By David Hyland
When the International Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) proposed merging over twenty locals and two district councils into a multi-state local union, some bricklayers feared that politics and access to a union fund were behind the move. The International union pulled the charters of 26 local unions and two districts in April 2023, creating a giant local covering Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Maryland. This disruption resulted in members losing their duly elected leadership and the various bylaws they had functioned under for years.
The newly appointed president of this mega local then gave the task of drafting a constitution to a Constitution Committee, a subcommittee of the union’s Management Committee. This committee worked with the International’s attorney on a draft for eight months and after one International Union (IU) rejection, got approval to send it out for a vote.
The first vote, in January 2024, was beset with a small problem – there were no voting instructions or rules included in the mailing! As a result, 193 of the returned ballots were voided due to “mistakes” in a vote involving a total of 1061 returned ballots. Understandably, BAC members called foul and demanded that the vote be reconducted properly.
Strike two for the IU and its committee came when they sent out another ballot, with instructions this time – but they used the wrong the bar code on the mailer, resulting in filled-out ballots being sent back to voters’ homes!
Strike three came when members rejected the proposed constitution by over 100 votes. Members were concerned about a perceived lack of democracy in the proposal, and as well it contained a steep hike in working dues. This defeat of the proposed constitution was followed by a game of musical chairs on the local executive board, with the president stepping down and the appointed secretary treasurer stepping into the president’s seat. He then appointed the old president (favored by the IU) to the secretary-treasurer position, bringing him back into the fold.
Battles over constitutions and bylaws can be tough to win. The process, by design, is legalistic and focused on many arcane and outdated provisions. Typically, the union’s legal counsel plays an outsized role in the drafting and promotion of proposals. Tricks around the vote may also come into play. To prevail, members need to deploy good communication, persistence and escalating pressure. Clearly BAC members were able to do so in this case.
Consolidate to What End?
While “power in numbers” is a good strategy for the labor movement, this may not always be the primary goal of union leadership when it comes to merging and consolidating locals and membership. Consolidation can result in less democracy, especially when the merger results in a body that has many more members or draws from disparate areas. In this case, three Midwest states have been put together with Maryland. What purpose does this serve?
Some members believe that there were other motives involved on the part of the International and their loyalists. Local 5 had built a $4.5 million target fund for its retiring members over the years, which is now in the hands of the management committee.
The consolidated locals are also just coming out of an officers’ election. Given other recent mishandling of basic tasks like the constitution voting, the conduct of the officer election could be questionable – and did in fact involve push back against challengers. Despite those concerns, BAC members won one position on the union’s Management Committee and came within two dozen votes of winning other positions – indicating again that dissatisfaction is running deep in the face of the contortions the members have experienced of late.
Election protests were filed with the union by challengers and the appointed incumbents. The challengers’ protests were denied in large part, but the incumbent’s protests were upheld – written by the IU attorney and rubber stamped by the appointed election
committee.
