IBEW 1003 KOOTENAYS

Training Column - June 2009

The Born Leader Myth

If you look at the union construction industry you will find that most all the labor and management leadership is made up of “born leaders.” These are individuals who, by the force of their personality and characteristics, have risen to lead construction companies, unions and field operations. These born leader types are often defined by their traits or personalities. These leaders are usually identified by things like;

Hardest worker
Dominant personality
Charismatic
Commitment and determination
Driver
Competitive spirit
Dynamic communicator
Well, here is what one famous leader and coach has to say about born leaders;

"Leaders are made, not born. They are made like everything else in this country, by hard work." - Vince Lombardi
But in our industry we spend very little time, money or hard work on building leaders. I think this is because we do not put enough value on it. It is my view that the born leader myth causes contractors, unions and field operations to under perform. You cannot put people in charge without giving them the professional leadership skills and tools to succeed. If you make them figure it out on their own you lose time, money and market share. From a bottom line perspective here is my take:

I don’t want a born doctor working on my kid.
I don’t want a born mechanic working on my car.
I don’t want a born CPA doing my taxes.
I don’t want a born dentist drilling my teeth.
And I don’t want a born construction leader running my project or my organization. I want a professional.
How bad is it? Field guys become foremen. Training for most foremen is that one day you get picked up by the ass and tossed in the deep end of the pool. If you can swim to the side and bring the job in, you’re the foreman. Most contractors spend more on one pickup truck than they do all year on foreman training. Good union guys become Business Managers. Yesterday he was wearing his tools but today he’s elected Business Manager. He now runs a very complex multi-million dollar operation; with no formal training or qualifications. Contractor leaders also often come from the field themselves; good builders but rarely trained business leaders. It isn’t anyone’s fault, it is just the idea of born leaders assuming their position in construction. Like my father, grandfather and great-grandfather also did in this industry.

I can think of no other business sector in North America where this myth and practice still exists and has such an impact. Today, construction leaders must be refined by both training and experience. Unfortunately when our labor-management organizations support the “born leader” approach, these business consequences are the result;

Training for leadership and management is marginalized and not provided
Ego substitutes for competence
Standards and measures for success usually don’t exist
Advancement can be skewed by personality or politics vs. leadership ability
New leaders and managers struggle
Quieter prospects for leadership are overlooked.
Born-leader skill sets that are lacking are visible to all team members. Thus the credibility of the leader and organization are impacted.
Born leaders are reluctant to objectively examine themselves. They can depend on title, authority or power.
Subordinates are not motivated to perform at their highest level
No one really reaches their full potential thus their organizations under perform.
I would propose that it is time to reinvent leadership for our industry and we should start with apprenticeship. Let’s not look at apprenticeship as skill development as the primary foundation. Let’s focus on leadership development as the foundation. In fact, let’s build tommorow’s apprenticeship programs around leadership skills, values and ethics. Let’s give them four years of leadership curriculum. Let’s have a foreman track for apprentices. With the current economy, and the reduction in indenture rates, we may be under-utilizing the apprentice programs, facilities, and resources; why not use this interval to focus on leadership training for journeymen and foremen?

Construction leaders have to capture people’s heads and hearts before their hands. Let’s teach apprentices and anyone else we can get interested how to do that. Let’s realize the long term payoff as they rise to become tomorrow’s contractors, union leaders and foremen.

If there were ever a time in our country where it is most obvious that leadership determines destiny, this is such a time. Our destiny as an industry will be determined by the quality of our leaders. When our future is on the line it must be delivered by those whose outstanding character, personality and drive is matched by their advanced leadership skills and competencies. Let that be our legacy and market foundation for the future.

Mark Breslin is a strategist, speaker and author specializing in labor-management challenges. His books Survival of the Fittest and Million Dollar Blue Collar are used by over 300 apprenticeship programs across the US and Canada. He addresses more than 50,000 contractors, union leaders, journeymen and apprentices each year in North America . More on his work and profile is available at www.breslin.biz.
PICNIC STILL NEEDS HELPERS

August 15th- Picnic - Pass Creek
We need your participation to make this family event a success. we will be having a barbeque, games for the kids and a chance to see old friends and meet new members. Please plan to attend ,and call the hall to help out.

