Chapter 4

He sat down at the desk with the yellow pages phone book and started making phone calls. Within five days his office trailer was setup and he had his phones in. Park Machinery had accepted bids months ago and had the contractors that he would use already lined up, and under contract. He reviewed the schedule again and again. When he had his plan worked out to the smallest detail he called the local restaurants to find a room big enough to hold all of the contractors and representatives of all of the unions that would be involved in the project. He called each contractor and asked them to meet with him at a dinner at the restaurant. He then called the president of each local union and asked for 2 representatives that had the authority to make decisions to attend the dinner. He told each of them that the purpose of the meeting was very important and would be explained in detail at the meeting. He invited Rolf and Ann to attend the meeting. Rolf said that he had other commitments but asked Ann to attend in his place. Rolf, Ann and Jim were the only ones that knew the purpose of the meeting.

On the night of the meeting he arrived at the restaurant about 2 hours early to make sure that everything was set for the meeting. He had ordered an open bar for an hour before the dinner and he told the owner of the restaurant that he would continue the open bar after the meeting for another hour.

Everyone started arriving around 6 o'clock and after introducing themselves took advantage of the free drinks. Their dinner order was taken as they arrived and they were told that dinner would be served at 7 o'clock prompt. Jim allowed each person to order what they wanted from the menu. He had blueprints for the project scattered around the meeting room on tables and asked that everyone familiarize themselves with the project before they sat down to eat. Ann arrived Just before 7 and Jim asked her what she wanted to drink. He went to the bar and got her white wine and brought it back to her.

The dinner went well and a casual observer would have thought that it was a bunch of old friends having dinner together. Several of the attendees commented that he threw a great party.

After the dishes were cleared, he got up and asked that they give him their undivided attention. He warned them that he was going to ask for a big commitment from them tonight but he was willing to pay for it.

"Gentlemen, seated to my right is Ann Bristol representing Parameter Fabrication, Inc. Parameter, as you all know has hired Park Machinery to build two large additions to their facility and to install the most modern metal fabrication machinery available. This installation will be 4 times the size it is now and will employ many new people from this area. Parameter will become one of the largest employers in the area."

"What I am proposing is this, I want three shifts, five days a week. Each foreman will get 1 hour of overtime each day so that he can coordinate with the shift that is relieving his shift. Park Machinery will pay that hour each day. I want a guaranty that there will be no work stoppages or slowdowns. I realize there is a shift differential and Park machinery will pay that on one condition. I want each worker on each shift to sign an agreement that this will be their only job. I don't want someone from the third shift coming in to sleep all night after working their day job.

Several of the union representatives and the contractors started talking to each other.

"Wait a minute. Hear me out. Park Machinery has been working on this plan for months. We think that we've worked out most of the bugs. You contractors are going to feel that this is going to cost you all of your profit. It won't. Prove any cost over-runs to me and I will pay you the extra costs. I have people standing by from Park Machinery to held you expedite any material or special equipment that you might need. If you have a problem, don't sit on it. Let me know right away and we'll help you solve it."

"Now for the unions. This is a winner for everybody. Parameter has contracts they could start today if the machinery was installed and running. The contractors stand to make more of a profit than they figured in their bid and they'll get their money faster because the project will be completed faster. They can move on to the next project sooner. Park Machinery will make a nice profit. The community will gain a lot more well paying jobs. And, lastly, the unions will send a message to the construction industry that if it has to be built right and fast it has to be built union. I'm sure you union reps know as well as I do that you need all of the good publicity that you can get. I'll hire a publicity agent for the project and a full time photographer. The unions will get a copy of any of the pictures they want. I honestly feel that if we do this project right, it will mean a lot to your members. I feel that the publicity alone with be worth a lot to your unions.