On a personal note, I simply do not believe that the writer’s angle on their blog posting is accurate. However, it is labor related and a media focus here in the city for over a year. Interestingly enough, the Post Brothers are recently alleged to have accepted one trade union’s pension fund investment money to fund their renovation of the Atlantic Building at 206 South Broad Street, Philadelphia in return for hiring that trade union on the project. I guess the old saying could have some truth to it, “if you can’t beat them, join them.” While I cannot confirm that information at this time and it will remain only a rumor until confirmed, I have seen this strategy deployed in Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs before.
The construction model has changed here in Philadelphia over the last 6 years. No longer are the signatory General Contractors the voice of the industry or the constructor of choice on projects. The signatory obligations contained within their primary labor agreement is burdensome & problematic; the fact that most signatory general contractors in the region are not the primary employers on their projects really does make them the least attractive choice from an owner’s project risk analysis. If you choose to no longer self-perform and, instead, sub contract most of your project, why have an agreement with restrictions that could dictate how your project is constructed by sub contractors? It just adds cost, complexity and problems to the project. General Contractors that do not possess a signatory obligation to a sub contracting clause have always had the agility and flexibility to hire and award their projects based on economics and efficiency without being bound by an overbearing sub-contracting clause. Sub contracting trades have recognized this and are beginning the process of adapting and becoming more competitive. Both non-signatory and signatory models of construction have their pros and cons. Non-signatory: agility, flexibility, but the constant need to continually invest in and maintain additional human resources capacity to address the needs of a project. Signatory: available workforce capacity and instant access to a mobile, highly skilled and trained workforce, but associated costs & unfunded liabilities and language can be burdensome. As the industry evolves, so has the model. Non-signatory construction managers and organizations have the agility and flexibility required to competitively build projects while having the ability, through sub contracting as many signatory general contractors have already chosen to do, to access the available workforce capacity and instant access to a mobile, highly skilled, certified and trained workforce. While I think that the Post Brothers may have contributed to the change process, in the end, they very well may have embraced the one thing that they claim to take a position against and it appears, if they did accept financial support on their next project, that they did it for the money. In any event, and as is my personal belief, developers and builders have the right to build in a way and manner that recognizes and meets their preferences, obligations and is the most economic and efficient process for their organizations. It’s a risk and rewards proposition and I do not believe that anyone, other than the developer or builder, can make that decision on ther behalf. Now, on to the web page:
“One of Philadelphia’s most watched civic dramas could be coming to a close and escalating, all at once. Developers Matt and Mike Pestronk are opening the Goldtex apartment building on Wood Street on May 1st, and they will begin taking leasing applications on Friday.” Read more here…
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