S F BAY AREA JOURNAL FOR THE EXHIBIT BUILDER AND TRADE SHOW INSTALLER
WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY YOUR FRIENDLY LOCAL HISTORIAN AND TRADE HUMANIST
JANUARY 1992 . . . . . the issue issue . . . . . . VOL II NO 1
EDITORIAL COMMENT THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO WATCHDoG
EDITORIAL
Countless brothers and sisters have openly wondered if the WATCHDOG would bark again. I should point out that this WATCHDOG does not bark, it growls. I bark. While holding high hopes that the need for open and adequate communications might be served by an official organ the WATCHDOG never slept.
This edition will arrive too late to undermine the joys of a happy holiday season whether the reader is a faithful follower of sky chief and the carpenter or just the belated victim of conspicuous consumption. It will arrive just in time to ruin an entire year.
This is the issue issue for installers. The object is to communicate information and ideas which do not travel on local airways or official lines. What you get is what you think. What you do is up to you. There are many issues and many points to make.
Read slowly. Take breaks.
In the alternate universe where I abide the number one problem that installers must resolve are business agents. I see their job as one of service to members and consisting primarily of enforcing the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and preaching the gospel of trade unionism.
But they see themselves as controllers of money and people and emphatically not as employees. That is a self-serving interpretation of the job. My usual complaint of cost vs value is overshadowed by the realization that the agents neither protect nor support the installer hiring hall. Over the years they have given away vast portions of the union's ability to distribute work and undermined the goals of seniority dispatch.
Running a close second in the problem department is the poverty of information. Not only the sparse information the union supplies the members but the lack of information upon which the union runs. When the bylaws committee met to review basic concerns like the number of agents, their duties, accountability, salary, perks, dues etc., it proved impossible to have the simplest discussion without lengthy explanations. Historical information provides the perspective for a sense of direction. Without it every suggested change becomes suspect and the status quo becomes permanently entrenched.
And in third place, but oh the rail and making a move, are installers. In the possum's terms, "we have met de enemy and he is we". The basic installer believes its dog eat dog. That's a dog's point of view.
When contract time comes around everyone thinks more. I can dig it. Its a shitty job and we are all here for the money. Most of us, anyway. Those without power trips. And we all want higher wages. Even if we don't have a job. But focusing solely on dollars while disregarding the 'union' undermines all gains. When the union dies the money dies.
Whoever controls the work controls the workers. That fundamental principle governs trade unionism. Workers remain loyal to and support the union only when the union controls the distribution of the work. When employers or their agents control distribution then wages, benefits and working conditions will evaporate quickly & few of us will want the job.
There is no historical evidence to the contrary.
In the Union's Wingnut, July 1991, B A Owen exhorts union members to stand mute and salute whenever an officer runs the union up his pole. I am condemned as being employed by the bosses to undermine the unity of the workers and the authority of union officers.
This issue of the WATCHDOG will raise their displeasure to unmeasured heights. I paint what I see and take time to align each stroke. Definitely a $1 issue. $1.50 by mail.
Fortunately the WATCHDOG could sense through the armored fabric of the bureaucracy that union officers are really servants of the workers and not governors of the members. I was able to deduce that the substance behind their authority boils down to a tautology, "I know what's best for the Union because I am the leader and I am the leader because I know what's best for the Union."
Both dog and master remain steadfast in their conclusion that such leadership is entirely arrogant attitude.
My vanity is clear. I believe, probably because I have an education and use reason as a tool, that all I have to do is present accurate information and everyone will arrive at the same conclusion. I should have remembered Galileo
In reality no one teaches anyone anything.
But everybody learns in spite of the best teachers.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO WATCHDOG
Installers were forced to organized because the Union's Officers had absolutely no idea of how to relate to the Convention & Trade Show Industry. The prime difficulty was the claim by employers that each event was a separate hire and they could hire anyone they wanted as long as the worker joined the union after 30 days. Those are the terms of the shop contract even to this day. The short periods of trade show employment meant that joining the union was optional and the seniority layoff and hiring provisions would not apply. Every installer thought it extremely important to require all employers to rehire laid off installers before adding new hires and they recognized that a strong union was needed for job security.
The solution proposed was the creation of a Union Hiring Hall with the provision that all workers be dispatched by the union. In exchange for the concession of exclusive jurisdiction individual employers would retain the right to specify certain workers by name who would then be dispatched first. The rest of the installers would be dispatched by the union according to seniority as determined originally by the first day worked in the industry. The proposed number of 'call by name' workers was much smaller than 25 but installers accepted 25 in order to end the strike and establish exclusive jurisdiction with hiring hall. Journeyman installers exchanged company seniority for union seniority.
