on a computerized network basis, the development of an International Training Center, as already described; and the establishment of a National Research Center.
In this manner, the International Masonry Center and Brice House will serve all the major IMI programs-labor/management relations, through meetings and seminars; research and development; market promotion, and training. The practical effects of the International Masonry Center program on our industry perhaps have not been emphasized enough. The symbolic aspects of the Center and Brice House-that is, the creation for the first time of an industry "home" or center-have been discussed and are important.
The International Masonry Center should, in this manner, not only become more visible to outsiders, but also help all of us in masonry to develop a higher consciousness of being engaged in related economic activities that are important and of a major scale. Nevertheless, the impact that the Center will have on the industry programs we now have, or may have in the years ahead, should not be ignored.
The International Masonry Center is a major commitment for IMI, and needs to be looked at in the context both of the industry's immediate needs, and those needs that we can discern five, 10 or 15 years down the road.
MCAA's joint programs constitute a significant part of our overall activities. Sometimes this is not fully appreciated. And sometimes the work by MCAA officers which goes into these programs is not understood. Those members of MCAA who serve as trustees, or on advisory boards of IMI and IPF, deserve our thanks for the time they devote to these activities, and for the high level of intelligence and dedication they bring to their tasks.
With all the programs and projects of MCAA which I have described, two questions may arise. One is, how can we do these things better? And the other is, when we look at MCAA's activities as a comprehensive whole, do they tell us something about the Association's development that we should keep in mind?
In response to the first question-can we do a better job?-1 must tell you that I think we can. I think we can help ourselves if we develop further our ability to coordinate all of our programs, and add a capacity to examine individual activities to determine how they correspond to our overall needs, and whether or not
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MASONRY-MARCH/APRIL, 1985 23