Labor Council Resolution & Briefing Deck

Respect the Craft — Pay the Standard

Purpose: Move every central labor council and state federation in the six-local footprint to formally adopt a resolution opposing substandard wage agreements signed in another trade’s jurisdiction — using the Local 57 / UBC arrangement as the named instance. Targets (initial): Greater St. Louis Labor Council · St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council · Southwestern Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council · Missouri AFL-CIO · Illinois AFL-CIO · regional CLCs in the territories of Locals 309, 453, 649, and 124. Strategic note: The UBC is not affiliated with the AFL-CIO. That is what makes this politically easier than it appears — the resolution does not require a sister union to publicly oppose another AFL-CIO affiliate. It simply asks the labor movement to defend its own principles regarding area standards.

PART 1 — Model Resolution (drop-in)

RESOLUTION TO DEFEND AREA ELECTRICAL STANDARDS AND OPPOSE SUBSTANDARD WAGE AGREEMENTS IN OTHER TRADES’ JURISDICTIONS

Submitted by: [Local Union / Delegation] Date: [Month, Year]

WHEREAS, for more than a century, the trade unions of the American labor movement have understood that area standards — the negotiated wages, benefits, training, and safety conditions established by each craft in each region — are the foundation on which working families build economic security; and

WHEREAS, the willful undercutting of one trade’s established area standard by another trade or union is contrary to the principles of solidarity, mutual respect among crafts, and the long-standing labor practice of defending agreed-upon standards across jurisdictional lines; and

WHEREAS, since 2007, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, through its affiliate Local 57, has represented workers performing electrical construction work in the St. Louis region under wage and benefit agreements that are significantly below the established area standard for electrical work, as set forth in the collective bargaining agreements of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Locals 1, 2, 309, 453, 649, and 124, and as reflected in federal Davis-Bacon wage determinations applicable to the same work; and

WHEREAS, the cumulative loss in wages, fringe benefits, and retirement value to electrical workers represented under this substandard arrangement is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars over the period 2007–[current year]; and

WHEREAS, the existence of a substandard electrical agreement covering electrical construction work in this region weakens area standards for every electrical worker, every signatory contractor, and every working family that depends on construction wages remaining at or above the rates established by the trade; and

WHEREAS, the principle at stake is not affiliation, jurisdictional preference, or institutional rivalry, but the broader and older labor principle that no union should sign a substandard agreement in another trade’s jurisdiction, because doing so opens every trade to the same race to the bottom; and

WHEREAS, the workers represented under the Local 57 electrical arrangement are not the target of this resolution but are, in fact, among those most harmed by it, and any remedy must include a real pathway to bring those workers up to the established area standard without subjecting them to economic hardship; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the [Name of Labor Council / Federation] affirms the principle that no union, whether affiliated with the AFL-CIO or independent, should sign or maintain a wage and benefit agreement that undercuts the established area standard of another trade in the same geographic market; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the [Name of Labor Council / Federation] formally opposes the substandard electrical wage and benefit arrangement maintained by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and its Local 57 affiliate in the region, and calls upon the United Brotherhood of Carpenters either to (a) end its representation of electrical workers in this region, or (b) bring those workers’ wages, benefits, and training fully up to the established electrical area standard; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the [Name of Labor Council / Federation] supports the Respect the Craft — Pay the Standard campaign of IBEW Locals 1, 2, 309, 453, 649, and 124, and the Area Standards Transition Fund established to provide a real and confidential pathway for affected workers to move to the established electrical area standard; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the [Name of Labor Council / Federation] calls upon all owners, general contractors, and public agencies operating in the region to commit that electrical work on their projects will be performed at or above the established electrical area standard, regardless of which union label is on the contract; and be it further

RESOLVED, that this resolution be transmitted to the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America International, the AFL-CIO, the relevant state federations, the offices of elected officials representing the region, and the building trades councils of the region, with a request for response and dialogue; and be it finally

RESOLVED, that the [Name of Labor Council / Federation] commits to revisiting this matter annually until the substandard arrangement is either ended or brought into full compliance with the established electrical area standard.

PART 2 — Briefing Deck Outline

Total length: 12–14 slides. Speaking time: 10–12 minutes. Then Q&A.

The deck is designed to be presented by an IBEW officer to a labor council executive board, building trades council, or state federation officers, before the resolution is formally submitted. The goal is to make the resolution feel inevitable when it lands on the floor.

Slide 1 — Title

RESPECT THE CRAFT — PAY THE STANDARD

A briefing to the [Labor Council / Building Trades / Federation]

[Name, Title]
IBEW Locals 1, 2, 309, 453, 649, 124
[Date]

Talking point: “I’m not here to ask for a favor. I’m here to ask this council to defend a principle it already believes in.”

Slide 2 — The principle

ONE PRINCIPLE

  No union should sign a wage and benefit
  agreement that undercuts the established
  area standard of another trade in the same
  geographic market.

  That is older than any of us in this room.
  That is what built area standards in the
  first place.