That is the origin of the current installer contract. It was conceived and written and negotiated by working installers without assistance from Union Officers. The Installer Proposal Committee never met at the union office. It met at member's homes and public places. Union officers were never invited & never attended. The committee invited members holding divergent views and argued and argued long into many nights until from sheer exhaustion a compromise was reached. That is the origin of the bastard system we have today.
And yes it is true, some installers wanted to allow employers to designate every worker by name while other installers wanted to rotate the work. I thought both extremes undesirable. Rotation with the list continually expanding guaranteed a future of decreasing allocations to satisfy increasing numbers. On the other hand I consider assisting new workers directly into the highest income brackets an insult to every installer that waits for a union dispatch.
Anyhow, from the very beginning Union Officers simply refused to take the Hiring Hall seriously and to dispatch all workers to the job. The two-call system faded into oblivion because agents refused to make it work. "Its impossible. We can't do it. " Sound familiar? They had a higher calling. The kingdom of perks remained unexplored.
Today officers maintain that there is no way to monitor the rollover & there are no violations of rollover procedure because there are no reports of violations. That's expecting criminals to report their crimes. No one involved will ever make
a report. If you are interested in names and dates check that other paper.
The classic example of agent inaction is meal breaks. Regularly at dinner time the foreman says you&you and maybe even you, take fifteen. No one objects. Not even the steward who stands there and watches. Conscientious objectors will never receive another opportunity. Maybe even lose the immediate opportunity. No matter how many times the union informs members of the meal break provision of the contract no individual member will stand up and risk the loss of wages. It is the duty of members to abide by the terms of the contract but it is the duty of business agents to enforce them.
The splintering of the work force into competing company crews like primitive tribes and renaissance cities was aided by one Union Officer's vision of Trade Unions as professional organizations. Like the AMA & the ABA. Hand out diplomas to contributing members and promote the industry in media and government.
In a collective bargaining agreement wages are fixed and workers can not compete by working for less. The only way to earn more is to get more work. Obviously the way to go was to encourage members to actively compete for work. "Make the best deal you can" proclaimed his holiness on the A list message tape.
It is of no importance to elected officers whether the union dispatches installers to the job or the company dispatches installers to the job because the installer check-off dues is paid directly to the union regardless of who gets the paycheck. Similarly it makes no difference whether a member is employed or unemployed because the union collects full monthly dues from all members. These procedures are so lucrative and insulated that officers are completely insensitive to all the inequities and out to lunch whenever the opportunity arises to stand up for union principles or workers rights.
Not long ago a dramatic increase in show size sparked the division of the work force into areas of responsibility. Dump master. Rug general. Rental chairperson. Signin supervisor or Timecard checker. Labordesk scribe. Furniture order expediter. Official monitor. Lobby lieutenant. And with the introduciton of modern technology numerous communications specialists and vehicular manipulators. Appointment to these positions is highly desired not only for the power but also because the jobs are pembers. Barbars at best. It is traditional for employers to use preferred job assignments to reward & punish workers based on their attitude. But installers do it to each other & the union looks another way. No officer believes that the distribution of perks should be based on union principles.
So a phylum of installers has now evolved who perform none of the work specified under 'jurisdiction' in the contract. They just tell others what to do. The jobs they perform are found in the contract under 'management prerogatives'. They include hire
and fire. Different installers control different pieces of the workpie and a lot of time is spent brokering work. They have two loyalties and alternate them for personal gain. They do management's work, enjoy management's perks, display management's attitudes and then magically become union workers and exploit the benefits of the collective bargaining agreement.
They have also become immune to Union censure because Union Officers maintain that while executing the prerogative of management they are management. So when a member complains that another member has harassed and intimidated and summarily dismissed him or her from the job, judging them lazy or insubordinate, then the union proclaims that a personal disagreement between members has occurred and since it represents both members equally, it will do nothing. Probably the single biggest error in judgment in installer history because it provides a blueprint for the exploitation of workers by workers and negates the principles expressed in the membership oath of obligation.
The Hiring Hall operates in the state of anxiety constantly worrying when the employer will release the information necessary to do the dispatching. That is a very weak Union position and the reverse of how things should be. Employers & foremen should worry. If they can't get their shit together and provide adequate notification of their labor needs then they will lose business and maybe their jobs. The union should operate on a precise schedule and a disciplined set of procedures. Employers should adjust. The current dependency pressures the agents to overlook inequities to individual workers in order to avoid the wrath of someone who could make their job much more difficult.
