By PhillyLabor.com

– For some time, I had been hearing tidbits about the new Steamfitters Business Manager, Anthony Gallagher, and his passionate approach towards leadership, his members and his contractors. Upon walking into his office, saying hello and sitting down in my chair, it took about 2 minutes to understand what all of the talk was about. The son of a decorated military veteran and the youngest of 5 brothers, who are all steamfitters, Anthony has made his way to the top spot at Local #420 and is quickly making a name for himself throughout the entire Philadelphia labor community.

First, it was Plumbers Local #690 Business Manager, John Kane, who gave me a heads up. Then a chance phone call with Mark Heffernan, a new steamfitters organizer, seeking exposure for #420’s contractors peeked my interest further. Finally when I received a call from Tim Brink, Executive Vice President of the Mechanical & Service Contractors Associations saying he and Anthony wanted to meet with me to discuss putting together a program for their contractors association, I whole heartedly accepted the invitation to the meeting because I just had to see what was going on here!

Initially Anthony, Tim and I discussed a plethora of ideas for putting together a program that would benefit the Steamfitters’ contractors, but the more we talked, the more I wanted to know WHY and HOW? Not Why and How we were going to put the program together, but “Why” Anthony Gallagher was so passionate about helping his contractors to this extent, and “How” did the representative of a contractors’ association and the Business Manager of a union, 2 men who are typically on different sides of the negotiating table, become so committed to working together to champion each others’ cause.

As the meeting continued, it did not take long for me to realize that I was in the presence of 2 gentlemen who are in the midst of a long term vision dedicated to an agenda that far exceeds your stereotypical union/contractors association relationship. In fact, this relationship encompasses a plan that not only includes expanding the work opportunities for both contractors and the membership of #420, but also includes bridging the gap between contractors and union workers and helping to craft a new image for union labor, at least in their own industry.

To my utter enjoyment, after spending the quickest hour and a half of my life together with Anthony and Tim discussing their philosophies and strategies, I knew that there was much more here than just creating a contractors program and I felt strongly that their story needed to be told. Thus, as I left, I convinced them both to do an official interview together, in order to dig further into the depths of their motivations and their vision. Below are the results of that interview. Please read and enjoy it. I hope it inspires you as much as it inspired me!

Joe Dougherty Jr.
PhillyLabor.com

Ten Questions with Steamfitters Business Manager, Anthony Gallagher and Mechanical & Service Contractors Associations, Executive Vice President, Tim Brink:

1) PL.com: Anthony, what types of challenges do unions today have to overcome?

AG – Unions have an image problem that needs to be rehabilitated. We need to change our public perception as well as the perception that businesses have of unions. We need to let the general public and the business community know what we are about, the good things we do and that we are committed to working with (not against) business to keep the American Dream alive on behalf of our members and the entire middle class.

2) PL.com: It’s rare to see a union leader and a contractors association working together so closely. How did that come about?

AG – We understand that we are both on the same side. If the (union) contractor can’t get profitable work, then our members are out of work. We are proud to work in unity with our contractors to help them deliver a quality product as well as to help expand the scope of our work and thus increase work opportunities for everyone. This is the best way to grow our industry.

TB – We are committed to working together to expand our opportunities. We understand that it’s in everyone’s best interests to work together to achieve our goals of procuring work and keeping our industry healthy.

3) PL.com: Tim, as a representative of a contractors association, what can you do to help union members understand more about union contractors and the challenges they face?

TB – We want to help bridge the gap between union contractors and union workers by educating and informing everyone about the challenges that our union contractors face everyday. We need people to understand the commitment we make to them. Creating an awareness of this type certainly helps to encourage camaraderie that may not otherwise exist. It’s important for union workers to know that our contractors aren’t just a bunch of rich people living in ivory towers. They (union contractors) are real hard working people with real challenges who put it all out on the line everyday to do business the union way. They are committed to paying workers a fair wage for a fair day’s work. That’s definitely something to be proud of and it should be recognized.

4) PL.com: On the other side Tim, how do you keep the clients of businesses you represent motivated to continue considering union labor?

TB – Certainly the end user community has a choice these days as to the type of contractor to use for their a project and the community needs to be educated about the benefits of choosing union over non-union. We focus on both changing the perception of the union contractor and their employees, and also on the positives of using union labor. Often owners of a project just look at the lowest bid and they lose focus on the fact that, although union labor often costs more, it also features more highly skilled workers who get the job done more quickly, safely and more efficiently. Therefore, much more often then not, owners end up actually saving money by using union labor. Again, it’s important for us to educate the end user (the project owners) about the benefits of using union labor so they give our partnership of labor and management an opportunity to prove ourselves.

5) PL.com: Anthony, what does Steamfitters Local #420 do, from an internal standpoint, to help keep your members gainfully employed?

AG – There are many internal things we do at local 420 to keep our workers employed. First off, every business agent, officer and organizer in this local is out on the street everyday working their tails off to represent our members in all areas of the business including procuring work, organizing jobs and protecting our standards to make sure that our members have the maximum opportunity for work. Another thing we do is provide a training program that is second to none which ensures that our members are the most skilled and most qualified workers available to do the job. We take great pride in knowing that the members of Local #420 are the best at what they do! It’s a great feeling to know that contractors want to hire our members because of the quality job they do.

