Since 1965 The Roofing Contractors Association of Washington (RCAW) has worked to improve the roofing industry. Our membership base consists of residential and commercial contractors, manufacturers, distributors, and industry professionals.
RCAW History
“Sometimes to see where we are in the present and where we are going in the future, it is sometimes a good idea to look at the past. The RCAW has gone through many changes since its inception. The Late Eric Pettersen, a past RCAW President and Board Member, shared his memories of the RCAW in this article extracted from the 2002 RCAW newsletter.”
“It’s been over thirty-one years since I first started attending RCA meetings. My, how things have changed! Monthly meetings were held in a restaurant where Bellevue Square now stands. It was truly a “good old boys” club and I was the only kid.
It was a great group of people, proud and successful contractors in their own right – people like Pete Stanley, Merle Wright, Vic Otlans, Mel Bosnick, Walt Crow, Bud Yost, Rudy Baack, Leigh Haight, Oscar Puetz, Bill Spafford, Walt Smith, Jerry Kotson, Vince Pirak, Eddie Larson, Rich Bratland, Monty Moore, Bill Linklater, Pad Finnigan, Don Heldman, etc., etc.
Diverse, interesting, friendly, and maybe only slightly opinionated? Yes. Did we have spirited discussions? Yes. Did we have fun and make good friends? Absolutely. What an opportunity it was to get to know most of the contractors in the commercial roofing market within a few months.
It was a completely different association those days. The by-laws restricted the contractor members to only those who were signatory to the Roofers Union labor agreements. The primary function of the association was to serve as a collective bargaining group for the labor negotiations and contract administration with the Seattle and Tacoma Locals of the Roofers Union. Further, the vast majority of the roofing work in this area, except single-family residences, was done by union roofers.
In the late seventies, the landscape began to change. Open shop construction began to emerge in all markets and the state and federal government had the increasing propensity to promulgate regulations that were to affect every aspect of our businesses. It is also clear that the roofing industry as a whole needed to improve its image in the community. The hard working and honest people with integrity were not credited with such character to the extent they deserved.
These emerging trends triggered a complete paradigm shift within the association in the late seventies and early eighties. The RCAW got completely out of the collective bargaining business and into lobbying, industry promotion, and membership services. The management, by-laws, and funding all had to be changed to reflect these shifts in focus.
Money was always a problem in the early years because the association was much smaller and depended on dues for financing. This changed dramatically with the advent of the “Industry Fund”. This source of funding was created to provide money for promotion of the industry, improving its image, and to have a presence in Olympia to represent our interests.
The industry fund was a unique vehicle for funding, whereby, the contractors “Taxed” themselves based on roofing labor hours as a part of the collective bargaining agreement with the roofers union. This worked pretty well for a while, but some of the larger contractors provided a disproportionately large part of the funding for the association. The larger contractors were paying in many thousands of dollars per year (in 1970′s dollars) to this fund. This funding source became a big problem with the rapid emergence of open shop construction while the union contractors footed the bill for the majority of the promotional and lobbying efforts. It was clear after awhile the association had to wean itself from this type of funding.
I dwell on this issue because of the significance the “Industry Fund” played in providing the “bridge” money to move the association forward to answering the challenges noted above. It provided a rapid financial momentum to hire a full time “Executive Director”, open an office and to begin the business of industry promotion and representing our interests in Olympia.
It is an important historical fact that these early contractors were not legally obligated to sign a labor agreement with an industry fund provision, but most did. We owe these contractors our gratitude for the considerable financial commitment in those years; for without it I believe the association would not have answered the new challenges of the changing landscape.
The early “Management” was limited to a part time position. “Executive Secretary” more closely described the job. There was no association office and the job consisted mostly of taking minutes and recording the finances. Some of you will remember the names of the people in this position as Bert Bryant, John Morell, and Jack Goodhue.
The first full time Executive Director was Meg Jacobsen, the first woman in any part of the association leadership. With her presence, the rough edges of the meetings began to disappear and her efforts began the current tradition of putting a positive professional face on the association and moving forward with the new direction. Future Executive Directors included Mary Jacobsen, Lois Sadler, Betty Baxter, Mistie Chiddick, Patti Harmon and Sefton Oxford
Throughout the history of the association suppliers, manufacturers, and industry professionals have been a part of the membership as non-voting associate members (As of 2007, all RCAW members have voting rights). Their support has always been an important factor in the success of the association.
During the eighties there were major changes in the by-laws intended to help the RCA grow. Positions were created on the board for one manufacturer representative and one distributor representative.
The most significant change came when contractor membership was opened up to include non-union contractors. We also moved to include members from Eastern Washington. These by-law changes were intended to expand the influence of the RCA and to offset the loss of the industry fund financing. We also hoped to attract new talent to the board of directors with new energy and ideas.
The relationship that was forged with the Independent Business Association (IBA) and Gary Smith has been crucial to our reference in Olympia. No one contractor or group of contractors has the time or expertise to represent us as he does.
As many things change, some things never do. The RCA is still the best available forum for networking and keeping up to speed with the industry.
Finally, the annual golf day remains the most popular and best-attended event of the year, which proves the RCA is not always about work.”