Companies do not create the work like governments print money. Companies just service an industry created by larger forces. It does not matter which company gets the business and makes the profit as long as the Union controls the work.
No one is without the desire for money or the motivation to get it. The concept of unmotivated workers is on par with the belief that races of people are born lazy or stupid or with a natural sense of rhythm. What is often mistaken for missing motivation is human dignity. Some brothers and sisters simply refuse to perform stupid pet tricks for dollars or dingbats.
Installers are human & behave as expected. If you treat them as though they are stupid & lazy then they will be stupid and lazy. Gladly, I've heard, for $20 an hour. If you treat them with respect you find they have at least as much intelligence as you do and sufficient character to refrain from informing you of the fact.
And there are no casual workers. This industry requires a large and permanent staff of experienced part time workers. Those installers that work full or nearly full time compose only 20% (my guess) of the installer work force. Many installers have adjusted to part time employment. Calling permanent part time workers 'casuals' is the conceit of installers secure in their employment thru kinship, friendship, entertainment value and the like.
Today union officers not only negotiate for installers, they also determine what to negotiate for. All three business agents attended the July 10th meeting of the installer proposal committee and pursued the reversal of the previous meetings decisions with such vigor and determination that no other business was attended to until they achieved their objective. Then they set their own agenda into motion. First one officer suggest a survey and a second officer responded by suggesting a procedure. After a brief and purely symbolic discussion the first officer suggested someone compile a list of questions and the second officer accepted the challenge.
At the August 6th committee meeting B A Joe sat behind his desk and everyone sat facing him. At the August 28th meeting B A Bob sat behind his desk and everyone faced him. B A Mike sat at his own desk maintaining the superior air of not being at the meeting but interjecting opinion regularly. The officers literally took advantage of weak and absent proposal committee leadership and succeeded in manipulating the committee's deliberations and controlling its decisions. They managed to suppress every concern which originated in the membership and replaced then with the dazzling results of their own insights and experience.
It won't be long now before you find out how little that is. January is the month designated for establishing proposals and the committee will report its recommendations. The officers will smile. I guarantee it. The importance of the meetings will be found not in what is presented & discussed but in what is left undeveloped and unexposed.
One officer promotes himself as a consensus builder. He defines consensus as the ability to convince people to support his objectives. That is just a form of manipulation which ignores the obligation of elected officers to represent all of the members whether they attend meetings or not. But his technique works and repeatedly he is rewarded with success.
It was difficult for me to continue participating in installer proposal committee meetings. I guess I couldn't take the company. After B A Owen wrote the survey questions I spent time analyzing them and came to the general meeting well prepared to discuss the project. I suggested that the committee take an intelligent approach and start by carefully separating contract related items and defining areas of concern. That would enable the committee to design questions which produce the maximum amount of usable data.
They laughed at me. I'm not joking. And told me that the only alternative was approving or amending existing questions. So I told them that if I were looking for answers I would surely employ intelligence because it is by far the best product on the market for finding solutions. And if they didn't have any they should go out buy some. Or lease it. They laughed again and told me I was on a roll.
So I want to make it perfectly clear that no part of that survey reflects my participation and I believe it shows.
Just after that meeting one installer approached me and explained how "this survey was going to initiate a healing process by giving each member the gratifying opportunity to participate in an opinion making process that would heal the wounds of dissatisfaction that divide and make installers weak & provide strength and unity for the upcoming struggle". I almost threw up. Both of us were damn lucky I had an empty stomach.
So two paths divided. I took the one less traveled by. Again.
I may well be the resident grinch from the radical, some say lunatic, fringe but I stand on my own feet and I am careful of whom I stand behind & what they stand for. Some installers are so enamored of authority that they accept every word a business agent utters as divine inspiration. If an officer should express a desire for an implement to remove excessive indulgence from his dentures then these true believers would not be happy unless the implement was solid gold and encrusted with jewels so that it was not only a tool of divine cleansing but also an investment.
In my view installers went down to defeat during the last round of contract negotiations. They were lead by officers & negotiators who sold them a company bill of goods. Company call by name increased by 20% for prime decos and a new classification of preferred B's was created. The sequence of events that dealt these loses is very illustrative.
At a special meeting of installers called to discuss the state of negotiations the officers and negotiators presented their strategy. They were trying to sign the #2 deco first in order to pressure the #1 deco and in order to get the #2 deco to sign they asked installers to make concessions. Grant 5 more company call by name workers just for deco #2.