Drug and Alcohol Policy
By now most ,if not all of you are aware that the Building Trades and CLRA have implemented a jointly negotiated D&A policy. We have all seen the increase in D&A testing in other jurisdictions with that requirement driven by the owner.
It is the BCYT’s intent in actively participating in the development of this policy to arrive at one that acknowledges and addresses our members concerns into intrusion into non-work related lifestyle choices. It is also necessary that the union demonstrate that it is a responsible voice in working toward a safe and productive workplace.
The policy , I believe is one that strikes that balance. It specifically targets testing to on the job impairment through incident triggering, and worksite observation. It also incorporates the union’s participation in identifying problem impairment, providing treatment for substance abuse and provides a methodology for return to work.
In short, if you are using non-prescription drugs ,and coming to work while under their influence , if you are involved in an accident ,or near-miss you may be subject to testing.
If it is determined that drug or alcohol impairment was present, there are a prescribed set of steps to address the issue. Our intent is to address what is a problem, and avoid penalizing what isn’t.
For information on the policy please visit the link.
http://www.clra-bc.com/collective/fr_collective.html

Training and Apprentices
There will be training courses scheduled during the fall and winter, please check our site ,or call the office for more info.
The Western Joint Electrical Training Society (WJETS) will reimburse costs for training up to two welders ,and up to 5 Level 3 First aid persons per year.
The Apprentice Committee has brought two issues to my attention;
1) There are several apprentices who are failing to keep their work records up to date. this may result in loss of potential income through missinf advancement dates, and may also cause problems in crediting hours on completion. This is the apprentices responsibility, so shape up!
2) The apprentice bursary of $400.00 is payable on completion of each training level if the apprentice has attended 4 union meetings. If you haven’t taken the time to come to your union meetings, don’t bother sending in the form.
This union needs your participation to grow, and if you don’t think $100.00 is sufficient for 3 or 4 hours of your time , maybe you should check into the commitment non-union shops make to ensuring their apprentices complete their school.
Perhaps many of you believe that Union Benefits are something that has always been there , and always will be. NONE OF THEM CAME WITHOUT OUR JOINT EFFORT.

Get Involved, Get Informed,Show up

july newsletter
an interesting article from The Construction User -a publication of The Association of Union Constructors

BOLD ACTION TO DOUBLE
MARKETSHARE AND UNION MEMBERSHIP

OUR INDUSTRY CAN double both marketshare and union membership
in 10 years. I firmly believe this and also have a strategy
for you to consider that supports the objective.
First, let us look at what we are doing now: training; organizing;
client service; codes of conduct; restructuring; apprenticeship;
marketing; politics and PLAs; and workforce development. All
these are essential components of a viable business model, but
none of them are direct engines of growth. They are cylinders
only.
The key to growing marketshare and membership is to grow
union contractor capacity.
The union construction industry is self-restricted in its current
ability to grow due to limited capacity, with capacity being
defined as “How much total work can all union contractors and
workers perform at maximum output?” I propose that the primary
obstacle to our growth and expansion is the lack of qualified
field management. If contractors cannot find foremen and superintendents
to build crews around, there is nothing else that can
assist them in increasing the size of their firms.
Union contractor capacity is directly constrained by the
amount of work they can profitably manage. Thus, in many
instances a contractor comfort zone exists at current volumes
and especially in their current markets. Conversely, if there are
increases in qualified field management, contractors will build
crews around these individuals. Also, contractor risk is directly
tied to the capability of their field foremen and superintendents.
By increasing their qualifications and ability, we reduce contractor
risk in their profit-versus-growth calculation.

