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Hundreds of union carpenters descended on Midtown Manhattan Thursday to protest the use of non-union workers on a massive mixed-use project being built on the Brooklyn waterfront, a claim the developer disputed.
Lendlease, the Australian multinational construction and real estate company developing and building the 2.6-acre project on the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront, is driving down area standards and benefits, according to the New York City & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters, which organized the rally.
Council of Carpenters officials also ripped Lendlease’s choice of RNC Industries to do concrete work on the project, noting that company’s record of malfeasance on past jobs, including allegations of wage theft, and its principals’ ties to union-busting “alter ego” companies.
The boisterous noontime rally outside the East 45th Street entrance to the MetLife Building, where Leadlease has its U.S. headquarters, also drew elected officials.
“Union labor is the only way any of us are going to be able to afford living in our communities, and the fact that they are undercutting the very people of my community is disgusting to me,” said Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, who represents the district where the project is taking shape.
‘Let’s fix this’
The council’s political director, Kevin Elkins, said the company has so far not been willing to discuss, much less address, the organization’s concerns.
“The carpenters union has always demonstrated a willingness to sit down and negotiate, but there has to be someone willing to engage in good faith on the other side, and right now Lendlease has demonstrated no desire or ability to do so,” he said at rally as the tradespeople shouted “Shame on Lendlease!” and “Area standards!”
The Carpenters Council includes nine union locals across the city, which together represent about 20,000 tradespeople.
A spokesperson for the company disputed several of the carpenters’ claims in an email statement, saying the project was creating 150 union jobs.
“We are executing our responsibility not only to meet the site requirement to achieve a minimum average hourly wage of $47.25/hour mandated by the NYC 421-a program, but to also select a mix of contractors who align with our values of safety, inclusion and value creation,” the spokesperson said, alluding to the city’s tax-incentive program for residential housing developers.
“Lendlease has a rigorous process of evaluating prospective subcontractors, including a third-party audit to validate subcontractor viability and integrity,” the spokesperson said.
But Michael Piccirillo, the Council of Carpenters’ business manager, cast doubt on Lendlease’s contention that it was trying to comply with 421-a’s wage requirements. “They have the time, they have the opportunity. Let’s fix this,” said Piccirillo, who is also the president of Local 20 on Staten Island.
The 1 Java Street project, encompassing a full city block, will consist of five interconnected buildings, including two towers facing the East River. Its residential component, projected at 834 units, about 250 of which will be designated as affordable, will be New York State’s largest geothermal residential building. The project will also include 13,000 of retail space. It is scheduled for completion in 2025.
“It is one of the largest buildings to ever be built in my district and the thought that underpaid, under-trained workers are building this building makes me very scared for everyone's safety,” Gallagher said.
State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, who also represents the district where the project is being built, noting that her election platform centered on climate issues, said it was appalling to her that Lendlease was able to secure funding from the the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to build a geoexchange system and not hire union labor, because, she said, “a green future goes hand in hand with union work.”
Both Gonzalez and Manhattan Assemblymember Alex Bores chided the company for using pension funds it manages to help fund construction of the project then not using union labor.
Bores called out what he called “the audacity” of Lendlease’s willingness to use pension money to fund the development “but then not paying prevailing wages to actually build it.”
“The unions are good enough when they're giving money in order to fund it, but apparently the workers aren't good enough to build it,” he added.
Elkins, the Carpenters Council’s political director, said the Java Street campaign reflected newfound pro-labor sentiments, including among elected officials.
“And so we’re very much feeling this as a full-throttle campaign to make this developer and every other developer aware that they’re not going to be able to build anymore if you’re not using the carpenters’ union and paying good wages for all workers,” he said. “I don’t think that developers have recognized that this is a union town again and there’s nowhere they can run and hide if they want to exploit workers.”
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