Contractors Urge Carpenters to Vote Yes on Contracts

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Contractor members of the Association of Wall-Ceiling and Carpentry Industries (WC&C) are waging a campaign style effort to try to convince carpenters to vote yes on a new five (5) year contract.

On February 24, Ronsco President, Lee R. Zaretzky, included a letter in the weekly pay envelope of all employees. The letter obtain by 157blospot says the "NYC District Council of Carpenters (Council) is submitting the collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated between the WC&C and the Council for ratification by vote of the rank and file members of the union."

"Our company is strongly urging our valued employees to vote Yes to ratify the agreement."

On January 10, a clerical gaffe by leaders of the national carpenters union forced Council Delegates to table a vote on several labor contracts that they had hoped to push through before a new braintrust is installed.

The Council, which has been run by its national parent since its chief was jailed following a 2009 racketeering scandal, has elected new leadership last year as it moves to regain its independence.

On February 8th, the new leadership and delegate body, in an historic vote, voted unanimously to allow the union's members to have final say on a series of five contracts negotiated with contractor associations.

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Carpenters Sue Building Trades

On February 21, 2012 The Carpenters filed a complaint in federal court seeking damages and equitable relief against the Building and Construction Trades Department.

The “Carpenters” (as specified below) are suing the Building and Construction Trades Department (“BCTD”) and individual Defendants for resulting violent threats and devastating unlawful attacks have directly and proximately caused concrete financial injuries in violation of Pub.L.No. 91-452, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1961, et seq., and Rev. Code Wash. § 9A.82.080, et seq.

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Union membership in NY slips to new low

Unions now have the smallest percentage of the New York workforce since it was first measured in 1989. But it's still the highest in the nation.

By Daniel Masse 

Union membership in New York declined for the second straight year in 2011, hitting its lowest point since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping state records in 1989, federal officials reported Wednesday.

Last year, 24.1% of wage and salary workers in New York belonged to a union, down from 24.2% a year earlier. Union membership in the state peaked in 1991 at 29.1% and has been on a downward trajectory ever since.

“It's a continuation of a long-term trend,” said Martin Kohli, regional economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Manufacturing jobs have gone away and they've only been partially offset by the rise in public-sector unionization.”

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D.A.’s Crane Blame

By LAURA ITALIANO

One man’s greed cost two men’s lives, Manhattan prosecutors said yesterday of the millionaire construction magnate blamed for the 2008 fatal tower- crane collapse on East 91st Street.

 “A wealthy man was concerned about the bottom line and nothing else,” Assistant District Attorney Eli Cherkasky said in opening statements in the manslaughter trial of James Lomma, owner of New York Crane and Equipment, one of the northeast’s biggest owners of the behemoth cranes needed for high-rise construction.

As families for the tragedy’s two slain workers watched in tears from the crowded audience, prosecutors called Lomma an already-rich construction renegade who cut corners and dodged regulators on a critical repair so he could further grow his wealth.

“The weld was failing even before it left China,” Cherkasky told the judge who will decide Lomma’s case, referring to microscopic fissures in a bargain-basement, inadequately welded replacement bearing that cracked apart after only a month in service, sending the crane’s massive cab and boom plummeting 140 feet.

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Jackhammers welcome at stalled development

Construction of the log-stalled Tulfan Terrace, at 3620 Oxford Ave., is expected to be completed by early next year.

By Adam Wisnieski

Construction on Riverdale’s eyesore of the decade, Tulfan Terrace, may finally be completed by January 2013.

What happens after that? Nobody knows.

Michael Goldberg, one of the owners of Ox-3620 LLC, said he is unsure whether the building’s 30 units will be up for sale or for rent. He cited the condo market’s precarious condition as the reason for his open mind on the subject.

His LLC bought the unfinished tower out of foreclosure in 2010 after cleaning up the financial mess left behind four years earlier by its previous mobbed-up owners All 30 units have three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and include terraces.

