2012 Iron Workers/IMPACT North American Labor-Management ...

RAB XI Co-Chairs Darrell LaBoucan and Ross
Fraser present “IMPACT Arrives in Canada!”
President and CEO, Ben Hur Construction Co.,
and IMPACT Management Co-Chair William
Brown delivers opening remarks Monday.
General President Walter Wise
and General Secretary Eric Dean.
MONDAY
“The politics of no and gridlock
have not served our country well,”
said Iron Workers General President
and IMPACT Labor Co-Chair Walter
Wise as he called to order Monday
morning’s opening session. “Instead,
we must constantly improve as we
reaffirm our commitment to safety
and value.” Wise added that our goal
is to put “more and more ironworkers
to work” and that “it will be important
to keep moving forward as
industry partners to double market
share in the next nine years.”
William Brown, CEO of Ben Hur
Construction Company and management
co-chair for IMPACT, also took
to the stage. “Our strength as an organization
lies in the incredible commitment
to innovation by our board
of trustees, staff and partners,” he
said. “The level of interest we’ve seen
in IMPACT this year is truly a testament
to the value of our programs.”
Management Co-Chair William
Brown and IMPACT CEO Waterman
stressed the importance of
IMPACT’s Regional Advisory Boards
(RABs) and heralded the formation
of three new boards in Canada, the
addition of which brings IMPACT’s
total number of RABs to 13, up from
10 in 2011.
IMPACT funding is now officially
part of how ironworkers and contractors
do business. Much of the content
Nearly one half
of respondents at the conference
said that both the non-union
competition and unfunded
pension liability are the biggest
challenges we face.
from this year was inspired by feedback
from our RABs, which shows
the value of IMPACT on the local
level, Brown said.
RAB XI Co-Chairs Darrell LaBoucan
(Labor) and Ross Fraser (Management)
lauded IMPACT’s efforts
to tailor its programs to the needs
of Canada, noting IMPACT’s instrumentality
in encouraging crossborder
mobility in areas of western
Canada where the industry often
experiences shortages of ironworkers.
“This is a strong opportunity for
ironworkers and contractors to grow
their business,” LaBoucan said.
The morning’s discussions also
included a roll call of dynamic and
engaging speakers. General James
Conway, 34th commandant of the
U.S. Marine Corps, ret., gave a powerful
speech on effective leadership,
and later, Charlie Cook shared his
James
Conway, 34th
commandant
of the Marine
Corps, ret.,
presents “The
Multi-Talented
Leader-A
Recipe for
Victory.”
MARCH 2012 5