The merit shop philosophy

What "merit shop" means

Merit shop contracting is the belief that construction contracts should be awarded to the best-qualified bidder — union or non-union — based on the merit of their work, and that employees should be free to choose whether or not to join a union.

For WECA, the philosophy comes down to three commitments:

• Fair and open competition. Public and private work should be open to every qualified contractor. WECA actively opposes union-only Project Labor Agreements and supports legislation that keeps bidding open.
• Merit-based advancement. Workers advance on skill and performance. That's why WECA invests so heavily in training — a merit shop workforce must be a superbly trained one.
• Freedom of choice. Contractors and their employees decide how to organize their own workplaces.

Philosophy with a training program attached

Merit shop advocacy rings hollow without a workforce to back it up. WECA's answer is its state- and federally-approved apprenticeships, the Electrician Trainee program, and continuing education — proof that the independent electrical workforce can be the best-trained in the market.

The philosophy was hard-won: WECA's members spent the 1980s resisting enormous pressure to abandon it, and the association was rebuilt around it. Read the history — it's a story worth knowing.