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Thank you.
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It�s good to be here.
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These meetings are a great opportunity to talk to get new information and get feedback on how some of our programs are working in the field.� That�s always been the benefit of conferences like these, but the value of that feedback has really improved as we�ve increased the level of participation from our contractors.
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I know that Doug Banes touched on this in the opening session, but I want to say again to the contractors how much we value your participation.�
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This is our third leadership conference with the Millwrights since we began rebuilding and restructuring our international.
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At each of these conferences there was an overriding issue which really drove the content and the discussion.
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The first conference in 2001 was defined by our restructuring and by the conference itself.
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The recognition of the specialty trades and the value and strength they bring to our union was the clear message of that first Millwrights conference.
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That recognition was a direct result of the reorganization of our union, and the renewed focus on organizing and growth that drove it.
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For years our International treated the sub trades as if they were a �red headed stepchild�.
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That attitude was wrong. It hurt our union. And as far as this administration is concerned it is gone for good.� That attitude was wrong because everyone who carries a card, or should be carrying one, deserves respect.� Respect for the skills they have, and respect for the heart it takes to get up every day, strap on your bags, and go to work.
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The skills may be different depending on whether you are a carpenter or a millwright; and the tools in your bag (or in your case a bucket) may change but the value of your work is equal.
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Our old structure didn�t really recognize that. Our old structure, which had started out bringing everyone in together to fight for better wages and conditions had turned into something very different.
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Instead of a flexible, aggressive organizing union that led the fight for change, our union had become rigid in its attitudes, passive in its response to challenges, and opposed to change.� Instead of leading the way, that union turned its back on the future.
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The result?� The locals turned into little kingdoms where the only thing that mattered was protecting turf.� We didn�t organize contractors or recruit members. Instead, we spent our time arguing about jurisdiction between locals. And when our contractors asked for changes that would help them stay competitive� we told them to take a hike.
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And they did.� They turned around and walked away. And for twenty years we continued to pretend we still controlled the market.� But by 1995 our membership was about 480,000... down from a high of 880,000 and the loss in membership wasn�t going to stop.
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And it was our members who paid the price. In lost wages, in reduced benefits, in lost work. That�s the bad news.� The good news is that in 1995, we did change.
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All of you know how and why we changed�because you made it possible.

You are the change agents.� You joined us in a commitment to take control of our union; to get it back in the streets, back in the business of organizing and fighting for more work for our members and our contractors.
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We made the structural changes that broke down the walls separating our locals, put resources into the hands of organizers in the field instead of bureaucrats in Washington, and most importantly � put the responsibility and the authority for implementing this change in the hands of the regional councils and the delegates who elect the leadership.
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We didn�t put it into the hands of individuals; we built it into the structure of the union.� We gave EST�s the authority to implement their plans for organizing and growth. We gave delegates the training to make sure they understand the mission and support the council�s organizing efforts.
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More than 2,500 rank-and-file delegates have been to the Las Vegas Center for the training� to help them meet their responsibilities as council delegates.

These men and women represent the next generation of UBC leaders� And after meeting and talking with virtually every class� I am here to tell you that I am very optimistic about the future of our Brotherhood.
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We�re also testing a new pilot program now that will provide additional training not only for delegates, but for staff and leadership as well. But knowledge and training aren�t much use without resources to get the job done. That is why we committed 50% of our union�s resources, at every level, to organizing.
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Instead of staff people in Washington, we hired organizers in the field. It sounds easy�now � and the need seems obvious, but that wasn�t true at the first Millwrights� conference. It was a massive change and could not have been done without the extraordinary commitment of so many of you. But we made the change, and it is working.
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By the time we held the next conference in 2003 we were able to focus on our training programs, and the need to integrate our organizing and training efforts.
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Just as we absolutely MUST merge health and welfare funds, to reduce costs and preserve our members� health care benefits�� We need to eliminate the unnecessary expense of multiple training funds. We aren�t there yet, but we are making steady progress toward the goal of a single training trust in each council.� It�s the right thing to do; we owe our members the best training possible.
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The Carpenters International Training Center is operating at a level of expertise that is unmatched by any other training program in North America.

And I think Millwrights have made greater use of that expertise, and the resources that go with it, than any other craft in our Brotherhood
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Over 3,700 millwrights have been through the GE turbine training program.

