Between a Brick and a Hard Place

Six weeks into the impasse between the Mason Contractors Association and Bricklayers Local 1 strike, the MCA announced last week that its members planned to use replacement workers or to subcontract their work to non-signatory masonry companies.

"We do not make this decision lightly. The union has forced our hand," said Dave Gillick, Executive Director of the Mason Contractors Association in a statement released by MCA.  "The MCA has attempted to negotiate in good faith, with continuous movement on key issues over the past six weeks, but still the union refuses to make a deal and continues to withhold our work force. In order to protect our businesses and service our customers, we've made the painful decision to use temporary replacement workers."

The association and the union have had an on-again/off-again track record in meetings with federal mediators.

Following an overnight negotiating session on the weekend between the parties AGC of St. Louis scheduled an informational meeting for Monday, July 18, to allow both sides to present their position to the general contractors. The meeting was later cancelled. AGC issued the following statement late Monday:

"AGC of St. Louis has talked with the various groups involved in the Bricklayers’ negotiations. The Mason Contractors Association are working on their options and will be contacting us with their current position. Through conversations with PRIDE and the Building Trades, the Bricklayers are working on their options and will be contacting us with their current position as well. There are also efforts underway to have additional meetings later this week between the two parties."

Sheetmetal Workers Local 36 scheduled a meeting for Monday to decide the fate of brick that was planned for the exterior of the unions massive new training complex that is being constructed at Jefferson and Chouteau. Some owners such as Walmart have already replaced union masonry contractors with non-signatory firms.

The MCA statement issued last week acknowledged that the industry is moving on, with or without its members.  "Many member masonry contractors are feeling the pain of this extended strike, several having lost large projects to out-of-town, non-union masonry companies," the statement read.

"We had hoped to reach a deal quickly. But six weeks later the union continues to strike and walk out of negotiations," Gillick continued. "And on July 6, the union leadership proposed entirely new language that essentially brings back the days of hiring halls. Mason contractors refuse to accept this - we will retain the right to hire our own workers."

"We have chosen to become union contractors and we want to stay that way. However, there are many ways to build a wall and we have to compete with non-union contractors as well carpenters. We're asking our union for help in making our industry competitive so that once again masonry can become the preferred choice to build that wall."

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