The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, or BAC as it is generally abbreviated, was founded in 1868 to serve workers in what are collectively called the "trowel trades": bricklayers, stone masons, tile setters and other related trades. Today the union is still highly active in training new tradesmen, through a combination of traditional apprenticeships and courses offered through the new John J. Flynn Training Center, operated jointly by BAC and the International Masonry Institute. Training is jointly funded by the union and its members, and by the contractors who employ them.
The John J. Flynn Training Center is located in Bowie, Maryland. The 25-acre campus opened in 2007, and contains classrooms and design studios in a versatile open bay. The campus includes dormitories and a cafeteria for students from outside the immediate area, as well as a variety of meeting and conference rooms. Courses are offered in continuing education, cross-trade training, upgrade training and pre-job training for all the masonry trades. The building itself deliberately showcases examples of all masonry trades, and hosts an annual masonry camp where tradesmen and young architects can interact.
While classroom instruction in the building trades is now common, bricklaying and masonry are manual skills that lend themselves to hands-on instruction. Traditional apprenticeships are available through BAC locals and related industry associations, providing an avenue for young workers to learn by direct mentoring from experienced tradesmen. Examples include BAC Local 9 in Lansing, Michigan; the Apprenticeship Training Center operated in St. Paul, Minnesota, by Local 1 in that state and North Dakota; BAC Local 3 in Tracy, California; and the joint program operated in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by BAC Local 5 and the Masonry Contractors Association of Central Pennsylvania.
Job opportunities track the state of the economy pretty closely, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2009 survey projects that jobs for bricklayers and masons will grow no faster than overall employment through the end of 2018. Much of the job growth will come from the retirement of older workers. Bricklayers and masons who upgrade their education or cross-train will have an advantage on many job sites. In the 2009 survey, the BLS reports that the middle 50 percent of brick and block masons averaged $46,740 annually, with the top 10 percent reporting an average income of $76,910.