theCURRENT: Q1 2024

If you’ve ever negotiated a CBA, you know that divide and conquer is a tried-and-true tactic. It goes without saying that associations working together versus against each other would generate better results at the table. But too often, politics and preferences have gotten in the way.

To change this, contractors across all associations need to find ways to work together, create a common negotiations strategy, and devise a joint bargaining template. In 2023, UCON sought to change this dynamic for good.

In 2023, PG&E and other Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), like SDGE & SoCal Edison, advanced directives requiring the use of IBEW-signatory companies and IBEW-represented workforce on various scopes of work, including traffic control and the undergrounding of power lines. These mandates not only conflict with longstanding jurisdictional lines of, for instance, the Laborers and Operating Engineers, but also the way most union contractors have run their businesses in the state of California for decades.

If 2022 was the year of bargaining, 2023 was the year of partnering. Throughout the year, UCON co-hosted ten (10) of our signature Industry Partnering Meetings (IPMs) with the Laborers, Operators, Carpenters, Pile Drivers, and Cement Masons across the state.

While topics commonly ranged from non-union competition to organizing to legislation in our common interest, the most significant headway was made on issues concerning apprenticeship, recruitment, and how unions and contractors can better collaborate to develop talent.

With expected drops in interest rates, a potential soft landing of a recession, multiple elections, and major owners/agencies anticipating the release of more large and small projects in the coming months, there’s optimism across the industry that 2024 will be a strong or at least keep in line with 2023. Most of our members report solid backlogs with additional hope that projects that have repeatedly been delayed will finally start up, especially if interest rates go down.

In 2023, more than 100 California contractors joined UCON. It is a clear signal that UCON’s services, representation, and values stand out and provide a significant return on investment. As Labor Relations is UCON’s core business, it is a driver of growth and success.

While we are both privileged and humbled by such growth, we also believe that growth doesn’t matter if you cannot keep the heart and soul of your business intact. For UCON’s Labor & Member Services team, that’s a singular objective: to provide excellent, reliable, on-demand service to all of our members.

In 2023, UCON began offering company-specific trainings on the most common, costly, and challenging issues our contractors face. The offering was a hit—18 companies requested over 40 training sessions that over 400 employees participated in.