(L-R) Carpenters Business Manager Ed Coryell, Carpenters General President Doug McCarron, Operating Engineers General President Vince Giblin, and AGC Union Contractors Committee Chairman Jim Clemens
The first AGC-NCAII regional meeting took place at the Carpenters training facility in Philadelphia, Pa., on May 28. Members and staff from the Philadelphia Builders Chapter, Contractors Association of Eastern Pennsylvania and AGC of New Jersey attended, along with the general presidents and regional business managers of the Carpenters and Operating Engineers unions, AGC Union Contractors Committee staff associate Denise Gold and NCAII executive vice president Ray Poupore. The NCAII - an abbreviation of National Construction Alliance II - is a partnership of the Carpenters and Operating Engineers international unions. The "II" was added after the Laborers dropped out of the alliance last year.
The regional meetings are intended to provide AGC Chapters with an opportunity to share union contractors' local and regional concerns directly to the union leaders and to engage in a dialogue to solve problems together. "The purpose is for us to find out what we can do to help make your companies more successful," Poupore stated in opening comments. Operating Engineers general president Vince Giblin added, "We need to be real partners, not partners of convenience just when we need to be." The Operating Engineers are changing their approach from "strong arm tactics" to helping signatory contractors be more competitive, according to Giblin.
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For more information, contact Denise Gold at (703) 837-5326 or goldd@agc.org.