We cannot build marketshare on apprentices. They are a critical
investment for the future, but they do not increase contractor
capacity except at a basic level. Organizing importantly increases
capacity by adding new union contractors and workers; but if
more workers are added without foremen to lead them, they are
destined for a lot of bench time. Our other tools do not relate to
capacity. Contractors need to have real building blocks for additional
capacity and they will not expand further into current or
new markets without them.
IMPACT OF INCREASED FIELD LEADERSHIP
To examine the impact of qualified foremen and field leadership,
let’s review the following numbers.
In 2008, for example, let us use 1.5 million union construction
workers in the United States and Canada as our benchmark.
Now, how many workers are usually on a crew under one foreman?
Obviously, this depends on the craft. But again, for example,
let us say six guys per crew.
With this example, that would mean that there are around
250,000 foremen leading crews of six to seven guys on any given
day in North America.
If you agree that contractors can only perform as much work
as they can profitably manage, that means that adding management
capacity equals growth in crews. If 250,000 foremen equals
1.5 million union craftsmen, then one net new qualified foreman
equals six to seven craft workers. If you question this model you
might want to look at our competition whose ownership of 85
percent of the market is based on this principle (one good guy
and six warm bodies).
Now, how to really grow union construction capacity? Provide
every union contractor in the United States and Canada with one
new qualified foreman every year for 10 years. That does not seem
like such a large number. Only one guy per company per year? Well
let’s run these numbers and see what kind of impact it has.
Take all the building and construction unions in the United
States and aggregate all their signatory contractors. I wonder
how many there are? Well, if the average size company out there
employs 20 union guys, that would mean there are roughly 75,000
union contractors. If you don’t like those numbers, try 40 (a very
high estimate) as the average number of employees, and you still
get 37,500 union contractors. Let’s add just one foreman a year
per company for a contractor to build a crew around and see what
happens.
If 37,500 union contractors add one net new foreman per year
multiplied by 6 field craft persons, the result is 225,000 new possible
capacity and union members per year.
If 75,000 contractors add one net foreman per year multiplied
by 6 field craft persons, the result is 450,000 new possible capacity
and union members per year.
Now multiply these numbers times 10 years.
I know that the numbers above are rough and are not statistically
perfect. So I invite you to cut them in half again. You will
still come up with a very large increase in contractor capacity and
double existing membership in 10 years. And where will the workers
come from you ask, in this era of hand-wringing on workforce
shortages? Right from our competition; decreasing their capacity,
volume and market coverage.
Labor and management have been far too concerned with the
bottom of the construction field workforce pyramid. Easily $500
million to $1 billion a year is spent collectively by all the unions
and employers on apprenticeship and training. How much of that
is directed at foremen and supervisory personnel? How many net
new foremen are coming on-line annually (and what will that look
like as the Boomers retire)? Ten years and $5-$10 billion in training
funds from now where will we be? Where else do we grow our
capacity, if not here and now?
Contractors can and will grow their businesses if given the
right tools. There is no tool more powerful and compelling to build
around than highly qualified foremen. They make the money.
They drive the jobs. They mentor the young. They are the key.
And simply matching that foreman with one key man is how each
crew begins and each company expands.
Want to double up our marketshare and membership?
It’s going to require different strategies,
allocation of resources and a new leadership
development mindset. I think it can be done if
we build a new leadership culture that drives
capacity. Ten years. Let’s start now. ■

Mark Breslin is a strategist and author specializing in labor-management
challenges. He is the author of Survival of the Fittest, Organize or
Die and, being released this year, Alpha Dog and Million Dollar Blue
Collar: Managing Your Earnings for Life and Work Success, a book
on apprentice instruction. He addresses more than 50,000 labor and
business leaders each year in North America. More on his work and
profile are available at www.breslin.biz.

We have been doing training for foremen ,and I hope this gives some insight as to the strategy behind that training. Often we take for granted that slow periods are a reality in the business that we can do little about. We have the tools neccessary to increase our market share and enable our contractors to take on a larger number of projects, and the biggest one of those is training. i will be scheduling more foreman classes in the fall. please pre-register at the hall.

June newsletter
This month we held a social evening and awards ceremony for several of our long serving members. Notable among those was Carl Catton a 60 year member who was a local member when this local union was established. We were also pleased to deliver 55 year service pins to Lorne Trickett and Terry Sanford, both of whom served this local loyally. Many others of our retired members were able to attend as well as a good number of our active members, right down to a couple of our newest.
The evening was full of stories of past jobs, outrageous adventures and good friends and brothers, some of whom are no longer with us. We commenced the evening with a moment of silence commemorating members who have passed, then recognized some of the family ties within our local that have made us strong over these last 60+1 years. An interesting moment was our recognition for the members who had over the years participated in various offices within the local. There were few from those who attended who had not sacrificed, at the very least, a considerable amount of their time and energy in keeping this local alive and well over the past sixty years. There is a lot more to having a local union than maintaining a hiring hall and we owe a lot of gratitude to these members.
These events are an important part of bringing our membership together, introducing new members to the organization and building the strength that we all rely on to make our work sites safe. I would like to encourage anyone who hasn’t attended one of these events to come out and participate.

