A relative calm after the storm seemed to follow the bombshell Feb. 14 announcement that six international unions would form a new group, the National Construction Alliance.

The six unions - the Laborers, Operating Engineers, Carpenters, Teamsters, Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and Iron Workers - announced they would establish a new labor federation, the National Construction Alliance, effective March 1. The BAC and the Iron Workers have said they would also remain in the AFL-CIO Building Trades Department.

"Here in Michigan, in checking with our affiliates, we haven't heard or seen much about the split from our international unions," said Patrick Devlin, secretary-treasurer of the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council. "We're maintaining a business-as-usual stance, and that's what they're doing in other big building trades councils that we've checked with around the country.

"We will be having a meeting April 10-11 with all affiliate unions in Michigan to plot a future course."

Established in 1908, the Building Trades Department had operated as the umbrella group for all construction craft unions - until recent years. The Carpenters were the first to bolt from the department in a dispute over how their dues money was being spent on organizing.

Presidents of the Operating Engineers and the Laborers, who have led the latest break, said in a statement that "we must - and we will - pursue a course of action that best serves the interests of our members, our local unions and the construction industry in which we work."

Laborers President Terrence O'Sullivan and Operating Engineers President Vincent Giblin said in a joint statement that "persistent and lengthy attempts to reform the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department were not successful." They said needed reforms included changing the Building Trades Department's governance structure and changing jurisdictional rule, because they no longer reflect today's construction industry and "hurt union contractors."

Building Trades Department President Edward Sullivan defended the group he leads, and criticized Giblin and O'Sullivan for not attending Governing Board of Presidents meetings "in many months." He said "although we regret the departure of any union in a time when solidarity has never been more critical, we think they are making a mistake for their unions and for our industry."

According to Workday Minnesota, the National Construction Alliance will incorporate four key reforms that were rejected by the Building Trades Department:
1. Weighted voting, giving unions that have more members more influence.
2. Changes in the methods for resolving jurisdictional disputes.
3. A streamlined budget and more effective use of staff.
4. An executive director to head the organization - instead of an elected president

Both general presidents pledged to provide more details on the new alliance "within weeks."

According to the Construction Labor Report, the Laborers and the Operating Engineers represent about 1.1 million members, with 625,000 of them on construction job sites. In all, the new alliance would represent about 2 million building trades workers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, there were just over 8 million unionized construction workers in the U.S. in 2005.