Union workers win $76M from Midtown construction firm that used alter-ego company to skirt collective bargaining

A Midtown construction company accused of creating a bogus business to avoid union wages and union benefit payments has to cough up $76 million to the workers it cheated.

In a decision with potentially far-reaching consequences for city developers, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Colleen McMahon found that Navillus Tile fraudulently invented an alter-ego company to try and get around collectively bargained agreements it had with several major city construction unions.

The company also had one of its legitimate offshoot businesses act as a Navillus stand-in on a job it wanted to do non-union, the ruling found.

The collusion also involved real estate giant Related, one of the city's most prolific developers.

It knowingly engaged with one of the alter-ego companies on its Upper East Side luxury development on 92nd St., Judge McMahon's ruling said.

As enrollment rises, Lower Merion School District looks to buy new school site

Lower Merion School District is in need of additional space for the growing number of students enrolled in the wealthy suburban school system and is already considering two properties despite challenges.

The Center for Islamic Education, located along the 1800 block of Montgomery Avenue in Villanova, and Ashbridge Memorial Park, a nearly 30 acre property on the 1300 block of Montgomery Avenue in Rosemont, were floated by the district superintendent during a meeting with Lower Merion Township officials, according to Main Line Media News.

Yet both sites would require substantial changes to accommodate a school, including the removal of existing structures that are already fall under historic guidelines or are currently being considered for a preservation designation.

These Pa. teachers may lose the raises they were promised

Teachers who were hired by the Harrisburg School District since July 2016 faced a rude awakening when they learned late last week that raises promised to entice them to the district were imperiled by a labor grievance.

Incoming teachers who were part of a wave of hires designed to address an ongoing shortage were offered salaries that increased their pay beyond the existing negotiated "steps." The Harrisburg Education Association, however, filed a grievance due to the disparity with existing teachers, who've seen pay increases frozen amid recent budget woes.

Philadelphia Business Journal Editor: Philadelphia should follow NYC's open shop example

When we start talking about the pursuit of big economic development projects, Philadelphia's businesspeople will often talk frankly about our challenges — things like onerous statutory regulations, wage and net income taxes and pockets of extreme poverty.

Amazon HQ2 RFP asks for just one bid per region, so Philly submits three

 

After Amazon announced plans to build a second headquarters earlier this month, promising 50,000 jobs paying an average of six figures and $5 billion in direct investment, Philadelphia and a few dozen other North American cities all jumped to join the pageant.

The city’s business and political community have shown none of the fractious relationship that’s marked fights over the soda tax or calls for ending the wage tax: from City Council to the Chamber of Commerce, everyone seems to agree: Landing Amazon would be a massive boon for the city.

Trade union politics derail N. Philadelphia apartment proposal

Nearly two-thirds of Philadelphia’s residents are nonwhite and 53 percent are women, but you wouldn’t know it from a visit to a city construction site. Despite decades of official hand-wringing over the lack of diversity in city trade unions, it’s still mostly white men who rivet the steel, pour the concrete, and install the shiny glass facades on our new buildings. In 2008 — the last time anyone was able to pry any numbers from union leaders — just 10 percent of their members were African American.

Under pressure from City Council, Mayor Kenney has taken some baby steps to address the imbalance. His administration just negotiated a deal to ensure that minorities account for 45 percent of the workforce who will be reconstructing the city’s recreation centers as part of the Rebuild program.  At a June event touting the accord, Kenney declared that “a shiny new skyline means nothing to Philadelphians who can’t find a job” and hailed the program as a new beginning.

Dodge Momentum Index Slips in August

NEW YORK – September 8, 2017 – The Dodge Momentum Index moved lower in August, falling 2.4% to 129.1 (2000=100) from its revised July reading of 132.2. The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. The decline in August can be attributed to an 8.7% drop in the commercial component of the Momentum Index, while the institutional component rose 7.3%. The commercial component has seen a steep rise over the past year as large projects – particularly office buildings – entered the planning cycle. The August retreat for the commercial component brings planning activity back to a level more consistent with a sustainable pace of development.

In August, eight projects entered planning each with a value of $100 million or more. For the institutional building sector, the leading projects were the $230 million University of New Mexico hospital replacement project in Albuquerque NM and a $218 million high school in Aledo TX. The leading commercial building projects were the $205 million Niagara Falls Grand Hotel in Niagara Falls NY and a $178 million Amazon fulfillment center in Salem OR.

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About Dodge Data & Analytics

: Dodge Data & Analytics is North America’s leading provider of analytics and software-based workflow integration solutions for the construction industry. Building product manufacturers, architects, engineers, contractors, and service providers leverage Dodge to identify and pursue unseen growth opportunities and execute on those opportunities for enhanced business performance. Whether it’s on a local, regional or national level, Dodge makes the hidden obvious, empowering its clients to better understand their markets, uncover key relationships, size growth opportunities, and pursue those opportunities with success. The company’s construction project information is the most comprehensive and verified in the industry. Dodge is leveraging its 100-year-old legacy of continuous innovation to help the industry meet the building challenges of the future. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.

Source: Construction.com

New police contract will wipe out city's $200M labor reserve fund: Report

Philadelphia may be in for some service cuts as it struggles to pay for new municipal labor contracts, according to a city official.

Finance Director Rob Dubow's comments came as the state board overseeing the city's finances met Tuesday to approve a change to the city's five-year plan to pay for a new police contract.