Two foremen from deco #2 were present to take up the argument. Their company was doing poorly because the other company had upholsterers. Their company needed to call more installers by name in order to compete. "We all support competition, right?" "And we all hate the other deco, right?"
After a long argument the vote was called. It was a count of hands. As the deco foremen turned to see who was voting in favor of the motion more and more hands went up. The motion carried.
Let that voting proceedure sink in for a while.
The next event was even more bizarre. A meeting was called of all workers (builders and installers) under the Exhibit Display and Trade Show Agreement in order to vote on the new contract. But when the terms were read the installer provisions
had changed from those approved at the installer meeting. Now any deco could qualify for 5 additional company called workers and a new classification of company called B's had been created.
Because there was only one vote taken, builder votes determined that installer issue. If only installers had voted on it that change would never have passed. No installer that I spoke to was in favor of preferred B's. Everyone saw them as preferred A's with time to serve, just waiting to replace A's currently working. Events have proven them perfectly right. So when union officers ask you to stand behind them, check to see which way the wind is blowing.
This year the boys in blue are promoting an additional 25 call by name for their company so it can compete with the I&D's. There is no limit to the number of wannabees they have approached for support suggesting that their names are on that list.
Scenarios on how installer work should be distributed still travel the gamut from romantic Marxism to equally romantic Machiavellianisn and stop at every perk along the way. One installer theory of reality holds that god is money (or money is god) and whosoever is motivated by the love of this divine spirit is holy and whatsoever they sayeth or doeth is sacred. The power of this money god descends thru a hierarchy from show management thru contractor thru account executive thru foreman thru subforeman thru leadmen until finally it manages to trickle down to those unbelieving infidels and heretics, "the last hired unmotivated casual worker on the crew". This sacred order of installers is measured and maintained by the strength of each worker's desire to consume god & to be consumed by god.
Somewhere I missed a fundamental axiom of that theological argument. Near the end of the final act when god, thru his agent the employer who owns the money and distributes the work, is just about to tell the workers, who want the money and the work, what he thinks they are worth, in terms of wages and benefits and in accord with market place economics, when three business agents appear in union suits of course, summoned by cellular phone no doubt, and proclaim god dead. Henceforth all employers must pay all workers a living wage. And benefits. And insure a safe and healthy workplace. And the bosses, those devoted emissaries of the god money, all humbly bow and sign on the bottom line.
Deus ex agentus.
Information has been a continuing stumbling block to understanding the process of unionism. This government keeps its ghettos and barrios full by denying citizens the education which would provide them with the tools to leave. So it isn't a surprise to find the same principle operative in the union.
Joebob&mike believe the objective of leadership is to govern the membership and to that end they continually repress information. Even from themselves. Are installers dispatched to the job or the company? That was a question asked but never answered by the dispatch committee. Clearly B's are dispatched to the job because they can not be transferred. A's can be transferred. Does that mean they are dispatched to the company? Company workers traditionally report to the warehouse & transfer to the job site on company time expense.
The answer lies in the fate of union stewards. Some brother or sister volunteers to represent the union an the job and they take lip from asshole exhibitors and eat attitude from ibid installers and incur the displeasure of foremen and the permanent antagonism of account executives. Comes the end of a trade show and according to the contract the steward is laid off third from the last, but 60 installers are rolled to other jobs and sites. Damn double standard. If you are union you are dispatched to the job. If you are company you are dispatched for the duration. If you are a business agent that's all right.
During the dispatch committee meetings Joe was asked to keep records of emergency dispatches for the deliberations of the committee. Over a period of many months and meetings his reports consisted of "a few", "not too many", "less than I thought". No facts, no data, just opinions.
Similarly Joe was asked by the dispatch committee to write a history of dispatching so that when questions arose concerning current procedures there would be some perspective from which to evaluate new information. After months of reporting no progress he requested the committee alter its objective and allow him to prepare a list of instructions for installers to follow which would make his job easier. The 'USER'S GUIDE TO THE DISPATCH' informs installers on proper behavior and declares that if any problems occur clearly the fault lies not in the system but in installers themselves.
The significant part of his document is the title. Derived, I guess, from a statement he made "that 65% of all A list installers, evenly spread thru the seniority list, obtain employment by soliciting and accepting work directly from employers."
Let that sink in for a while. That's just dispatches.