Construction on the 20-story building began in 2004, but misdeeds — and the feds — caught up with one of the owners, James Murray. Construction ceased in 2006 when Mr. Murray, also the project’s chief financier, was taken down on fraud and embezzlement charges related to another Riverdale development project — the Cambridge Mews — located at 3536 Cambridge Ave. His partners were left without enough capital to complete Tulfan Terrace and the building fell into foreclosure. Its hollow frame was left untouched for years.

Mr. Murray was charged with embezzling money from benefit funds, scheming to defraud the District Council and evading federal financial reporting requirements. He has since testified against former trustee of the New York City Carpenters Union, Joseph Olivieri, and was allowed to walk away from his own charges in June.

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Investigation into NYC affordable housing

By Jim Hoffer

NEW YORK (WABC) -- From the outside, the building constructed under the Mayor's affordable housing initiative looks brand new.

"All down here, couch is wet part of ceiling," said Jim Hoffer, Eyewitness News Investigative Reporter.

"Yes, yes in living room bedrooms. Four years we've been going through this," said Max Ramirez, Bronx resident.

Inside though, apartments Eyewitness News visited appear to be falling apart.

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Labor Pains

Union Protesters Elicit Varied Reactions in Lower Manhattan

Members of the New York City District Council of Carpenters (NYDC) protesting across from the 

Holiday Inn construction site at 99 Washington Street where only non-union workers have been hired.

Lower Manhattan lives with the sights and sounds of construction on a daily basis, but the conditions under which its construction workers labor are largely hidden from outside eyes. Two ongoing protests drew attention this week to a central factor in any construction project: hiring practices.

As construction on the future Holiday Inn at 99 Washington Street ramped up in January, the New York City District Council of Carpenters (NYDC) began regularly picketing Casino Concrete, a subcontractor on Cava Construction's hotel project, for using non-union labor. The NYDC has been demonstrating on-and-off for the last year, because they say the project's developer, Sam Chang, reneged on a project labor agreement that stipulates that only union laborers would be used. Casino Concrete did not respond to requests for comment.

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Bilello Letter Contract Vote

Bilello Letter

Union carpenters get a new tool: Voting rights

Rank-and-file carpenters will get to vote on their contracts for the first time in their union's history. The question now: Will the deals go through?

By Daniel Massey

Rank-and-file carpenters will get to vote on their contracts for the first time in their union's history, just one month after new leaders took over the organization promising to make it more transparent.

The delegate body of the 25,000-member New York City District Council of Carpenters voted unanimously Wednesday night to allow the union's members to have final say on a series of five contracts negotiated with contractor associations last year.

“We decided that the best way to go forward was for rank-and-file ratification of the contract,” said Mike Bilelo, the union's new executive secretary-treasurer. “It's something I campaigned on. It's part of the transparency of the new district council, the desire for us to put control of the organization back in the hands of the membership.”

A clerical gaffe by leaders of the national carpenters union, which ran the District Council until earlier this year, forced them to table a delegates' vote on the five contracts, which leaders had hoped to push through before the new brain trust was installed.

“We've been in limbo,” said John DeLollis, executive director of the Association of Wall-Ceiling and Carpentry Industries. “At least we're coming to a vote and we'll know where we are. It's very difficult to run a business when you don't know what it's going to cost the next year or the year after.”

Mr. DeLollis said he believed there was a 50-50 chance the contracts would pass. He said contractors would step up efforts to educate employees on the deals and why they should be approved.

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Contract Update: Rank and File to Vote on Contracts

Breaking News: Just got back from the Delegate Body meeting where the Delegate Body in an historic vote, voted to have the rank and file ratify the collective bargaining agreements by mail in ballot, conducted by the American Arbitration Association. Will post more details about this historic vote later...stay tuned.

An Open Letter to EST Bilello from John Musumeci

Dear Mr. Bilello:

I write in response to malicious statements made and continue to be made against me by your assistant and request a written and public apology by President Lebo.

I have been informed that Mr. Lebo in response to a question at a Local 45 union meeting on January 31, acknowledged responsibility for a “procedural error” on the “motion"to bar members from attending delegate body meetings” and then suggested a rational to bar members.

