A Restructure Plan to Build a Better Future

As we move forward into the new year with Gov. J.B. Pritzker assuming the Illinois governorship and Democrats holding a significant majority within the U.S. House of Representatives, we maintain cautious optimism for extended growth and an increase in man-hours perhaps to be ignited by a state capital construction plan and a much-needed federal #infrastructure plan that has sat in paralysis. Our deteriorated roads and bridges are deficient and dangerous. Acting to pass legislation on this issue will mean jobs, safety, efficiency, and revenue across the state and country. Thank you to all our members and their families who went to the polls in November to participate in the democratic process.

To consider our prospects for 2019 it is important to take a moment and look back just a few months as we took action to prepare and position the Regional Council for the new year and beyond. As you know, effective Oct. 31, 2018, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) completed the process of restructuring the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters.

The Restructure Plan mandated by the UBC that we implemented in late October 2018 consolidated the operations of local unions. Knowing the bond and comfort that members shared with their locals did not make dissolution of those locals a decision that was made without much deliberation. Yet with that careful and respectful consideration was the clear understanding that this action was in the best interests of our membership and the Regional Council’s prospects for increased market competitiveness and growth. The Restructure Plan will reduce administrative costs; less overhead will help provide greater benefits and services for our members. In addition, the consolidation will position us to enhance and advance our commitment to organizing, skill-advancement training, and increased employment opportunities for our members.

When an organization undergoes change, the technical side that includes integrating business systems, organizing physical logistics, and considering how moving pieces will work with one another can be complex. Yet managing the people side of change and organizational transformation is often the most challenging and critical. Why is that? It takes you—our membership—to convert changes designed for the greater good into tangible success. The UBC and the Chicago Regional Council need the commitment, determination, and collaborative teamwork to reach the goal of 70 percent market share in the coming years.

Looking forward, through our #leadership programs we are transforming our job sites to integrate a more constructive #culture where employees value, motivate, and complement each other to achieve their greatest potential. Our training program is blessed to have top-notch instructors, incredible facilities, the latest equipment, and a curriculum that is designed and shaped to make sure you as the best skilled labor workforce have access to all the educational tools needed to walk onto job sites prepared and confident, ready to fulfill the needs of the job safely and productively.

As the saying goes, “There is no ‘I’ in ‘team.’” Where we go and how we get there is dependent upon no one individual but rather, a collection of leaders, mentors, up-and-coming protégés, team players, and committed men and women who see great things ahead for our brotherhood, themselves, and their fellow carpenters including future members who may only now be considering their career options.

Our Restructure Plan strives to provide greater benefits and services while creating more abundant work opportunities for our members and signatory contractors. This will significantly improve contractor and member mobility and efficiency by reformatting the geographic boundaries of the affected local unions. Yes, this has created change for some, but progress can be impossible without change. #Organizationalchange happens one person at a time, and it is the cumulative effect of realizing successful individual change that results in any organizational change being successful.

While consolidations can affect the comfort of routine, I truly believe that this restructuring will make our Regional Council stronger, more productive and more efficient for many years to come. (Written by Don Scott while employed as Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters' Communications Director)