Last year the proposal' committee asked Joe to keep track of the rollover. A motion was deliberated and passed. It was then brought before a general monthly meeting and again deliberated and passed. But rather than follow the motion's directives and solve the problems involved, Joe concentrated his energy into rallying sympathy from friends and associates and successfully reversed both the committee's and the membership's decision.
I think its great that Joe has many warm & wonderful friends that will rush to his support whenever he fears failure. Every life should be so blessed. But it reduces the union to stumbling around in the dark.
One obvious problem created by not recording and compiling and studying information related to the servicing of the industry is that there is no intelligent picture of the future and no information with which to build one. Everyone is guessing. Especially those in charge. Yet everyone knows that adequate information and careful planning are fundamental keys to success & certainly pivotal for efficiency.
Just calculating with the meager information the union does have produces startling information. Over the 3 year period, between January 1987 and January 1990, the number of A list installers increased by 15%. Over the 2 year period, between January 1990 and January 1992, the number of A list installersincreased by at least 27%. This accelerated growth rate runs concurrent with the operation of new facilities in both the south bay and the east bay. The implications are clear. In the next 3 maybe 51 years, as the expanded Moscone comes on line, the number of A list installers will increase by 50%. That means 900 to 1,000 journeyman installers.
And how often wiII there be work for 1000 workbrs? The answer is 4 or 5 times a year. The rest of the time this industry will support only 350 installers. Only about 150 will be full time. That means there will be 650 unemployed full dues paying installers constantly in need of work and more than willing to cut anyone's throat just for the chance to pay the bills or jump into the fast lane. Under those conditions will this union or any union long endure?
I would send the reader to a higher authority for a second opinion, but there is none. Believe me.
Some modifications to the current system of supplying workers is obviously and immediately necessary to prevent a potentially disastrous overcrowding of the A list. A new method must be devised for generating excessive workers specifically for times when demand actually exists without endlessly adding to the number of A list installers.
But back at the office our holy fathers are clearly sharpening their preparations for some wonderfully orgasmic day in the year 2001 when all known facilities are simultaneously active and for 8 maybe 12 hours some 1,328 installers are employed. And when they retire with two pensions each officer will look back with fond memories on that moment in the sun believing that a handbook and training programs made the day.
Ninetyfive percent of the work is push and shove and lift and carry while following instructions issued by two or more supervisors. Ninetyfive percent of all installers learn everything necessary in a few short hours of on the job experience. The real issue is who gets the work. Those that do not have it, want it. Those that have it, want to keep it as well as get more.
For months and months Joebob&mike informed increasing numbers of complaining installers, in & out of meetings, that the recession was the reason there was less work. The fault, [they intoned, was in the economy and with knowing smiles (smirks?) they pointed to their parking lot, daily full of unemployed construction trade workers, as conclusive proof. Then someone looked at the record. Total installer manhours worked in the Ist Quarter of 1990 were 83,000 hrs. Total installer manhours worked in the Ist Quarter of 1991 were 97,850 hrs. That is an increase of 18%.
The problem was not in theeconomy. There was more work. Just fewer union dispatches.
Changes had occurred in the distribution pattern. While hours worked and installer membership both increased, union dispatches shrunk. As the union loses dispatches, even though it gains income, its structure becomes unglued. You simply cannot judge the health of the union by the prosperity of the officers.
B A Joe's simple 'pie theory' is a simplistic pie theory which inhibits further examination of the subject. His 'average' figure disguises the extent of the excesses. A simple distribution curve would provide viable data & answer a whole host of
questions. It would allow every installer to see where they stand.
By this time you may have the idea. I find serious faults in the fabric of the union and fear for the future if current practices and policies continue. It may already be too late. Installers will not recognize the situation as critical because the industry is still expanding and any financial difficulty individuals incur due to loss of employment is replaced by the increase in hours in the industry.
Think of the problem in terms of american history. When the country was vast and unsettled any (white) individual could leave their undesirable circumstances and migrate to a new place to start over again or just continue doing what they wanted. Security and independence and self sufficiency could be achieved by diligence and perseverance. Now the country is settled from coast to coast and everyone is caught up in a single giant machine from which there is no escape. When something happens to that machine (good or bad) everyone is effected. Escape by migration is no longer possible. The only alternative is to fight over distribution. In a closed system what one side gains another side loses.
So poverty grows in fields of wealth along with crime and violence and every city's streets are filled with the needy. The failure of the union will take its toll in personal tragedies. One at a time members will lose employment and be unable to pay the bankers. That will destroy marriages, families, lives. If you stand and watch it may happen to you.