Citing Amalgamated and the contract negotiations, Lebo singled me out by name as a security risk, alleged I was responsible for the January 10, Crain’s article, “In blow to contractors, gaffe stalls union vote,” he implied I was responsible for the threats of legal action against the District Council by contractor associations and stated he had “written up charges against me” and threatened me in his office. He then said he didn’t file the charges because of “free speech” issues but indicated he may file charges at a later date, saying, “The charges are still in my desk.”

According to one Local 45 member present: "Lebo imputed Musumeci as being detrimental to the health of the union and members." 

What kind of game is this, do you intend to run your administration by taking credit when things go right, avoid responsibility, retaliate and find someone else to blame when things go wrong?

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Job Opportunities at the District Council

Please read about two job openings at the District Council below.

Director of Communications

We are a non-profit organization located in downtown Manhattan.

We are seeking a Director of Communications to report to our Director of Operations.  The Director of Communications will design and direct our external and internal communications strategy.  This position is a hands-on role which involves extensive interaction with our members as well as our staff.

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Attention Members

Delegate Meeting scheduled for Wednesday February 8, 2012 @ 5PM in the Labor Technical College, 2nd floor Common Room.

Full Employment — For Now

Rebuilding the World Trade Center brings jobs to ironworkers, but not forever

Terry Moore, business manager; John Skinner, president and
George Fernandez, recording secretary for Local 46

By Bendix Anderson, LaborPress Senior Editor

One World Trade Center is now easily visible from much of Manhattan and Brooklyn, towering more than 90 stories over the City.

Full employment has returned to unions like the Metallic Lathers and Reinforcing Ironworkers Local 46, thanks almost entirely to the work of rebuilding. More than a third of Local 46’s members now work at Ground Zero. But the project is now at its peak, and will be finished in a few years. To create new construction jobs for union workers, Local 46 has joined with the rest of the building trades to negotiate project labor agreements that offer concession to developers in return for commitments to build union.

“We’ve got hard decisions to make,” said Terry Moore, the new business manager for Local 46.

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Indiana gov. signs right-to-work bill, state becomes Rust Belt’s 1st to enact labor union law

By Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is the first Rust Belt state to enact the contentious right-to-work labor law prohibiting labor contracts that require workers to pay union representation fees, after Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the bill Wednesday afternoon.

The Senate approved the measure a few hours earlier Wednesday, following weeks of discord that saw House Democrats boycott the Legislature and thousands of protesters gather at the Statehouse.

“Seven years of evidence and experience ultimately demonstrated that Indiana did need a right-to-work law to capture jobs for which, despite our highly rated business climate, we are not currently being considered,” Daniels said in a statement. A spokeswoman said he would not take questions on the measure Wednesday.

Indiana is the first state in a decade to enact a right-to-work law.

Lawmakers voted Wednesday to make Indiana the Rust Belt’s first right-to-work state, passing legislation that prohibits labor contracts requiring workers to pay union representation fees.

Thousands of union members gathered inside the Statehouse chanted “Shame on you!” and “See you at the Super Bowl!” as the vote was announced. Thousands more amassed outside for a rally that spilled into the Indianapolis streets, already bustling with Super Bowl festivities, hoping to point a national spotlight on the state.

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Free Speech Under Attack

"In New York it seems corruption in the form of members being intimidated into submission is at it's worst. Men and women are in fear of losing their jobs or of being brought up on bogus union charges."–– William S. Lebo, June 25, 1998

By Richard Dorrough

Much rumor has been flying around concerning potential charges against John Musumeci. John has not reported on this because he needs to maintain a working relationship with his attackers who for the record are Local 157 President Pat Nee and District Council President Bill Lebo.

It was reported on this blog, and I have confirmed with my own sources, that both parties threatened to bring John up on charges. Both were attempting to silence his free speech rights and intimidate him.

Now you have seen the true colors of this new regime that promised rank and file rights and then voted and did nothing to protect the rank and file from access to information in the member's gallery fiasco.

Why did President Lebo accepted the motion to bar members from attending delegate body meetings in the first place since it was out of order, as Walsh has confirmed by his veto, due to its bylaw violation and illegal attempt to amend those bylaws.

