Thank you David.
 
Ladies and gentlemen…brothers and sisters…distinguished guests…it is an honor for me to be with you today.
And the first thing I want to do is to extend to each and every one of you my heartfelt thanks for the tireless efforts you put forth last year to elect Barack Obama President, and Christine Gregoire (GREG-WIRE) as Governor.
 
My friends, there is an old saying that goes like this: Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.  You hear this phrase a lot in the world of sports because athletes who compete at the highest levels must prepare themselves for that one brief moment of opportunity.
 
Think for a moment about the Olympic track and field athlete who prepares him or herself through an intense training regimen. This athlete trains for several hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week over the course of several years.  And all this training enables them to be as prepared as possible for the opportunity to succeed for a brief shining moment at the Olympics.
 
Well, Brothers and Sisters…our Olympic games are now upon us.
 
And we need to embrace the ideal that luck is success that is bred through the marriage of preparation and opportunity. Because right now, if we have the will and the discipline and desire, just like that Olympic athlete, we can start to generate a lot of luck for ourselves.
 
I cannot over-emphasize the extent to which there has been an immense shift in the prevailing attitudes in Washington, DC. The White House and the Congress and many federal agencies are not only listening to us they are actually acting on what we have to say.
 
President Obama and the US Congress are now looking to us to our building trades unions and to our training programs to help craft the solutions for long-term sustained economic investment and growth.
 
Whether it’s the issue of economic stimulus, or America’s clean energy future, or the resurgence of our nuclear power generation industry, or any number of other issues where we have been consulted, the Obama Administration recognizes that there is great added value associated with the union construction industry.
 
And as we know, this value is built upon pride, performance, and professionalism and in putting value on display…every day for owners, for contractors, and for the communities in which we live and work.
 
But, what’s truly refreshing is that President Obama understands intuitively that the key to American economic success is not in generating speculative economic “bubbles” that enrich Wall Street investment banks. We have endured several of those in the last twenty years and they have always – always - ended badly for America’s working families.
 
President Obama understands that our nation needs a new approach. An approach where sustained economic success will be achieved through investments in our physical infrastructure in the technologies of the future – such as clean energy – and with investments in human capital.
 
An approach where all Americans with the desire and discipline to change their lives will have the opportunity to make a difference in our collective future.
 
That, brothers and sisters, is what our unions, and our industry, have always believed. We know full well that America works best…when we bring about the best in America!
 
As I stand before you today, you should know that opportunity has finally come knocking on our door. But for us to create our own good luck, we have to make sure we are prepared. Because from this point forward each of us must ask ourselves every day if we are doing what is necessary to rid ourselves…once and for all…of the damaging stereotypes and misperceptions that people have of us and our unions.
 
Because if each of us do not make this commitment then the paradigm doesn’t change.
 
I’m talking about the stereotypes and misperceptions that were the direct result of a counter-productive business model. You know what I am talking about. A business model that was based upon confrontation rather than cooperation and a commitment to value.
 
Today, I am challenging all of our state and local councils to make a conscious decision to join with me and the General Presidents of our 13 national and international unions in an effort to systematically re-vitalize the union construction industry brand.
 
Once our work is complete in this endeavor then you can bet the farm that good luck and opportunity will find us! And when that happens we will be well on our way to destroying forever those negative perceptions and stereotypes that have worked to prevent us from achieving our true potential.
 
So, the question we must ask ourselves is this:  Have we done the best we can to dedicate and prepare ourselves mentally, physically, educationally, and spiritually for this challenge?
 
Think about it for a moment. How many times over the last 30 or 40 years, have we blamed our failures on something, or someone else?  When the truth is we really have not done what was required of us to prepare ourselves and our organizations for the opportunity to succeed?
 
Far too often, we have placed limits on what we thought we could achieve.  Seriously, how many times have you said, or heard someone else say, “We can’t do that because that’s not how we have done things before?” And how many times have visionary and innovative ideas found their way to the dustbin of history simply because they were outside of someone’s comfort zone?
 
No more. Not if you want to survive, or if you believe what we have inherited from those before us is worth passing on.
We need new, innovative thinking that subscribes to our new message of providing “Value on Display. Every Day.”
And let me offer another angle to this, while I am at it. Because it speaks to the preparation that is needed for us to meet opportunity and start creating some of our own good luck.
 
Brothers and sisters, the time has come for us to rediscover the inherent values of friendship, loyalty and a strong belief in one another.  We live in an increasingly complicated world.  Our unions and our industry are in the midst of making major strategic decisions on how we want people to perceive us…how we intend to increase market share…and how we intend to accomplish our mission.
 