A Safety Moment
Occasionally choices are made on the job, for various reasons; to keep a job moving,or to finish a task quickly, that may seem necessary at the time. Some of those choices are made without enough thought to potential safety risks. Some of our newer members,coming from non-union workplaces may be unaware of their rights ,and responsibilities concerning workplace safety. They will look to more experienced members for guidance, and it is every member’s responsibility to provide a safe work environment for all.
There are many levels of regulation concerning occupational health and safety from the Canadian Labour Code , Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and WorksafeBC regulations to Company based safety rules and work place regulations. This may seem like too much to stay aware of, and too hard to stay informed. This is why it is important to attend , and to pay attention to safety orientation meetings.
Your first responsibility is to yourself, and if you have a question regarding a work procedure, a piece of equipment or a material or process you have a right and a responsibility to ask. No one expects you to injure yourself or do something dangerous to earn a living.

Right To Refuse Unsafe Work
Refusal of Unsafe Work – OH&S Regulation - WorksafeBC
3.12 Procedure for refusal
(1) A person must not carry out or cause to be carried out any work process or operate or cause to be operated any tool, appliance or equipment if that person has reasonable cause to believe that to do so would create an undue hazard to the health and safety of any person.
(2) A worker who refuses to carry out a work process or operate a tool, appliance or equipment pursuant to subsection (1) must immediately report the circumstances of the unsafe condition to his or her supervisor or employer.
(3) A supervisor or employer receiving a report made under subsection (2) must immediately investigate the matter and
(a) ensure that any unsafe condition is remedied without delay, or
(b) if in his or her opinion the report is not valid, must so inform the person who made the report.
(4) If the procedure under subsection (3) does not resolve the matter and the worker continues to refuse to carry out the work process or operate the tool, appliance or equipment, the supervisor or employer must investigate the matter in the presence of the worker who made the report and in the presence of
(a) a worker member of the joint committee,
(b) a worker who is selected by a trade union representing the worker, or
(c) if there is no joint committee or the worker is not represented by a trade union, any other reasonably available worker selected by the worker.
(5) If the investigation under subsection (4) does not resolve the matter and the worker continues to refuse to carry out the work process or operate the tool, appliance or equipment, both the supervisor, or the employer, and the worker must immediately notify an officer, who must investigate the matter without undue delay and issue whatever orders are deemed necessary.
3.13 No discriminatory action
(1) A worker must not be subject to discriminatory action as defined in section 150 of Part 3 of the Workers Compensation Act because the worker has acted in compliance with section 3.12 or with an order made by an officer.
(2) Temporary assignment to alternative work at no loss in pay to the worker until the matter in section 3.12 is resolved is deemed not to constitute discriminatory action.
Note: The prohibition against discriminatory action is established in the Workers Compensation Act Part 3, Division 6, sections 150 through 153.
These regulations exist for your protection, but they also work to protect other workers, and the employer from the cost of unsafe work. Some people believe that safety is a matter of “no harm, no foul”. In other words, if no one gets hurt, and no one gets caught ,and the job gets done, why all the fuss?
Some of the careless actions that you may take could have serious,life-altering consequences for yourself, your family or another worker. Think first, ask if you’re not sure and make the right choice. No one wants to be responsible for injuring someone else, or through inaction, allowing someone else to hurt themselves.
There are also serious consequences for our contractors, and for our work opportunities when we fail to maintain the “SAFETY FIRST” commitment our Union believes in and practices.

Safety Training
Do you have questions on basic ladder safety, fall protection or WHMIS? WE HAVE TRAINING INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB-SITE. Accessing the training site is as simple as checking the IBEW L.U.1003 website, click training,go to the training center ,enter” IBEW2” at password and enter your membership number from your dues receipt. There are a variety of programs available, pre-paid.

We had excellent turn-out to our recent training sessions ,both in Electrical Supervision and Structured Cabling Basics. Congratulations to the members who made the commitment to upgrade their skills. We will be delivering further courses, and I encourage all of our members to check for upcoming sessions on our site.

HAVE A SAFE AND REWARDING SUMMER.

Ray Keen,Business manager

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