In coffee circles, the Fair Trade principle is a stand taken by companies to make sure the small coffee producers get a fair price for the coffee beans regardless of the actual price of coffee. They guarantee a minimum price to the sellers. This is deemed to be a living wage. They also provide credit for upcoming crops and establish long term projects in health, education and other areas to benefit the sellers. It is the reverse of an Oil Cartel situation where the sellers set the price. The prices are not set for all coffee sellers, just the small farmers that are a large part of the coffee trade. Perhaps it is time the buyers of construction services to take some hints from the coffee fair trade folks.
- Think of what this policy would do for contractors. The low bidder with the biggest mistake would not take work away from the low responsible bidder.
- Think of what this would do for owners and developers. They may pay a bit more but they would have a project that meets their needs and has an opportunity to be done on time.
- Think of what this would do if the participants in construction actually trained superintendents, office staff and craft workers. The resulting elimination of problems would result in productivity increases.
Oh, By the Way… I would summarize the aim of the coffee fair trade program as making sure the sellers succeed in spite of themselves and what competitors would do to each other. It sounds like a worthy goal in the construction business! Didn’t the Business Roundtable address issues like these 30 years ago?
