After talks to end a three-day construction slowdown
failed Thursday, the union representing crane and backhoe operators said it
will protest at the new Comcast tower construction site Friday morning,
starting as early as 6 a.m. No new talks are scheduled. The union’s contract
expired April 30.
At odds are the General Building Contractors Association
and Local 542 of the International Union of Operating Engineers. Core
compensation is not the issue — both sides have agreed on a $2 an hour wage
increase across the length of the contract.
The dispute centers on overtime rates on the weekend, the
use of apprentice oilers and how a marketing fee to fund the GBCA would be
collected. The union also says that the subcontractors who employ them are at
the bargaining table, but are unable to make a decision without consulting with
general contractors.
Hundreds of heavy machinery operators are not working,
but the union has not set up a picket line that the other unions would be
reluctant to cross. As a result, construction has slowed, but not entirely
stopped, at about 30 job sites across Philadelphia and the region, including
the Philadelphia Museum of Art, East Market, the Comcast tower, Chester County
Hospital, and the Aloft Hotel.
Practically speaking, construction will eventually come
to a halt because the crane operators hoist heavy materials such as beams and
run construction elevators that move materials and people from floor to floor.
Source: Philly.com
No comments:
Post a Comment