WASHINGTON, May 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
WHAT: The Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), joined by the AFL-CIO and LIUNA, will release the findings of a first-ever state-by-state comparative analysis of the Associated Builders and Contractors trade association, better known as ABC, and its affiliate organizations. The findings expose ABC's data manipulation and an aggressive disinformation campaign designed to confuse elected officials, the public and the press into supporting policies that produce fewer jobs, lower wages, and minimal workforce training, which have had a detrimental effect on workers, their communities and the US construction industry as a whole.
The report, written by Dr. Thomas J. Kriger, analyzes ABC from a number of different perspectives, including its origins, its membership and density among contractors in the American construction industry, its finances, its formal apprenticeship and craft training programs (along with its affiliate, the National Center for Construction Education and Research, NCCER), and ABC's more recent electronic, ideological issues advocacy.
The findings of the report, "Driving the Low Road in the Construction Industry: An Analysis of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)," will be released at a teleprint conference call.
WHEN: Thursday May 31, 2012 – 11:00 AM Eastern – 12:00 PM Eastern
SPEAKERS:
- Sean McGarvey, President of the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD)
- Richard Trumka, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
- Terry O'Sullivan, President of the Laborer's International Union of America (LIUNA)
- Thomas J. Kriger, PhD, Professor of Labor Studies, National Labor College, Principal Author
ON THE CALL AND AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT
- Dennis Duffy, Ohio State Building Trades Council
- Bob Balgenorth, California State Building Trades Council
- Pete Rimsans, Indiana State Building Trades Council
- Pat Devlin, Michigan State Building Trades Council
Call Instructions: Please call in to the teleprint conference call at 11:00 AM Eastern on Thursday May 31 by dialing 888-808-6929, participant passcode 1984791.
To RSVP: Please contact Aric Caplan at 301-998-6592 or aric@caplancommunications.com
ABOUT THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES DEPARTMENT (BCTD)
The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, (BCTD) provides essential coordination and support to the work of its affiliated national and international unions in order that, through inter-trade solidarity, organized construction workers achieve a powerful voice in government, in bargaining, and in their communities. For nearly a century, the BCTD has secured the trade jurisdiction and autonomy of its affiliates as the respected arbiter of trade issues and through that work has contributed to the continuity of employment and economic security of organized construction workers in the United States and Canada.
The Governing Board of Presidents and Officers are assisted in implementing policy through the work of seven standing committees. The policies of the Governing Board and the broad of the Convention are carried out by the BCTD Officers and Staff Departments, and through the efforts of 386 state, local and provincial councils in the United States and Canada.
The standing committees of the BCTD are: Apprenticeship and Training; the Canadian Executive Board; General Presidents' Committee on Contract Maintenance; Labor-Management Committee; Legislative Task Force Committee; National Organizing Committee; and the Women in the Trades Committee. The chair of each standing committee devotes considerable time to lead the committee and works in concert with the staff of the BCTD.
The important work of the BCTD is in the detail and the daily implementation of policy. That work revolves around three crucial hubs of activity: Legislative and Governmental Affairs; Field Services; and Labor-Management Relations.