NY Times, 2/15/98, Kirk Johnson
The Board of Education [NYC] is even considering a special vocational high
school to teach the restoration arts. [One such restoration HS already exists
in Szczecin, Poland... many of the students stopped at the Antikon APT booth
to pick up the free/cheap Apple Restoration calculators... a hot item, 1)
printed with a USA address, 2) useful when the battery works]
==
“The vision of the school would be a place where young people could learn
preservation skills - why paint changes color over time, why arches don't
fall,” said Kenneth K. Fisher, a City Council member from Brooklyn who is
backing the school plan.  “The craftsman of the next century is going to need
these skills.” [Ken Fisher is a politician very supportive of historic
preservation.]
==
Like the economic restructuring that has swept through many other industries
in recent years, the shifting construction mix in New York means adjustment.
Workers may need to re-educate themselves, and in some cases, relearn the
skills of their grandfathers.
"We're trying to teach these kids how to do it right, which means, how they
used, to do it," said Shaun McGloin, a bricklayer for 25 years before he
switched to restoration in the 1980's.  He now teaches the new/ old skills at
the International Masonry Institute, a hands-on training academy in Queens run
by his union, the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers International.  "You try
and think like they did back then," Mr. McGloin said.  "What was a guy
thinking when he did this a hundred years ago?" [Though I appreciate the
union’s efforts to provide restoration education, it has to be kept in mind
that their training is exclusive to their group and is not open to the public.
The unions, in NYC, are very aggressive toward non-union workers and
contractors. The reality in NYC is that a non-union workforce, many of them
based on using a mixed skill base of immigrant craftspeople, has been active
in restoration for several years prior to the entry of the union workforce. A
reason for this is that as long as new buildings were being built in NYC the
union had no strong compulsion, or foresight, to develop restoration skills.
For the most part this left the field open to development by non-union
workers. As well, working on existing buildings provides less street exposure,
than say the erection of a 60 story skyscraper, to the eyes of wandering shop
stewards and business agents. Restoration, requiring investigation of the
structures prior to doing the work, also allows niches of site activity that
the unions are unclear in claiming as their work. The neglecting of the unions
several years ago to foresee the trend from new construction to restoration is
a strategic blunder on their part. Visionary leadership has not been a strong
point of the unions. At the time of the collapse of new construction, and for
at least two years following, they were demanding increases beyond their
$36.00 per hour wages base (another reason for the growth of non-union
activity). Though there are a few union contractors who have done restoration
work for several years (mechanics from Local 66 Waterproofers, which was an
offshoot of the Bricklayers, which in recent years has weakened and folded
back into the Bricklayers - rumors are that for many years Local 66 was
plagued by a subculture of alcoholism) they have had a very difficult time
surviving in the expanded restoration market... for the most part they are
either maintaining a fortress mentality - exclusive territory in a building
ie. Brisk at Empire State Building, Nicholson & Galloway at Rockefeller
Center, or living off the momentum of past reputation (reputational capital).
A majority of private building owners will avoid using union labor on
restoration - if the work (mostly glorified maintenance) cannot be afforded
then it will not be done. Even in areas where prevailing wage rates are
required the unions are losing out... the existing base of contractors for NYC
public work, which is awarded primarily based on low bid, are oblivious to
honoring prevailing wage rates. In the end the providing of qualified skilled
craftspeople at reasonable rates is based on relationships within the
preservation industry. As the basic rationale of the unions represents an
adversarial relationship between labor and capital, there is a paradox here
that needs to be dealt with by the unions. In short, they have to become less
aggressive and more encompassing in their attitudes on the street (you get a
business agent in your face on a site and it is not much fun) if they intend
to survive. Last year the Bricklayers were calling me over and over to run an
ad in their booklet... I finally told them we were non-union... their
response, no problem, the add is $800. I was tempted to run a blank ad with
one line, “Our workforce is non-union and proud of it.” Despite this game, to
remain in business it is best for a non-union contractor to avoid all
negotiations with the unions, as well, it is also advised to avoid, on the
other side of the spectrum, the African American coalitions. This does not
mean that an employer has to be unethical toward the workforce.]