ITHACA, N.Y. — About 50 protesters are outside a
construction site on Ithaca's West State Street Tuesday morning in a rally
calling for higher pay for carpenters in the Ithaca area.
The men held banners and signs criticizing McPherson
Builders Inc., the contractor of a new renovation for HOLT Architects on the
600 block of West State Street, for reportedly not paying the standard wage for
carpenters in the Ithaca area.
"We're out here to protest the contractors not
paying the area's standard wages," said Brian Noteboom, council
representative for the Local 277 Union Northeast Regional Council of
Carpenters. "They don't pay area standard wages to their
contractors."
Notebloom didn't define what an acceptable wage was —
"you'd have to ask them what they're paying" — but said that the
union had reason to believe it was not high enough.
"We want to raise the standard for all carpenters
... We don't know what they're making; we suspect what they're making and it's
not the area standard — the area standard is a good wage, healthcare,
retirement, annuity - and it's not that."
The protesters arrived on scene around 7 a.m. and planned
on being there throughout the morning.
As previously reported by the Ithaca Voice, HOLT
Architects are remodeling the space at 619 West State Street with a planned
move-in date of March 2016.
The renovation is expected to cost $897,500, and
McPherson Builders — the subject of Tuesday's protest — is in charge of general
construction. According to a news release, HOLT chose the West End location for
its walk-ability and centralized location.
Ithacating reported that the building will be renovated
into a net-zero energy structure for the 30-person architecture firm.
Notebloom, of the union, said the group did not have any
specific demands but was calling for McPherson to "raise the standard for
all carpenters ... so they can have a family, have a house and retire in
dignity."
A call to McPherson was not immediately returned Tuesday
morning.
Source: The
Ithaca Voice
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