Last week (March 3rd), saw the first meeting of the year between the Southern California District Council of Carpenters and the signatory tilt-up concrete contractors. The tone of the meeting was decidedly different than last year’s. To be sure the contractors were unhappy, as they were last year (as they are almost every year when they meet with the Union). However, the tone was much more subdued and marked by a sense of we’re all in this together, rather than the more typical adversarial tack that such meetings usually take. None of the contractors was doing well and most had little or no work, especially new tilt-up work. Some were pursuing small jobs such as commercial remodeling, while others, such as ourselves, were pursuing mostly public works jobs. The union was acutely aware of our plight, because they had a hall full of men looking for jobs and nowhere to send them.
This was not a meeting to decide what to do, but it was a meeting to voice our concerns and bounce some ideas around. The need to compete with non-union contractors reared its ugly head early and often in the discussions. The cost gap between union and non-union workers of some $15 per hour seems insurmountable, but all agreed, at least in principle, that the union needs to find a way to narrow the gap, at least for the coming year. Everyone left the meeting quietly knowing that the coming year was going to be a tough one, no matter what sort of agreement they eventually hammer out.
David Prizio has over 35 years experience in the fields of general contracting, concrete subcontracting, and civil engineering. He functioned in the capacity of carpenter at Prizio & Prizio while attending college. After graduating from Cal Poly, Pomona in 1975, David Prizio began working as a project manager at the firm. He was responsible for design coordination, cost estimation, construction coordination and administration of commercial general contracting projects. He consulted with clients regarding design, marketing, and financing of building and construction projects.