I know…it sounds like the same old story. Someone comes in from Washington or from your international union with a glorious plan on how to save your ass…and many times they are good plans. Then they leave town and you are left on your own.
 
I’ll do the same thing but I hope I will have convinced you to take charge of your destiny and empower you to take action. Because the reality is that your future rests in your hands.
 
Not mine. And not the person to your right or your left. You, and only you, must decide if you are going to take responsibility for the continuation and growth of our great institutions…as well as your councils and local unions.  You must decide if you are going to step outside the box and try every potential means that will make you a value-added proposition to owners, contractors, non-union workers, and public officials.
 
Trust me…If you take that step, you will see a difference.
 
At the top, we are making strategic decisions that involve extensive dialogue with other union leaders, building trades council leaders, local union leaders…and most importantly with the rank and file. We have also been talking with experts who reside outside our unions.
 
But, as valuable as all of those discussions are, our success really boils down to these simple truths:
Developing friendship, loyalty, and a belief in one another.
 
In any business or organization, especially one like ours, personal relationships form the backbone of everything we do. If we cannot cultivate friendships with the people we work with and the customers we work for…or want to work for…then we are truly going to have a tough time in re-capturing market share for the union construction industry.
 
Likewise, if we cannot inspire confidence and loyalty among the members we represent…and the customers for whom we serve…then we are doomed to a future of marginalization and irrelevancy.
 
You see, we have no other choice but to seek to re-define ourselves…and re-define our strategic approach for taking back market share.  We must create a new business model that owners, contractors and government officials recognize as the model that makes sense. Instead of simply dividing up markets and competing with our open-shop competitors like we are accustomed to, we should strive to create a robust demand for the products and services that we have to offer and the values that we represent.
 
In other words, we have no other choice but to re-position ourselves and create an entirely new market approach – one that is based upon value and a business model that is unique in our industry.
 
This will enable us to break entirely free of our competition and their outdated, socially-unacceptable business model. The end result will be the creation of new, uncontested market space for the union construction industry.
So, let me be clear on this point. For us to win this battle once and for all, we must stop competing directly with, and against, the open shop. Because…and I want you to think about this long and hard…the only way to beat the open shop is to stop trying to beat the open shop.
 
Let me repeat that.
 
The only way to beat the open shop is to stop trying to beat the open shop.
 
Our intent is to expand the notion of what is important and what is possible in our industry…and in our society. To show owners and contractors, and government officials and community leaders that our unions are creating new and untapped market space…and that space will be defined by a  business model that represents all that is good about America.
 
It is a business model that is based upon:

Quality…
Skill…
Pride…
Performance…
Professionalism…
Integrity…
Value…
and Community Partnerships.

By further developing this new market space, we will showcase the irrelevancy of the open-shop.  We will make it economically and socially unacceptable to conduct business with their outmoded worldview…which is predicated upon a race to the bottom…and defined by their determination to assemble the cheapest, and often times the most exploitable and undocumented, workforce they can.
 
Brothers and sisters, for the last 22 months America’s Building Trades Unions have been creating new markets, new opportunities and new perceptions. It’s working for those that have embraced change. It will be the culmination of these efforts that will allow us to make new friends, inspire loyalty and foster a strong belief in what we do and what we represent.
 
And that is why the Building Trades Department is mounting an aggressive effort to tell this new story. In fact, we have launched one new website, which will showcase the success stories we are having on the job, www.valueondisplay.com.
 
We are in the process of developing two more web sites.  One called www.AUnionLife.com, is designed to tell the personal stories of our members and how being a member of one of our unions has made such a difference in their lives and the lives of their families.  If used properly this can be a very effective tool for organizing non-union craftspeople.
 
We are also developing a website called “Building Your Future” which is being specifically designed to foster a conversation with the younger generations in America and Canada about career opportunities in the skilled trades.
Finally, we are working on a website devoted to telling the real truth about Community Workforce Agreements…or, Project Labor Agreements, as they are more commonly known.
 
We will keep you abreast of these developments as they occur.
 
So, that is where we are on the “preparation” side of the ledger.  Now, allow me a few moments to detail a few of these opportunities that await us.
 
First, the Building and Construction Trades Department is committed to developing industry-based partnerships.  Many industries today, including nuclear, the pharmaceutical industry, the oil and gas industries,  and conventional power generation, to name just four, are understandably worried.
 
They now find themselves faced with a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress, both of whom are not necessarily in tune with their objectives and their agendas. So, they need friends.  And we seem to be making a lot of friends lately.
 
We have worked closely with the Nuclear Energy Institute to ensure that federal loan guarantees for the construction of a new generation of nuclear facilities are supported by the Congress. And we have just recently created a new labor-management committee with the Oil and Natural Gas Industry for the expressed purpose of helping them educate policymakers on the importance of developing domestic sources of energy and the need to expand our refinery capacity and delivery systems, such as natural gas pipelines.
 