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Seeking Accounting Firms

Request for Proposal

The NYC & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters is accepting proposals from CPA firms to provide audit (and tax) services for our Council in the future. Interested parties should submit a proposal to us by 5pm on February 10, 2012, for consideration. Response must be sent to:

Matthew Walker, Director of Operations New York City District Council of Carpenters 395 Hudson St., 9th Fl. New York, NY 10014 A description of our Council, the services needed, and other pertinent information follows:

Background of NYC & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters

The NYC & Vicinity District Council of Carpenters is a 501(c)(5) Labor Organization, with a related 501(c)(3) Charity Fund , 527 PAC Fund, and two 501(c)(2) title holding corporations. Annual revenues are between $27 million and $29 million per year, and the Council employs 90 people in 2 locations. The Council is membership-based and has approximately 25,000 members. The Council has a June 30 fiscal year-end, with a requirement to file an audited financial statement with the Executive Committee, the Council Delegate Body and general membership and an LM-2 with the Office of Labor Management Standards, Department of Labor by September 30 of each year in addition to applicable tax returns required by the Internal Revenue Service.

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Construction starts plunged 31% last year

While the value of residential starts rose 24%, that rebound was more than outweighed by a 39% plunge on the nonresidential side. An industry official calls the trend line “very troubling.”

By Ali Elkin 

The value of construction starts in New York City fell 31% last year, largely as a result of a steep decline in nonresidential projects.

In value terms, the data showed $13.8 billion worth of construction projects began in New York in 2011, compared with $20 billion in 2010, according to a statement Monday from the New York Building Congress which cited figures from McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge. The figures cover starts on new buildings as well as restorations.

The only good news was that the value of residential construction starts jumped 24% in value last year. But that was swamped by the 39% plunge in the value of nonresidential starts.

Part of the overall downturn last year stemmed simply from the fact that starts were being compared to 2010, a year when an unusual number—by recent standards, anyway—of high big projects got underway. Seven of them were worth upwards of $500 million on a list headed by a big rehab of Madison Square Garden and the start of work at the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. In 2011, there were only two projects that passed the benchmark, John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 4 and the projects related to the No. 7 subway extension. Richard Anderson, president of the New York Building Congress, referred to 2010 in the press release as “year of the big-ticket construction project,” and said a fall off was understandable.

“Still, the 31% decline in New York City is very troubling,” Mr. Anderson said in the statement.

The data also showed a 35% decrease in public works construction not involving buildings, such as the creation of roads and bridges to $2.6 billion worth last year from $4 billion in 2010. Public building construction is down 54% from its 2008 peak.

Review Officer to Delegates: You're Vetoed!

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Vindicated, Review Officer Dennis Walsh vetoed a motion made at last Wednesday meeting of the Delegate Body to bar rank and file members from attending meetings of the Delegates.

In an article Delegates to Membership: Drop Dead, we reported that a majority of the 100-member delegate body voted to bar the rank and file as new council leadership stood silent and did not argued for or defend the rights of the rank-and-file to attend delegate meetings.

In a letter written today Walsh said, "I find that the motion and its adoption violate the Stipulation and Order and the Bylaws of the District Council."

"As the motion to henceforth bar members from attending delegate body meetings was ultra vires and would function as a de facto amendment of the Bylaws, pursuant to Paragraph 5.b.iii [c and e] of the Stipulation and Order."

Walsh also noted for the record that "rank and file members were in attendance during the entire meeting of January 25, 20l2, without any delegate objecting, and that no harm to the District Council or its affairs ensued."

"The new administration is off to a rocky start, first over 80 elected delegates oppose transparency measures, violate the Bylaws and act undemocratically, then elected council leadership threatens to file charges against John Musumeci, because they are uncomfortable with free speech and the speed of information posted on this blog."

"If this is a prelude of things to come, we were better off under UBC supervision," a rank and filer who wishes to remain anonymous said.

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society

Someone posted this excellent speech by JFK in the forum. The delegates who voted to bar the membership from delegate meetings, and the new District Council Leaders who sat silently while the rights of the rank-and-file were trampled on, should listen closely to the words of JFK.



The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.

Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it.

And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.

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