Chicagoland conference probes economics, labor issues and more.
The future of the plumbing industry is still filled with ?????, but at least a few question marks were erased at last October's Plumbing Industry Working Conference 2000. Sponsored by the Chicagoland Plumbing Council, an industry fund supported by UA Plumbers Local 130, its signatory contractors, and the Chicago Labor Education Program of the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), the conference aimed to gain a peek into the future by examining issues of concern to the participants.
In 10 sessions held over a two-day period on the UIC campus, a host of speakers addressed cutting edge topics pertinent to the future of union plumbing contractors and their labor partners. More than 130 persons attended all or some of the program. Following up, a series of working committees are being formed to address the changes occurring within the plumbing industry.