The Department has also developed a relationship with the Edison Electric Institute and we have helped protect their interests in the climate bill.
 
And just last week we formed a partnership with PHARMA, the association representing the pharmaceutical industry.  Further, we have developed partnerships with some of the more moderate environmental groups in order to shape sensible, job-producing policies relating to global climate change. We worked closely with the League of Conservation Voters on the American Clean Energy Security Act.
 
It just passed the House of Representatives last month. That bill, which seeks to reduce our national carbon footprint has several provisions that are extremely beneficial to our unions. First it contains blanket Davis-Bacon coverage for construction outlays contained in the bill.  Secondly, it includes a provision giving the Secretaries of Labor and Energy the discretion to mandate Community Workforce Agreements for work conducted under this Act.
 
And speaking of Community Workforce Agreements…I have some very good news to report.
 
A few weeks ago, the Obama Administration moved to make it official policy that Federal agencies are no longer prohibited from requiring the use of Community Workforce Agreements on large construction projects in excess of $25 million.
 
As you recall, on February 6, 2009, President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order…which reversed the George W. Bush Executive Order banning PLAs for federal construction procurement.  The Administration is now implementing this new Executive Order by repealing a rule, effective immediately, that previously prohibited federal agencies from requiring PLAs.
 
With this action, federal agencies are no longer prohibited from requiring the use of a PLA or CWA when permitted by law…and when the agency determines that it is appropriate to do so.  Until the final rule is adopted…which could be several weeks…the White House is encouraging all agencies to consider the value of PLAs/CWAs on a project-by-project basis.  Clearly, this is cause for celebration.
 
So, as you can see, the Building Trades Department is committed to making friends in various industries…inspiring their loyalty…and working with the Administration to cultivate a favorable landscape for us to showcase our value.
You must do the same locally.  Together, we must work very hard to portray our new story and our new identity…with important constituencies in our industry, in our communities…and in all levels of government.
 
And by the way, you will note that I have been using the term “Community Workforce Agreements.”  That is the new term we are using for Project Labor Agreements.  The reason for the change is that the Obama Administration…as well as many other important groups and lawmakers…recognize the social and community benefits that these agreements can offer. It makes sense for us to showcase these attributes when we describe them.
 
From the stimulus bill…to clean energy initiatives…to the upcoming highway re-authorization legislation…more and more key officials within the Administration and within Congress…are now recognizing the social and community benefits that are inherent in these agreements. Benefits such as local-hire and apprenticeship training benchmarks which are so effective in moving traditionally disadvantaged and underemployed citizens into sustainable careers.
 
More and more, Community Workforce Agreements are being viewed as the ideal vehicle through which federal, state and local construction investments can be leveraged to achieve important social and economic objectives.
 
Again, it’s about demonstrating value…so that we can make friends and inspire loyalty and belief.
 
Let me also bring you up to speed on other critical issues that are being debated in “the other Washington.”  Congress is quite busy with health care reform and clean energy legislation…each of which has important implications for our unions and our members.
 
I have already touched upon the clean energy bill that has passed the House. That bill only passed by the slimmest of margins. We certainly expect a different bill to emerge in the Senate…and we will fight like hell to maintain those provisions that are important to us.
 
As for health care reform, we came out of the box swinging hard against the concept of taxing employer-provided health care benefits…which was being viewed as an avenue to pay for comprehensive reform. And because of our vocal opposition, it looks as though that idea is dead…for now, anyway. This issue still remains fluid and I would encourage you to check our website frequently for up-to-the-minute information as events unfold.
 
And then there is the matter of our first legislative priority – the Employee Free Choice Act. Now that Al Franken has finally been seated as the junior Senator from Minnesota…we have every hope and intention of seeing this bill adopted and signed into law by Labor Day of this year!
 
Again, I encourage you to make it a regular habit of checking www.bctd.org for information pertaining to these and other issues.
 
Brothers and sisters…as you can see, there is considerable work happening right now with respect to our unions and our movement. It is cause for us to be pleased and encouraged. But not satisfied.
 
Yes…opportunities are plentiful for us. But, the question is: Are we doing all that we can to prepare ourselves to take full advantage of these opportunities? Remember, preparation plus opportunity equals luck. It’s time to start generating some good luck for a change!
 
I thank you for inviting me here today.
 
And remember, as you go forward from this convention, keep this one thought on your mind and in your heart:
Value on Display…Every Day.
 
It’s who we are.
 
Thank you and God Bless America’s Building Trades Unions!