Most installers do not believe it could happen to them. "I've been in the business too long.""I have too many good friends." "I have the best connections." And if nothing else, "I have good seniority."
Take a moment to think about what happens when a change occurs in this business. A new foreman or company executive always means at least a partial change of crew. That creates a group of displaced and unemployed workers whose primary goal is to displace other workers in order to maintain their standard of living. The slightest change ripples out and rearranges the distribution.
So much for the history and condition of the union.
Now comes the new ideas' part. Every installer will find something objectionable about what is being proposed because it puts a crimp on their particular scam. But if you look at the changes as a package you will find that very little is going to change as to who gets which jobs, although the hours will be spread more evenly. These suggestions respond to concerns that members expressed and my concern with the health of trade unionism.
The concerns addressed are, return control of dispatching to the union, reinforce the original principle of seniority, spread work towards the higher seniority numbers, simplify dispatching for all parties (union and employer and installer), clarify the 'call by name' procedure, give individual installers more control and choice, limit foreman power over workers
The suggestions are neither complete nor perfect. Just one runner pounding the hiways of reason's estate in verbal briefs. Compare the WATCHDoG's ideas with the proposal committee recommendations. Compare officer insight.
Imagine what a strong union would be like. Could be like.
DISPATCHING
The union shall dispatch twice daily Monday thru Friday. At 10 am for work on the same day and at 3 pm for work on the following day. In an emergency the union will dispatch at the same times on Saturdays and Sundays.
All employer requests for labor must arrive prior to the time dispatching commences and all employers will report layoffs on a daily basis. The union shall supply a designated message phone for that purpose.
All workers must report layoff and availability prior to the opening of a dispatch in order to qualify for that dispatch. No installer shall be dispatched while on the clock. The union shall supply a designated message phone for that purpose.
The setup and the teardown of trade shows and conventions shall be considered 2 jobs and the union shall dispatch separately for each. The exception shall be an event with setup and teardown occurring within 24 hours.
At the end of a setup or when reporting availability, any worker may request dispatch to the teardown. These workers will be the first dispatched to employers for the teardown and will not be eligible for another dispatch in the interim. Any worker who does not wish to return for the dismantle will become immediately available for another dispatch.
CLASSIFICATIONS
The union shall recognize 3 classifications of employer.
Show Decorating Company
Exhibit Service Company
Exhibit Building Company.
The union shall recognize 3 classifications of installer:
Shop Installer,
Company installer,
Union Installer.
Decorating companies shall be entitled to employ workers from all three categories.
They shall be allowed to employ as many Shop Installers as needed (selected by name from the A list) who shall perform all the warehousing and maintenance operations at the employer's facility. Two weeks notice of hire and fire shall be required for workers in this classification.
In addition there shall be two levels of Shop Installer and these workers shall -be employed in the ratio of 3 Helpers to each Journeyman. Shop Installers shall not work event locations before the A list is out.
Decorating companies shall be entitled to employ up to 15 Installers selected by name from the A list independent of dispatching procedures. This classification shall be Company Installers and these workers may be employed in any capacity at-any time and at any location. Two weeks notice of hire and fire shall be required for workers in this category. The union will not dispatch Company Installers to other employers before the A list is out.
Decorating companies shall be entitled to employ as many Union Installers as they require. These shall be dispatch by the hiring hall in accordance with its procedures and policies. Union Installers are dispatched to specific sites and events. They cannot be transferred. The employer may select for dispatch by name from the A list one worker (with their consent) for every six dispatched by hiring hall proceedures.
Service Companies shall not be entitled to Shop Installers. Each service company shall be entitled to 10 Company Installers and as many Union Installers as needed under the same terms as decorating companies.
Exhibit Shops shall be signatory to the other half of the agreement and shall not be entitled to any Shop Installers. Each exhibit shop shall be entitled to 10 Company Installers and as many Union Installers as needed under the same provisions as the decorating companies.
COMMON SENSE
Immediately suspend sign-ups and training programs for new workers. Concentrate on matriculating as many of the current B's and C,'s as possible. There are over 1,000 names on those lists and if the union succeeds in graduating 507 to journeyman status that would mean 500 more A's. Doubling the current installer membership. Design another procedure for
supplying workers for peak periods when demand exists instead of endlessly adding to the A list. Stop collecting $.50 an hour check-off dues from B+ C list workers. They need it and the union does not. It goes into the special installer account which is already overfunded. And IBPAT doesn't deserve a friggin penny of it.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD INSTALLERS TO COME TO THE AID OF THE UNION
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