Author: 2002, The Late Eric Pettersen, Past RCAW President & Board Member, Owner of Cascade Roofing & Sheet Metal.
Roofing Contractors Association of Washington
Since 1965 The Roofing Contractors Association of Washington has worked to improve the roofing industry. Our membership base consists of residential and commercial contractors, manufacturers, distributors, and industry professionals.
The RCAW provides membership benefits that add to your bottom line. While the RCAW is not specifically designed for small or large businesses, it is designed for businesses that want the best for their company and industry.
Advantages of RCAW Membership
There are a number of different trade associations that your roofing/waterproofing/siding/gutter installation business may be eligible to join. As with all associations your membership options will depend on the type of services provided by your company, the requirements or vetting procedure of the association. Making the decision to become a member of a THE RCAW Roofing Contractors Association of Washington can be beneficial to your business in a number of ways.
An outline of a few important points. The vast majority of Associations to which a roofing business like yours can belong, will have a great reputation.
1.Therefore, becoming a member of one can very quickly boost the reputation of your business by being associated with the RCAW’s good name.
2.Of great importance is that you and your staff are willing to operate to a strict code of standards set out by the association you intend to join; and for good reason too. These standards are set with the public, and your customer in mind. This code of practice ensures that member companies treat all their customers fairly. The code of practice is published by the RCAW in their publicity material and helps and instills confidence in customers, which will translate into more customers using your company.
3.It also safeguards the very reputation you wish to associate your business with. In that the RCAW as such will take every measure to ensure members abide by the rules. (If you do not believe that your staff will be willing to work to these standards, membership to the RCAW is not the right choice for your business).
4.There is often a great variety of benefits which vary from one association to another; and it is up to you as the business owner to decide what it is you most need from the membership and make a decision based on that very need.
5. As a well known Trade Association the RCAW has a way of representing the interests of its members at State Government level.
6.Through the RCAW You can gain greater and easier access to educational seminars, courses, videos, initiatives and schemes to help educate and inform you and your staff about the industry in which you operate.
7. The RCAW has Health and Safety courses, and Working at Height are all issues which require your constant attention.
8.Displaying the RCAW roofing association’s logo quickly instills consumer confidence and increases the amount of business that you get from homeowners almost immediately in many cases.
9.The public in Washington are always keen to see that a business they contract with is one of our RCAW members, so be proud and display our logos, awards and certification on business cards, stationery and your website whenever possible.
10.As stated the above increases the consumers’ confidence in your company's skills and ability.
11.Additionally, our association has a list of members, so people that live in your area and need your services are more likely to end up hearing about your business if it is on that list of members, as referrals. This is also on our web site.
12. RCAW members in particular receive many inquiries each week where the public are confirming a company’s membership validity and requesting information about local businesses.
13.If it is exposure or marketing materials that you think you need help with then you may very well benefit from the publicity that the RCAW brings to the table. Trade shows are always a great place for you to network with other roofing companies, not to mention, influential people in your industry.
14.Manufacturers in particular can be a great source of new leads should your business be lucky enough to strike a good friendship with the manufacturer.
15.Being a member of the RCAW also gives roofers the confidence to advertise their company's services in local supply outlets as the Associations logo adds enormous credibility to your name. Especially the supply outlets that are members of the RCAW.
16.The RCAW has negotiated with two financial institutions to provide financing to your clients but only as a Member of the RCAW. This in itself will open a wider market to our members.
17.MEDICAL plans at very competitive rates are available exclusively through the RCAW, (See brochure on this privilege) All of the RCAW members who have gone to this plan are pleased with the coverage and the savings, The plan is administered through Bell-Anderson Insurance they are the exclusive brokers for this plan, and they are local.
18.The RCAW has recently negotiated with the NRCA to be able to sell technical journals from their library at substantially discounted prices for our members list less 20%.
19.We have monthly Dinner Meetings for the members and their guests. The event is held at the Longhorn BBQ restaurant on the 2nd Thursday of each month (except the months that have other events Planned) The topic chosen is presented by an expert in their field and discussed by the membership. In a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
20.We have a Monthly newsletter published by the RCAW and members are encouraged to contribute. The Roofing Report.
21.The RCAW has an annual EXPO at which members take part either as experts or as participants and is free to members of the RCAW.
22.Use of the RCAW logo on all correspondence and web sites.
23.We offer a free consultation for web site design, and discounted website design and implementation.
24.RCAW manual on CD and in printed form. This manual is updated annually and issued to all of the members.
25.A printed directory of all of the members and affiliated associations is given to the members.
26.Technical and legal bulletins are issued as required and the laws are changed.
27.Safety classes can be arranged to take place at your premises, in English or Spanish or both languages.
28.We host an annual Golf Tournament, which is a fun day for everyone and it is a good day to meet old and new friends of the RCAW. This is our only fundraising event each year the funds raised contribute to the less profitable events we host to ensure that we maintain a vibrant association. This is event is extremely popular with the whole construction community in Washington.
29.We also supply Safety Risk Management Software for all of our members at no additional cost to the membership.
30.We have many experts within the Association that are available for consultation as required and generally at no cost to the members.
31.All members receive a RCAW calendar annually.