And let me say to you:� congratulations. I think you�ve shown the industry� and our entire Brotherhood what first-rate training really looks like.
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Let me say one other thing about that.�
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That program, the turbine training center, these conferences� None of it � none of it� would have happened without leadership, dedication and absolute determination.
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I think everyone in this room and every millwright in this Brotherhood is better off�because of the efforts and dedication of one man: Doug Banes.
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From conveyor systems and that world class Turbine program, to the Petro Chemical Industry program that Bill Irwin presented at this conference, Millwrights are leading the industry, and our Brotherhood, with the modular training programs that will keep our members on the cutting edge of technology and productivity. And those programs are just the first of many that will be developed at the center using � your construction expertise and the technical help of McGraw-Hill.
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By developing our training materials at the center, and making them available to all of our training centers, we can be sure that Millwrights in New Jersey and Seattle will be taught the same skills the same way� and our contractors can count on members having consistent skills in every part of North America.
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We are also operating an innovative loan and grant program for local JATC�s�to help them bring their training facilities up to industry standards. All of this is being done so that our Regional Councils and JATC�s can focus on the primary task: increasing market share and making sure that our members are the most highly skilled, productive men and women in the industry.�
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It has been a huge task to implement all these changes and develop these programs but the facts speak for themselves: We have stopped a 30-year decline in membership � and increased from that low point of 480,000 to about 530,000 members today.
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I�m proud of you, and I hope your proud of yourselves.� By that measure we are doing well. But that measure isn�t enough. What we have achieved through all these changes is the development of a new foundation for our Brotherhood.
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This new structure of the UBC is designed to empower organizers and instructors to use all the knowledge and resources of the Brotherhood for the benefit of our members.
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Breaking down the walls around those old local fiefdoms did more than establish free movement of men.
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It also opened up the free movement of ideas. One of the best aspects of this new UBC is the openness of communication and willingness to share information and ideas now that we�ve focused on training and organizing the unorganized.
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We�ve already seen innovations spread from council to council. Ideas like the On the job training program that was developed in Phoenix for the Interior Systems industry are being tested and developed in every part of the Brotherhood.
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I am confident that we will see more programs where we put our best mechanics on the job to show a contractor�s crew how to be more productive � How to work smarter.
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We will continue working toward the goal of a single JATC for each regional council and as Doug Banes called for in his opening remarks, better communications between training instructors and council representatives.
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We need to make sure that our training programs teach the skills our members and contractors need day in and day out. In an era of increasing specialization, we need to give our members the skills they need and an opportunity to improve the skills they have.
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The Millwright training programs are a good example of the benefits to modular training. Those programs deliver true added value to our members and our contractors and that is what we want to do. That is the formula for our success.
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We have spent years rebuilding our structure and renewing the Organizing spirit of our Brotherhood. But by itself, that won�t get the job done. We have to match that effort with an equal level of commitment to productivity: to training and competing for the work. We have to, and we will.
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The contractors who hire our members live in that competitive world every day.

And if we ignore that fact, and handicap them with additional problems, they will fail� and our members will pay the price� again.� And that�s not going to happen. Not on our watch.
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We�re doing well because we�ve stopped pretending to control a market that doesn�t exist anymore � and started to deal with the real market we want to control.� We learned to analyze markets, to look at them from a contractor�s perspective, as well as our own, to see where our skill can add value for our contractors.
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We know that signing a contractor isn�t the end of the job, it�s the beginning. We still have to make sure that we outperform the competition.
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In 2003, we said that we had to bring the same level of commitment to training and competitiveness as we brought to restructuring and organizing. We are seeing the results of that commitment in the new Millwright Training programs. And our members, our millwrights, will be the beneficiaries.
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That�s the way it should be � and the way it will be� as we begin to build on the new foundation we have laid for our Brotherhood.
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As we look ahead, and prepare the plans that will take us through the next five years, I see opportunity. The opportunity to consolidate our gains� the opportunity to turn innovative ideas into solid results for our members and our contactors. The opportunity to help every member earn the respect they deserve.
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Thank you.

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Carpenters Fined Over Training Mix-up (1/24/2005)
By Tony Illia, McGraw-Hill Construction | ENR
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was fined $4,200 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for falsely claiming that its Las Vegas training facility was certified to teach lead-based paint removal. The $22-million, 176,289-sq-ft center opened in March 2001 and certifies union instructors in general carpentry and construction skills to educate its 525,000 rank-and-file members. President Bush, who toured the center last year during his re-election campaign, called the carpenters� apprenticeship program, "a program that works."

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