In Response to Dottie

Dottie,

First, I appreciate you having the ‘intestinal fortitude’ to use your name.  You are a good American for standing up for what you believe is right and my hat is off to you!!  But the fact is that unlike you I can NOT use my name.  If you post something that others disagree with you won’t get a brick through the windshield of your truck.  You won’t receive threatening phone calls from other members.  You wouldn’t have the Union retaliate unfairly against you or your company for speaking up.  Nor would you worry about your home or office being vandalized, or burnt to the ground for that matter.  Unfortunately, I don’t have this luxury so I must remain anonymous or the safety of my family or business could be jeopardized.  Ask Nick from Dominion Mechanical what happened to him in the bathroom at the last union meeting after he said what he thought.  It’s sad but the 1930’s “union mob rule” days are still alive in the 21^st century.

As far as the $1.25 hour wage is concerned, this 2.4% increase more than doubles the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the last 12 months.  In the last 3 years 602 wages went up over 18% while the CPI hovered around 9%.  Union members keep crying foul and saying that they are being robbed and abused but these cries are unfounded.  The members need to understand that there is a “real world” out there and that 90% of the country is not union workers.  Many of them understand the basics of capitalism, the reason the US has been at the top of the food chain for all these years.  When “demand” is high and the “supply” is low the price goes up (e.g. bottled water was selling for over $20 at ground zero on 9/11/01).  Inversely, when the “supply” is high and the “demand” is low the price goes down (e.g. HDTV’s, computers, etc.).  The beauty is when the “demand” is high and the “supply” low, others will get into the market to get some of the profitable action.  Eventually the “demand” will be satisfied and the price will drop until those in the “supply” chain decide to get out because they can’t remain competitive enough to continue.  This cycle goes back and forth, correcting and balancing itself naturally.  It’s a wonderful system and we are blessed to live in a country that still uses it.

Right now, and I don’t care how you want to look at it, construction in our area is down.  However, it is still higher than most other parts of the country so we are seeing more and more ‘out-of-towners’ coming into our area.  Currently “supply” is high and “demand” is low so this is not the time for us to get carried away.  And believe it or not most contractors feel that once all the bills are paid if they can net a 2-3% profit at the end of the year they are happy, especially in these times when any positive number is good.  When the union calls for more money the contractor is forced to raise prices, which makes us even less competitive.  When we don’t have the work (because of lower demand) then we must cut back on costs to survive, which includes our workforce.  When people aren’t working the benefits aren’t being paid into the union benefit plans which means more of the money people normally put in their pockets needs to pulled out to make up the shortfall … and if you continue the cycle you should get the bigger picture.  It’s very similar to the “tax and spend” policies of our government.  Not good!!

Regarding the $5 cut in pay topic that keeps reappearing let’s set the record straight.  I attended the MCA meeting prior to the first negotiation where everyone stated their concerns.  Money was not the main topic but one person brought up that we should ask for money back like they had done in other regions.  That individual was immediately ostracized by the rest of the group with everyone agreeing this would not serve any useful purpose.  When I first heard the $5 cut in pay dialogue coming from the Union I was livid and immediately called the MCA office.  I was told that the reduction in pay comment was a first offer to position the contractors where their membership wanted them to end up, zero.  It was a positioning offer just like the ludicrous first offer made by the Union, which was $3/$3/$3 over the next three years (a 17.2% increase).  Neither side comes into the negotiations with their realistic offer first because then the settlement ends up between the ridiculous on the one side and the realistic on the other side so both sides start at the extreme.  This “propaganda” has been used to incite the members and personally I think there are a few people in 602’s leadership that invite a strike because that keeps the spotlight on them.  Give it some thought before promoting these people’s agenda and look a little harder to see if you can’t see what I am telling you.

As far as women in management roles is concerned, I will only say that you have a valid point.  However, if you look at the statistics, which clearly show that the female membership in our local is less than 1%, I can’t say that I am surprised.  My question to you is what was the response from your boss when you went to them about taking on more responsibility?  Did they outline specific things that you need to do or work on?  Did they tell you specific skills that you should learn?  Credentials you should get?  You may not know it but we actually have a couple very successful ladies running union companies in our local.  I also know that the MCA sponsors student chapters at the University of MD and Virginia Tech where women with degrees are getting the type of jobs you are seeking.  I can assure you that with your practical experience, if you were to get a business or engineering degree, demonstrated a strong work ethic and adequate knowledge of the industry you would be in very high demand.  Better yet, do like I did and take the risk and start your own business.  While there shouldn’t be, there are many entitlement programs and being a woman owned business is a slam dunk in our industry!  What male owners typically spend in marketing you could put in your pocket because it wouldn’t be necessary.  The work WILL come to you!!

In closing I will say that out of professional courtesy I am not going to incite anyone by posting my comments on the 602 blog or John’s Facebook page.  It probably wouldn’t get posted but even so my ethics and upbringing wouldn’t allow me to do so regardless.  However, I hope you would invite some of your colleagues to visit my site as I would be more than delighted to debate anyone on this page in hopes that rational thinking will always prevail in the end.  I look forward to your response.

Respectfully,

Joe The Contractor

PS – I have read Sullivan’s Facebook page and commend you for taking the time to research the IRC, hence my reason for challenging you to think rationally.  I thank you for the extra effort that most others fail to make!  If the tentative agreement now on the table (as of  Tuesday night) isn’t acceptable, instead of striking and hurting OUR UNION by publicly making a spectacle out of ourselves, why don’t we put it into the hands of rational people (the IRC) who completely understand our industry and let them come up with a fair solution … without all the emotional baggage involved?  Again, think about it!!