Conditions are right for harvesting victories

From Ironworkers Magazine — By Eric Dean, General President —

With the increased federal investments in energy, infrastructure and domestic semiconductor manufacturing and the exponential growth of artificial intelligence, fabrication jobs are on the rise.

The boom brings the need for North American steel and other domestically sourced materials and the skilled workers to get it all done. It also allows our signatory fabricator contractors to bid on these lucrative projects, construct new plants and modernize older plants. Demand and opportunity in the industry mean demand and opportunity for our union — the recruiting and organizing of new shop members and their employers.

Our outside ironworker members can appreciate the organizing of a fabrication shop as it complements our strength in the field. Our constitution preamble describes “that this must best be obtained by the united action and effort, thus forming a sold representative organization, each pledged to carry into effect the immortal injunction that an injury to one is an injury to all.”

Progress benefits everyone. The massive investments in the U.S. and Canada call for us to capitalize, organize and seize the moment!

The shift to domestic manufacturing is much welcomed and needed in North America. Foreign fabricators have dominated the market for several decades as plants on our shores shuttered and production moved abroad. New federal investments mandate the use of North American sourced-materials.

Ironworkers can expect significant growth in these industry sectors. The rapid expansion of data centers, coupled with the release of U.S. and Canadian federal funding for infrastructure projects over the next two years, perfectly aligns with our union’s dedication to organizing.

Boosting our membership — in the field and shop — means more ironworkers in our ranks and more companies to employ them. Recent changes by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, British Columbia’s strengthened card check elections and overwhelming public support of labor unions render extraordinary conditions to capitalize on pro-worker sentiment.

There is no better time or reason to join a union than now. We are seeing an uptick in worker interest and have mounted numerous campaigns in fabricating shops, rolling up victories and giving shop ironworkers much-deserved recognition on the job.

Victories in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington, D.C., as well as British Columbia and Ontario, signify a change in the tide. In the U.S. alone, NLRB union petitions are up 35% in the first six months of fiscal year 2024 compared to 2023.

Each day brings news of another organizing success story in the labor movement. Unions are winning — ironworkers are winning! Every negotiated contract adds to our ranks, increases our value and gives a voice to the previously unrepresented. Our “bottom-up” organizing model is becoming tried and true, proving its effectiveness, and paying dividends.

Eric Dean is General President of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers. This column by Dean appears in the June 2024 edition of The Ironworker magazine.

CAPTIONS (The Ironworker magazine photos)

ABOVE: Workers at Iron Fabrication Services in the Washington, D.C. area voted “yes” to become union ironworkers in October 2023.

INSET: Eric Dean, General President