Western States Section convenes historic M.O.R.E. Work Action Council

Group votes to cover member TWIC cards

IN AN HISTORIC event in Salt Lake City May 7, International officers, International reps and business managers from the Western States’ eight construction locals launched the first-ever M.O.R.E. Work Action Council meeting.

M.O.R.E. (Marketing, Organizing, Recruitment and Employment) is a work investment fund financed by U.S. construction members and designed to transform the union using proactive, coordinated strategies to increase work opportunities and bring in new members.

Conceived by International President Newton B. Jones and unanimously approved by the International Executive Council, the M.O.R.E. Work Investment Fund has the potential to secure and enhance the Brotherhood’s national pension plan and reverse the long-trending decline in Boilermaker membership numbers due to economic and industry changes and other forces.

Each of the four U.S. International Vice President sections has approved the fund and committed to help finance it, and the Western States section piloted an early model of M.O.R.E. leading up to its initial roll out. The fund will go towards hiring additional staff to market, recruit, organize and train, and to provide state-level lobbying. The fund will also pay for marketing materials and campaigns as well as other growth-focused programs and activities. Each IVP section will control its own fund and contribute a portion to campaigns that benefit all sections. Each section will also have its own work action council consisting of the IVP (council chairman) and business managers within the section.

Prior to the official start of the May 7 meeting, President Jones gave a presentation on the M.O.R.E. Work Investment Fund. He explained the challenges facing the union due to man-hour shortfalls — especially the impact on the pension — and discussed how the new fund addresses those challenges. “We’re going to build an action-oriented agenda and recoup the work we have not been doing and should be doing, because, frankly, we have ignored a lot of it,” he said. President Jones noted that the International would be reaching out to all construction business managers to provide greater detail about the M.O.R.E. Work Investment Fund.

Western States IVP J. Tom Baca called the meeting to order and introduced the first order of business: the use of M.O.R.E. fund money contributed by Western States members to pay for member TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential) cards, which are required to work on certain construction and maintenance projects. The council unanimously approved the proposal. Previously, each local purchased the cards using the lodge treasury. The cards can cost more than $130 per member with related fees.

IVP Baca stressed that all locals in the Western States Section will be expected to work towards recruitment, market development and organizing targets.

Also attending the inaugural meeting were IST Bill Creeden, IVP-GL Larry McManamon, IVP-SE Warren Fairley, IVP-NE John Fultz, ED-CSO Mark Vandiver, AIP/IR-CSO Jim Cooksey (WS M.O.R.E. Work Council Coordinator), D-SMTS/AD-ISO Gary Powers, IR Mark Keffeler, L-4 (Page, Arizona) BM-ST Louis Dodson Jr., L-11 (Helena, Montana) BM-ST Clinton Penny, L-92 (Los Angeles) acting BM-ST Oscar Davila, L-101 (Denver) BM-ST Tim Ruth, L-502 (Puyallup, Washington) BM-ST Tracey Eixenberger, L-549 (Pittsburg, California) BM-ST Mark Sloan, L-549 Recording Secretary Tim Jefferies, L-627 (Phoenix) BM-ST Jacob Evenson, L-627 President Richard Lerma, SAIP/EIA Kate Jones and staff from the International Communications Department.