Another major player has defected from the team of Hardhats working for Aaron Mechanical, one of the largest nonunion mechanical contractors in the state.

Kevin Steiner, Aaron's foreman and the only licensed plumber among six of the contractor's employees building the large Dearborn Civic Center, refused to cross a union picket line on the project last month, and then agreed to sign up with Plumbers Local 98. The next day he was earning $4 an hour more, with much better benefits, working for Michigan Mechanical.

"I feel that my move from Aaron Mechanical to Local 98 will provide my family with a higher standard of living," said Steiner, who had been considering joining the union for several months. "The health care benefits alone will help immensely with my five children. The retirement package will provide my family with a quality of living long after I have retired. (And) better working conditions and respect are all benefits of Local 98."

Steiner is not only an experienced foreman, he was the only instructor in Aaron's version of an apprenticeship school.

Union organizers have long tried to turn around Aaron Mechanical, which up to a few months ago employed about 85 workers in the field. A staunch affiliate of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Aaron management has consistently refused to allow unions to come into their shop.

"We welcome all capable nonunion journeymen with open arms," said Local 98 Business Manager Gary Young. "Most of the guys we have brought in in this fashion have turned out to be excellent journeymen who more than carry their weight in the field. We're constantly looking for this kind of worker."

A multi-craft employer, Aaron has also been targeted by organizers from the Asbestos Workers, Pipe Fitters, Plumbers, Sheet Metal Workers, and Sprinkler Fitters. Brighton-based Aaron bids on work in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint and Lansing. The aforementioned picket line was honored by all the crafts and for two days shut down the Dearborn Civic Center project, located at Michigan and Greenfield.

The union stripping campaign has worked "extremely well" said Local 98 Organizer Mark Bott, where attempts at negotiating a contract failed: in recent months, union efforts have helped whittle the company's field staff down to about 60.

In a stripping campaign, union organizers attempt to lure the most experienced workers away from nonunion shops, putting a crimp in their ability to bid for work, especially on larger jobs.

"We've had a lot of success with stripping," said Pipe Fitters Local 636 Business Manager Jim Lapham, who gave credit to the organizing efforts of 636 organizers/agents Joe Andrews and Greg Sievert. "We shut down Aaron's entire service department about nine months ago because we took all their guys. That really hurts the contractor until they scream uncle and want sit down and get an agreement with us."

Lapham said Local 636 has brought in more than 200 new members and signed 15-20 nonunion contractors in the last few years, although Aaron Mechanical still isn't one of them.

Aaron was bought out by Texas-based Comfort Systems a year ago, but their anti-union philosophy never changed. Organizers say Aaron employees have recently dealt with watching their profit-sharing checks dwindle, while wondering if the 20 percent co-pay on their health insurance will increase.

"It sounds like benefits over at Aaron Mechanical are week to week," Young said. "Our collectively bargained benefits are cast in concrete, and they last from contract to contract. In light of this situation with fluctuating benefits, we're just waiting for the next phone call from the next Aaron employee."