Bob Alvarado Tribute Final

Transcript

Traci Dority-Shanklin: 0:00

What do you think is the most important skill or ability a labor leader needs to effectively manage?

Bob Alvarado: 0:06

Above all. I think patience, you can never decide that, you know, it all. So you can never quit your ongoing education. I run the union like a job site, the organizers and, and new folks or apprentices. The business agents are your journeymen. the managers are fit into the foreman superintendent role, and I just happen to be the project manager, but just like anything else, if you see a new employee that shows some promise, then it's our job to make sure that we mentor them, that we get'em the education that they can use later on whether it's to become a manager, or a trustee, we need to never stop challenging them. It's a different world. We're now faced with the challenges from the government on right to work and the right to picket. The right to do those things that we do to keep our organization strong are all under attack right now. And so that's a different, thing that you need to look for and look at. So as you grow your crew, you need to not stifle participation, if you will. And then the second thing is you gotta be humble. If you're the smartest guy in the room, when you have a staff meeting, then you've done it wrong. You're not the smartest guy in the room by design. You need to hire good people. And you've gotta let these folks do their job. And when it all comes down to it, as these individuals start gaining more and more confidence, they're gaining more and more knowledge. You need new ideas, you need those young people coming up and providing the energy that allow your union to grow and prosper.