For those unfamiliar with parliamentary procedure; for those whom do not understand that an Association is only as important as the Labor that acknowledges it, this article is probably for you. Within any organization, there are generally multiple caucuses. A caucus is a meeting or grouping of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. In the case of the International Association of Field Service Technicians (IAFST), the IAFST Federation of Labor is a caucus of those boots on the ground actually performing services. And while it has been expanding to include administrative personnel throughout the Industry, in our article today we will primarily be speaking about the Inspectors and Field Service Technicians. To be clear, it is the Federation of Labor whom actually keep the lights on at the IAFST and lately they have been feeling left out by their own Board. Fact of the matter is that the Federation gets more information from Foreclosurepedia than from the IAFST Board.
When I personally stepped forward to discuss pay raises for Labor, the IAFST Board wanted nothing to do with the work involved — other than profiting from it. The months of heavy lifting and paperwork involved dwarfed all but the firms involved with actually doing the work, itself. My opinion of an Association is that it exists to serve its Membership. And when you are having your bills paid by Labor, as a Board member, then you might want to pay attention to what Labor has to say.
Reasons abound as to why Board members end up lost in their own importance. I mean I would love to have my emails paid for and bark orders about Committees and Surveys. Look, if you are paralyzed by fear of calling out your fellow compatriots; if you refuse to even roll up your sleeves and do some of the lifting, maybe it is time to get out of the way of others doing the work.
In full disclosure, I am not on the IAFST Board nor do I have a vote. I handle the day-to-day grind pertaining to administrative, educational, and technological aspects of the IAFST. I am also the Federation’s Chairman with further responsibilities of ensuring real world pricing for our Membership.
The reality is that with the advent of the recent Holy Trinity of price hikes with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD the only excuse for not demanding price increases is that you support the wage theft ongoing. As an example, two of the IAFST Board members work in the real world. One is a Woman Owned Small Business with an 8(a) designation. She made the transition from the Industry, into the real world, and the Federation is greatly appreciative of her assistance to Labor. Another, a firm involved in millions of dollars in B2B and hedge fund SFR and maintenance has done the same. And yet the remaining recalcitrant IAFST Board members want to call for Surveys across and Industry subset while doing — well, I haven’t yet figured out what.
Labor requires a decisive response to the latest refusal to increase pricing. And while Guardian Asset Management deserves honorable mention for working with Labor, there needs to be a more focused commitment by the Industry, as a whole.
There needs to be a real conversation about what is broken in this Industry. It is not simply the wage theft that is now at #Epic levels. We need a universal work order and language that accompanies that. Instead of two pages of instructions by MSI for a simple inspection, we need to move towards a Fannie Mae setting which reads: Task [insert the task]. Labor needs to begin focusing on the accredited education which the IAFST University provides and is less than $10 a year. Ditto for the administrative personnel. And we all need to begin to understand that without Labor there would be no Industry.