Talking point: “Before I show you anything specific, I want you to agree with that principle. If you don’t, the rest of this briefing is wasted. If you do, the rest of this briefing is unavoidable.”

Slide 3 — The facts in one paragraph

SINCE 2007

  The United Brotherhood of Carpenters has
  represented electricians in this region
  through Local 57, under a contract that
  pays significantly below the established
  electrical area standard.

  The gap is real, documented, and growing.
  The workers under that contract are largely
  unaware of it. The cumulative loss runs in
  the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Talking point: “This is not a turf war. This is a sister principle being violated in your jurisdiction, and the workers who pay the price don’t even know it’s happening.”

Slide 4 — The numbers (the heart of the deck)

            LOCAL 57          IBEW AREA STD
            ELECTRICAL        ELECTRICAL

  Hourly    $32.50            $48.95
  Fringe    $11.20            $22.40
  Total     $43.70            $71.35

  Pension   $1,820 / mo       $5,640 / mo
  at age 62

  Per year, per worker:       $52,000 less
  Over a career:              $850,000+ less

Talking point: “These numbers are public. The IBEW rate is in our CBA. The Local 57 rate is in their published schedule. The pension projections are independently actuarially certified. Nothing on this slide is contested.”

[Replace placeholders with current campaign data before presenting.]

Slide 5 — The workers

THE WORKERS UNDER THIS CONTRACT

  • Are largely young: average age estimated
    at [mid-20s to early 30s]

  • Often in their first union job

  • Frequently were recruited directly by the
    carpenters before they had the chance to
    evaluate the IBEW pathway

  • Are mostly unaware of the wage and pension
    gap with the area standard

  • Are not the target of this campaign.
    They are who we are fighting *for*.

Talking point: “Every framing decision the campaign has made starts from this slide. We are not asking anyone to attack these workers. We are asking the labor movement to give them a real path home.”

Slide 6 — Why this matters beyond electrical

IF IT STANDS HERE, IT EXPORTS

  The Local 57 model is being studied by
  other crafts and other regions.

  Sheet metal. Plumbing. Boilermakers. Operators.

  A successful "discount union" inside any
  trade is a template for every trade.

  This is the canary.

Talking point: “If this council does nothing, the precedent sits in the regional construction economy and grows. If this council acts, every other building trades council in the country gets a model for what to do when this shows up in their backyard.”

Slide 7 — Federal compliance angle

FEDERAL EXPOSURE IS NEW

  The Inflation Reduction Act and IIJA imposed:

  • Prevailing wage requirements
  • Registered apprenticeship utilization
    requirements (12.5–15% of labor hours)

  …on projects taking enhanced tax credits
  and federal infrastructure funds.

  Many Local 57 projects in our region may
  not comply. IBEW is filing parallel WHD
  and IRS complaints.

Talking point: “The compliance question gives this council political cover. You are not picking a fight with another union — you are aligning with federal law and the standards Congress has now codified.”

Slide 8 — What we are asking the council to do

WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR

  1.  Adopt the model resolution.

  2.  Transmit it to UBC International, the
      Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council,
      the AFL-CIO, and elected officials.

  3.  Encourage member affiliates to publicly
      support the *Respect the Craft* campaign.

  4.  Revisit annually until the substandard
      arrangement ends or is brought up to
      the area standard.

  That's the entire ask.

Talking point: “We’re not asking the council to fund the campaign. We’re not asking for picket support today. We’re asking for a written, formal statement that this council still believes in area standards. That’s all.”

Slide 9 — What the campaign is doing

WE ARE NOT JUST ASKING. WE ARE BUILDING.

  • Area Standards Transition Fund:
    $[X]M committed to lift workers up
    without economic hardship

  • Federal complaint strategy:
    Davis-Bacon and IRA enforcement,
    project by project

  • Public information campaign:
    Direct mail, digital ads, paid earned
    media, documentary in development

  • Six-local coordinated structure:
    Joint campaign committee, shared
    intake infrastructure, unified message

Talking point: “We’re not waiting for the labor movement to fix this. We’re spending real money. We are asking the council to validate the effort, not invent it.”

Slide 10 — What the UBC is likely to say

ANTICIPATED OBJECTIONS

  "This is an IBEW jurisdictional dispute."
    →  No — it is an area standards violation.
       The work is electrical. The rate is
       below the published rate.

  "Our workers chose us."
    →  Our concern is that they were not given
       the choice with full information.

  "The AFL-CIO has no jurisdiction over the
   UBC since 2001."
    →  Correct. That is precisely why the
       labor movement should speak with one
       voice publicly.

Talking point: “These are the responses we have seen and expect to see again. We have answers for all of them, ready in writing, available to any affiliate.”

Slide 11 — The fairness commitment

OUR FAIRNESS COMMITMENT

  We will:

  ✓  Frame this as a leadership decision, not
     an attack on carpenter rank-and-file
  ✓  Reiterate publicly that our goal is to
     lift the workers up, not put them out
  ✓  Provide a confidential pathway for
     transitioning workers, fully funded
  ✓  Welcome dialogue with UBC at any time
     toward a resolution

Talking point: “We will not give the carpenters’ leadership a single legitimate complaint about how we conduct ourselves in this fight. The strongest moral position is also the strongest political position.”

