Iron Workers Local 395, Hammond, Ind., recently became the first local union accepted as a subscriber to the NorthWest Indiana Business RoundTable (NWIBRT), an organization whose members include organizations and individuals with interest in local construction and maintenance activities.

Douglas J. Strayer, Business Manager for Local 395, said the union joined the organization to further collaborate with NWIBRT members that work with contactors and unions in the construction and maintenance industries.

“I'm very proud of our outstanding relationship with our contractors, and I'm looking forward to furthering our commitment to the union movement with our customers,” Strayer said.

Organizations are invited to join NWIBRT based on demonstrated success working with businesses in Northwest Indiana. Local 395 is the only local union in the area to have received such an invitation, which, according to Strayer, is a “direct result” of the local’s strong efforts to collaborate with ironworking contractors. “Our contractors went to our customers and said that what we’re doing is a new business model,” Strayer said. “And membership with NWIBRT is the perfect opportunity to communicate IMPACT’s new way of doing business to the customer.”

IMPACT—the Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust—is an ironworker labor-management organization that encourages collaboration among ironworkers, contractors and owners by providing professional development and training services directly to ironworkers and contractors. Additional IMPACT services include construction certifications, marketing, construction project tracking and bidding, insurance and Davis-Bacon compliance efforts. IMPACT also administers the drug testing program for Ironworker locals across the United States.

Virtually every aspect of Strayer’s job has become easier thanks to “IMPACT’s new way of doing business”: Discussing safety issues, bidding work, using market recovery and talking about legislative issues, just to name a few. The benefits are also directly visible to members. “When [members] have a problem on the job, I can pick up a phone and call somebody, just call that contractor, and get an immediate response,” Strayer said.

Local 395’s membership in NWIBRT will only expand its collaboration with the local construction industry. NWIBRT brings owners, contractors, unions, subcontractors, suppliers and associates together in an ongoing discussion on safety, project management, productivity, facility maintenance and more.

Learn more about Local 395 at http://ironworkers395.com/. Find out more about Northwest Indiana businesses and the NWIBRT at http://nwibrt.org/.