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Laborers Rejoin AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Dept. |
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The Laborers (LIUNA) and the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) announced that LIUNA will reaffiliate with the 12 other unions that make up the BCTD. The Laborers left the BCTD shortly after it disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO in 2006.
In a statement March 13, BCTD President Mark Ayers said the reaffiliation agreement reflects
…a shared commitment to always putting the interests of rank-and-file members first. LIUNA President Terry O’Sullivan’s vision, creativity and leadership will be a valuable asset to the department as we continue our strategic pursuit of repositioning and revitalizing the union construction brand around our core values of pride, performance and excellence. We welcome the LIUNA family back wholeheartedly and without hesitation.
O’Sullivan praised the BCTD’s Board of Governors who approved the agreement that resolved the outstanding issues related to the LIUNA’s disaffiliation as
true trade unionists who personify the meaning of solidarity. We are particularly proud of this mutual agreement as it occurs on the eve of the Department’s 100th anniversary. It’s a win-win for LIUNA and its member, for the Building Trades and for the entire construction industry.
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Thank you Mike for getting this information out
The CTW split has done two great things, first it has forced AFL-CIO to take a hard look at just how we do things, and accelerate the changes we need to stay relevant. It has also shown the gap between the words and actions of CTW’s leadership. The days of the top down union are over, true it is much easier to run a union where the expectations are that everything will be done for me, but it is a very short skip the make members think it’s being done to them. When faced with a tough challenge the groups which do best are those used to spreading the work as far as possible. Where the sense of ownership is based on tasks accomplished and not turkeys recieved (though that’s nice too). When the political action choices are made entirely by salaried staff or officers trust is lost. My advice from the trenches (volunteer officer and steward) is increase member activists, closely monitor what paid staff are assigned to do, and reduce the number of paid elected offices, if possible make them time loss (if you choose to be a president and don’t get any more money the membership tends to trust your motives a bit more).