Slide 12 — The ask, one more time

THE ASK

  Adopt the resolution.

  Transmit it.

  Stand for the area standards principle
  this council was built to defend.

Talking point: “I’d like to make myself available for questions, and to meet privately with any executive board member who has concerns. The resolution is in your packets. We are asking for a vote at the [next / following] meeting.”

Slide 13 — Resources

RESOURCES AVAILABLE

  • Full data set (wage, benefit, pension
    comparisons, sourced)

  • Independent actuarial report (executive
    summary)

  • Sample press statement for council
    affiliates

  • Talking points for individual delegates

  • Press contact list

  respectthecraft.org / [council liaison email]

Slide 14 — Closing

THE LABOR MOVEMENT HAS DONE THIS
KIND OF FIGHT BEFORE.

WHEN A TRADE'S STANDARD IS UNDER ATTACK,
THE OTHER TRADES STAND UP.

THIS IS THAT MOMENT.

THANK YOU.

PART 3 — Q&A Prep

Q: “Isn’t this just an IBEW-vs-UBC fight, and you want our council to take sides?” A: It is a fight about whether area standards are real. If any council in the region tolerates a substandard agreement in any trade’s jurisdiction, no council’s standards are safe. This is exactly the kind of structural defense the labor movement was built for.

Q: “We have a working relationship with the carpenters in this region. Are you asking us to blow that up?” A: We are not asking for a break in relations. We are asking for a formal statement of principle. We’ve been careful in our framing: the dispute is with the leadership decision, not with carpenters as a craft. Many carpenters quietly agree with us. The resolution does not require any council to suspend its working relationship with UBC affiliates.

Q: “Why now, after 19 years?” A: Three things changed. First, the cumulative loss to workers has reached a number you cannot ignore. Second, the IRA’s federal prevailing-wage requirements give us new legal traction. Third, we now have the financial capacity through the Transition Fund to lift workers up without harming them. The earlier moments to act were not as ripe; this one is.

Q: “What happens if UBC retaliates?” A: Retaliate how? They cannot raise rates without conceding the point. They cannot cut their workers further without crossing legal lines. They can attack the IBEW in the press, which is a fight we are prepared to have, on facts that favor us. We have considered every scenario and accepted the cost.

Q: “Has the AFL-CIO weighed in?” A: The AFL-CIO is aware of the campaign and the resolution effort. Because UBC is not an AFL-CIO affiliate, the federation has limited direct enforcement levers, but it has long supported the underlying principle. We are working with AFL-CIO leadership on a parallel statement, and council adoption strengthens that work.

Q: “What happens to the workers if UBC walks away from electrical work?” A: They are absorbed into the IBEW area standard through the Transition Fund, with wage-floor guarantees, healthcare gap coverage, pension service-credit grants, and structured placement with signatory contractors. We have built the off-ramp before we asked for the resolution.

Q: “Has any other council adopted this?” A: [Update with current status: as of [date], [N] councils have adopted; [N] are scheduled to consider]. If yours is first, you set the model. If yours is fifth, you join the consensus.

PART 4 — Adoption Process Notes

A. Pre-meeting

Identify two executive-board champions at each target council. One officer, one delegate. Brief them privately before the resolution comes up.
Brief the council’s parliamentarian on the resolution language to head off procedural objections.
Schedule a face-to-face with the council president at least 30 days before the vote.
Provide written materials in advance — the briefing deck, the resolution, and a one-pager summarizing the campaign.

B. The meeting itself

The resolution should be moved by a respected delegate, not by an IBEW officer (avoid the appearance of asking the council to do IBEW’s work).
The seconding delegate should be from a non-IBEW affiliate where possible — particularly valuable: building service, hospitality, public sector, or another building trades union.
Limit IBEW speaking time on the floor. Let the resolution speak for itself.
Have written copies of the resolution available for every delegate.

C. After the vote

If adopted: Same-day press release, transmit immediately to UBC, AFL-CIO, elected officials, and the regional building trades; thank the council in writing within 48 hours; debrief with the two champions on what worked.
If deferred: Treat as a yellow light, not a red light. Identify the specific objections, modify language if appropriate, return at the next meeting.
If defeated: Debrief privately, never publicly. The defeat itself becomes part of the campaign narrative for the next target council (“council X tabled because [reason]; we have addressed that”).

D. Compounding effect

Every adoption strengthens the next pitch. By the time you are presenting to council number five, the deck looks different — slide 9 now includes a list of councils that have adopted, and the political cost of voting no rises with each predecessor.

The campaign committee should maintain a running scoreboard of adoptions and target the next council based on (a) the strength of relationships with its leadership, and (b) the political momentum of recent adoptions in neighboring jurisdictions.

This document is a working set of templates. Resolution language should be reviewed by labor counsel and adapted to the specific bylaws and resolution format of each target council. Briefing materials should be customized to the local relationships and political context of each presentation.