June 2009 Vol. 12 No. 6

Executive Officer's Forum

Focused on the future

Bob Alvarado, Executive Officer

en Espanol >


"The carpenter way: when faced with a problem or a challenge we pull together, and find solutions."

So the election is over, and the voters have spoken. Our position did not prevail, and the state is faced with another $21 billion in budget cuts. The biggest concern for us as carpenters is the return of a budget crisis in the state capitol. If the budget deficit is not resolved quickly, the state may very well run out of cash toward the end of July. If that happens, we could see a return of proposals to shut down all state infrastructure projects, throwing even more members out of work.

These are serious times, but my intent is not to spend this column on doom and gloom. That’s not the carpenter way; when faced with a problem or a challenge, we pull together, and find solutions. So let me tell you some of the ways we are working to create carpenter jobs.

First of all, we are closely monitoring the federal stimulus dollars as they move into the state, and making sure that the money intended for construction is spent on projects that are ready to go, and putting people to work. Thanks to our lobbying in Washington DC, every penny of that money is covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, the federal prevailing wage law.

We are going after work wherever we find it, and continuing our efforts on schools and transportation projects. More help is on the way from Washington, and we are lobbying hard for the pending re-authorization of the federal Clean Water Act and transportation funding for highways and transit. Both of these bills will provide large amounts of federal funding for infrastructure, and that means jobs for carpenters.

Defending carpenter work

Meanwhile, we are defending our work. The story this month about the arrest of the owner of NBC General Contractors is an example of the approach we have been taking.

Every department in the Council is working together to identify and go after the bad actors. In this case, Organizing and the Compliance group teamed up, and the result takes a criminal off the street, serves as a warning to other cheats, and levels the playing field for our union contractors.

We are also tracking all public projects, and field representatives are attending pre-bid meetings and bid openings. In those cases where we think a contractor cheated or plans to cheat to submit the low bid, we file bid protests. In numerous cases we have been successful in getting such bids rejected. Our union employers are getting involved by giving us leads and helping to identify the bad guys.

We all know these are tough times. We’re facing high unemployment, and many members are facing real economic challenges. Yes, 2009 is going to be a difficult year. In 2010, we’re going to be digging ourselves out of a hole. But there are signs that things will turn around as the economy begins to pick up, and large projects come online.

The long-term challenge for us will be to hold the smaller jobs we’re winning now as the contractors begin to refocus on that large work. If we do that, we will be able to go after the residential work as that sector picks up in 2011. Despite the challenges we face today, we have positioned ourselves well. If we continue to work hard and work together, we will emerge stronger than ever.

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