The proposed 3 year agreement presented to the District Council from the Building Contractors Association (BCA) contains Market Recovery Provisions that need to be explained. These provisions are currently not part of any collective bargaining agreement with the District Council, but are in Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s). Attached are documents that indicate the future hotel work coming to the city, the majority of them being developed non-union. Also attached, is a document explaining the Co-Star Realty system for the classification of commercial office buildings in New York City. “C-Class” buildings are referred to in the proposal. Union contractors do virtually no work in “C-Class” buildings currently. If we are to break into that market, these rates would be a tool to accomplish that.
The Outer borough rates for new buildings are designed to recapture a market we have lost.
The B-12A Residential and Hospitality Market Recovery Rates cover buildings that are not currently being built union except where a PLA has been utilized with success to capture that work. The B-12A rate is 8.9% below the CBA rate, currently a deduction of $7.54 an hour.
Talks with the BCA have been ongoing since early last year. At the beginning of the summer the BCA stated that in order for the General Contractors (GC’s) to continue to have a collective bargaining agreement with the District Council, they would need something to make them more competitive with non-union GC’s that are increasingly gaining market share in what has always been a stronghold for union contractors. By virtue of having the General Contractors signed, the Union benefits from the subcontracting clause, which locks in that the work is subbed to a Union Signatory. The BCA introduced a proposal for Market Recovery Rates.
Originally the BCA proposed market recovery rates that would reduce wages and fringes in what is classified as Class A buildings by 20% for interior alteration and fit outs 150,000 sq. ft. and under. The outer borough rates would be a 20% reduction for new residential and hospitality buildings.
The Union refused to consider the reduction in Class A interior work, as it is an area we consider ourselves to be strong in. The Organizing Department introduced the Co-Star system (see accompanying attachment) as a way to delineate between building classes.
The District Council Negotiating Committee is comprised of the Executive Delegates from each local along with the Executive Secretary-Treasurer, President and Vice President of the District Council. The committee in its entirety recognized the need to address residential and hospitality buildings not only in the outer boroughs, but also in Manhattan where buildings under 20 stories were largely non-union except where PLA’s were utilized. The fact of the matter is that 50-story buildings are being built non-union and it is a reality that needs to be dealt with. The committee as a whole held their ground on the Class A interior rates from the beginning, but participated in the process that led to the provisions in the current proposal posted along with this letter. It is this list of proposed changes to the CBA that are provided for your review. This will potentially be put to a ratification vote at the first delegate meeting that will be held in March.
Future NYC Hotel Work
Co-star Classification Guidelines
Class C Office Buildings Bronx
over 1100 square feet
over 1100 square feet
Class C Office Buildings Brooklyn
over 35000 square feet
over 35000 square feet
Class C Office Buildings Brooklyn
20000 to 35000 square feet
20000 to 35000 square feet
Class C Office Building Brooklyn
12000 to 20000 square feet
12000 to 20000 square feet
Class C Office Buildings Staten Island
over 8000 square feet
over 8000 square feet
Class C Office Buildings Queens
over 12500 square feet
over 12500 square feet
DROP DEAD UNITY TEAM !
ReplyDeleteEST Bilello, past practice mandates ratification by the rank & file as duly authorized by the Council Delegate Body as evinced by the March 27, 2012 vote whereby the rank & file membership voted down said proposals by a 2-1 majority.
ReplyDeleteYou were elected in your stance against Full Mobility. Like former President Clinton, who was elected upon a promise of never signing NAFTA, you lied to get your ass in to that cush, do-nothing, produce nothing EST slot.
Clinton's lie destroyed the manufacturing and industrial base of this country and the construction projects and jobs we relied on as related to those industries. As Independent candidate Ross Perot pointed out during the Presidential debates regarding NAFTA, once signed, "there will be a giant sucking sound of jobs leaving the country".
Bilello's lie will fare no better. There will be a giant sucking sound of disenfranchised carpenters leaving the D.C. who will be replaced by out of state travelers with no ties, connection or loyalty to the areas in which they work. After losing the best & brightest, the talent base will disappear, the mentoring will be lost as older members run to pension out as soon as they can and the D.C. shall be left with a base of uneducated & inexperienced assholes who fail to comprehend loyalty to a brother, a local and the areas they live & work in and Bilello will effectively destroy the wages & benefits which shall then be cut in half under McCarrons & the Contractor Associations plan to grade wages.
Bilello, you are the worst kind of traitor and you are hack who has turned on his fellow union brothers & sold out for a few quick bucks. You will take this legacy to your grave. Once your first & last term as EST is done, you should be scorned throughout the District Council. Remember the line in the Godfather - " you could be a man", spoken to Fredo, well Mr. EST, that line applies to you. Standing up for the men would be a good start and that would take balls & brains something sorely lacking in your administration.
Remember the line in the Godfather - " you could be a man", spoken to Fredo...It was not spoken to Fredo, it was spoken to Johnny Fontane. Great movie scene!
ReplyDeleteJohnny Fontane: [discussing his problems] I don't know what to do, Godfather. My voice is weak, it's weak. Anyway, if I had this part in the picture, it puts me right back on top, you know. But this... this man out there. He won't give it to me, the head of the studio.
Don Corleone: What's his name?
Johnny Fontane: Woltz. He said there's no chance, no chance...
[Meanwhile, Hagen finds Sonny and summons him]
Johnny Fontane: A month ago he bought the rights to this book, a best seller. The main character is a guy just like me. I wouldn't even have to act, just be myself. Oh, Godfather, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do...
[All of a sudden, Don Corleone rises from his chair and gives Fontane a savage shake]
Don Corleone: YOU CAN ACT LIKE A MAN!
[gives a quick slap to Fontane]
Don Corleone: What's the matter with you? Is this what you've become, a Hollywood finocchio who cries like a woman? "Oh, what do I do? What do I do?" What is that nonsense? Ridiculous!
[the Don's unexpected mimicry makes Hagen and even Fontane laugh; around this time Sonny comes in]
Don Corleone: Tell me, do you spend time with your family?
Johnny Fontane: Sure I do.
Don Corleone: Good. Because a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.
[gives a quick look at Sonny and affectionately embraces Fontane]
Don Corleone: You look terrible. I want you to eat, I want you to rest well. And a month from now this Hollywood big shot's gonna give you what you want.
Johnny Fontane: Too late. They start shooting in a week.
Don Corleone: I'm gonna make him an offer he won't refuse. Okay? I want you to leave it all to me. Go on, go back to the party.
[a gratified Fontane leaves]
http://youtu.be/MtjspYoRZNM
oops - but you catch the drift. Thanks for the correction,
Delete