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Building Trade Unions
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INTRODUCTION
The attitude of building trade unions toward increasing industrialization in
the building industry does not form a clear and stable picture. In practice,
attitudes differ from trade to trade, local union to local union, and union
member to union member. These attitudes may or may not be in concert
with union policy at the national level, the attitudes of the National Labor
Relations Board, or the courts. Additionally, these many shades of
opinion are constantly changing in response to such factors as the
availability of jobs in a given area, pressures from public opinion, and the
relative strength of the local union.
Because of this varied and changing picture, any attempt to pin down
union attitudes over the country as a whole would be impractical and in
any case quickly outdated. This discussion, therefore, will concentrate on
trends in union attitudes, the factors which influence these attitudes, and
ways of determining attitudes at a particular time and place.
In general, the problem of industrialization for the construction trades is
parallel to the problem of automation in other industries, and in general the
same kinds of responses by labor can be observed in both cases.
Resistance to change and fear of the unknown are typical human
characteristics. A propaganda cartoon of 1830 shows all the dire
consequences to be expected from the introduction of steam power in
factories, and even went so far as to recommend that mothers bear no
more children since steam power would take away any possibility of jobs
for them. (1)
As a background, we will begin with discussions of the concept of
industrialization and the general attitudes of labor unions. We will then
discuss the position of unions relative to prefabrication in terms of the
strategies open to them, their legal position, policies of the national union
leadership, recent agreements, and future trends.
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