Masons and Bricklayers Duke It Out.

A long-running jurisdictional dispute between bricklayers and cement masons in the U.S. that was settled in February 2004 by a federal arbitration panel may not yet have closed the door on the unions' conflict. The panel concluded that future disputes between the bricklayers' union and the operative plasterers and cement masons' union should be resolved in favor of the work assignment of the involved employer. The panel also ruled that reinstatement of a map system that divides up the labor market would not resolve the battle. Bricklayers' union president John J. Flynn argues that the ruling effectively ensures that competing jurisdictional claims for plaster and cement masonry will continue unabated, with both unions free to pursue concrete and plaster work without limitation.