6) PL.com: What types of strategies do the two of you embrace to keep your industry moving forward for both the the union and the contractors?

AG – We do everything possible to keep our industry thriving. We are committed to working with our union contractors in every way necessary to expand their work opportunities because again, when they are getting work, our members are getting work. This specifically is why we are joined at the hip with them. We join and participate in local Chambers of Commerce together to promote and educate the business/professional community about what union labor is all about and the benefits of hiring union. Local business communities have to understand that we are a vehicle and a resource that they can depend on to get the job done efficiently and economically. One example is when we joined together with our contractors association to meet and network with the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce in hopes of educating them about the benefit of giving union labor a chance. Sometimes because of the negative perception of unions, people are afraid to hire union. We assured them that every job using union labor would get done smoothly without work stoppages or any issues. Ultimately we needed to establish trust and communication with them. In the end, due to our joint efforts, we were able to build a relationship with local business leaders, change our public perception and gain work opportunities for our contractors and our members!

TB – Agreed. Our Association has chosen to work together in a committed partnership with the union to strategize and act accordingly to expand our work opportunities and to promote the benefits of hiring union labor. Everybody wins!

7) PL.com: Anthony, How important is it for unions to get involved in the political process?

AG – It’s critical that unions get involved in the political process. We need to support political candidates and legislation that support our union standards in areas like collective bargaining, protecting the prevailing wage and project work agreements etc. I also think it’s important that the Philadelphia labor community has a solid infrastructure for affecting politics at every level. From directly helping to strategize campaigns, to getting our members involved at the grassroots level, we are committed to getting involved in all phases of the political process. A lot of that is due to the organizational efforts of our Philadelphia Building Trades unions under the leadership and direction of President/Business Manager, Patrick Gillespie. The unions are driven and committed to making the voice of labor be heard both out on the streets and in the voting booth. It’s why Philadelphia has always been and will continue to be one of the strongest union regions in America.

TB – The efforts of the organized labor community in Philadelphia and vicinity have certainly made a huge difference in keeping our industry viable. Without their passionate and strong leadership, it would be difficult to sustain our industry. If you look at other regions in American that do not have a political commitment as effective as our Philadelphia union community has, you can see the negative effects and erosion of the union industry in those regions. Thanks to strong union leadership and a committed labor management partnership in Philadelphia, our union contractors still have opportunities to succeed.

8) PL.com: How do you get your rank and file members involved in the political process?

AG – Our Business agents reach out to and communicate with the members in each of their territories. They do a great job of keeping the members informed and staying involved so we, as a union, can react in a timely fashion to important issues.

9) PL.com: How important is it to keep unions alive in America?

TB – Union principles built the middle class and it’s vital that we fight to keep these principles alive so the middle class continues to have the opportunity for a good life. All of our contractors and unions are committed to the union construction industry in order to provide not only the best quality workmanship but also a good standard of living.

AG – Unions have set the bar for the middle class. Our standards help not only union workers but all workers. For example, the prevailing wage, which is based on our union wages for government funded jobs, also helps workers who are not in unions earn a better living wage. They benefit from the standards that we have fought for and therefore they have money in their pockets for their families which keeps Americas economy strong. The fact is that America grows when 70% of our GDP is based on consumer spending so the more money we have in our pockets, the better shot their is at continued economic growth.

10) PL.com: I understand that you have made a commitment to several charitable endeavors. Can you tell me about them?

AG – My father is a veteran and I think the most important thing a person can do is represent their country. I feel strongly that when a person represents their country in the military, they should have an opportunity at a good life when they return home. This is why I am so passionate about an endeavor that our union supports called VIP – Veterans in Piping. The way it works is that during the last 6 months of a veteran’s active duty they are trained in the areas of HVAC and Welding. When they get out of the military, they then have the opportunity at an apprenticeship in our union. It’s the least we can do to say thank you for their service.

We are also actively involved in a High School program along with several other area unions including the Painters, the laborers and the Philadelphia Building Trades. The program gives opportunities to area high school kids who are interested in getting in to trade unions. It’s very gratifying to make a difference in the life of a young person who otherwise may not get the opportunity.

PL.com: FINAL THOUGHTS:

From generation to generation, the labor movement has depended on it’s union leadership to both adapt to the challenges of the time and forge ahead to keep the fight for workers rights and the American dream alive for the middle class. A constant thorn in the side of this objective has always been the adversarial relationship labor has faced with big business and corporate greed. It has been said that if business and unions could ever unite and work together, the world would be a much more prosperous and fair place for all. In order for this to happen, bridges need to be built, barriers need to be broken down, trust needs to be gained and courageous people need to take the lead.

After spending time with Anthony Gallagher and Tim Brink, I understand that it may not happen overnight, but if others in similar positions take a look, I’m quite sure they would see that a blueprint for success is being created here that surely proves that anything is possible!! With guys like Anthony Gallagher and Tim Brink doing their part, the labor movement has a fighting chance against those who underestimate the tenacity and vision of this new generation of labor leadership! ONWARD AND UPWARD IN SOLIDARITY!