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Kimberly Paynter/ WHYY

That agreement handed down by an arbitration panel gave officers a three-year contract with raises averaging 3.5 percent a year.

The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority staff said in a report the cost of that deal will more than wipe out a $200 million labor reserve fund the city had set aside.

And if contracts yet to come for two more city unions provide raises comparable to the police officers, those costs will eliminate all the financial cushion built into the city's plan for four of the next five years.

Dubow said he'll start talking to city department heads now about finding savings, and that could mean service cuts.

What a PICA board member has to say about the city's fiscal plan, at Newsworks.org.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal

ENR MidAtlantic names Allan Myers the firm its 2017 Contractor of the Year: Family-Owned Firm Is Serious About Safety

About 15 years ago, contractor Allan Myers suffered two tragic on-the-job accidents in the same year—one was fatal, the other resulted in serious injury. Ever since, the family-owned Pennsylvania firm has been on a crusade to improve not only its own safety standards, but those for the industry, too. “I just couldn’t look in the mirror and be proud of myself and my leadership if I didn’t do everything I could to change our company and our culture,” says Ross Myers, the firm’s chief executive. “I wanted to be able to give back and pay it forward.”

New 100,000 sq. ft. carpenters apprenticeship building close to completion in Edison

The Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters’ 100,000-square-foot complex for carpenter apprenticeships is on track for completion in December 2017.

Over the same, a collection of key figures discussed apprenticeship opportunities in the state of New Jersey and how they could be expanded upon. This new facility was part of the discussion.

The two-story facility with 13 classrooms, 14 welding booths and a 300-seat theater is meant to attract over 1,000 carpenter apprentices and use modern technology and skills to prepare workers for the expectations of their trade.

Big Plans Announced to Jumpstart Wayne Junction

Philly Office Retail and Mosaic Development Partners filled Germantowners in on development plans designed to turn a major transit hub into a hub of activity for Germantown and Nicetown.

 

At least this diner won’t be called the Trolley Car.

But the Trolley Car’s owner plans to open another one as one of the first pieces of a multi-part jigsaw puzzle which, when completed, aims to turn the derelict industrial properties around Wayne Junction station into a mixed-use activity hub at the hinge where Germantown and Nicetown meet.

Apartments to fill old hat factory north of Center City, as developers embrace industrial rehabs

Developer PRDC Properties LLC plans to restore the former Frank P. Heid & Co. hat factory on 13th and Wood Streets north of Center City into a 96-unit apartment building, the latest in a resurgence of industrial-to-residential rehab efforts in central Philadelphia.

The nearly century-old, eight-story Heid Building, as it is to be known, will feature a ground-floor restaurant, a roof deck with barbecue grills and a “hammock lounge,” and a 10-to-15 person coworking space, PRDC said in a release ahead of its planned formal announcement of the project Wednesday.

PRDC’s plan to redevelop the 95,000-square-foot concrete building comes as apartment developers refocus their attention on renovating existing structures, rather than building towers from the ground up, amid soaring construction costs and stagnant rents.

NYC firm ups offer to buy shuttered Revel to $225M

Differing accounts from a prospective buyer of the shuttered Revel casino and its current owner continue to confuse as a New York-based private investment firm has reportedly sweetened its offer by another $5 million.

Keating & Associates LLC are prepared to spend $225 million on the massive boardwalk casino that cost more than $2 billion to build, according to the Press of Atlantic City. The upped offer comes about two months after it was reported the group offered $220 million to Glenn Straub, who acquired the Revel for $82 million after it fell into bankruptcy and rebranded it as TEN.

Collective bargaining bills would apply public records, open meetings laws to contract negotiations

Some state lawmakers are pushing a package of bills that they say would make contract negotiations between government agencies and public worker unions more transparent.

Two measures would require contract negotiations with all public unions to happen in open session, and apply the state's Right-to-Know Law to related documents.

Committee votes have been along party lines.

Senator Daylin Leach, who represents Delaware and Montgomery Counties, is one Democrat who's opposed.

West Virginia's Top Court Clears 'Right-to-Work' Law

West Virginia's highest court ruled Friday that a judge made a mistake blocking the state's "right-to-work" law from taking effect after it was passed last year while the court challenge against it continued.
The Supreme Court, divided 3-2, concluded the unions opposing the law "failed to show a likelihood of success" in challenging its constitutionality.

They didn't identify any federal or state appellate court that struck down such a law based on similar challenges in more than 70 years, Justice Menis Ketchum wrote. He noted that similar laws have been enacted in 27 other states.

Summary of NLRB Decisions for Week of September 5 - 8, 2017

ConAgra Foods, Inc.  (09-CA-062889, et al.; 365 NLRB No. 102)  Troy, OH, September 7, 2017.

Upon remand from the Eighth Circuit Court, the Board (Members Pearce and McFerran; Chairman Miscimarra concurring), in a Supplemental Decision and Order, denied the General Counsel’s Motion for Default Judgment asserting that the Respondent had defaulted on the terms of a settlement agreement.  The Board found that the Respondent committed a postsettlement unfair labor practice by posting and maintaining a letter which employees would reasonably construe as restricting discussions about unions.  The Board, however, found that default judgment was not appropriate on procedural due process grounds because the General Counsel did not advise the Respondent, before moving for default judgment, that the letter, if found unlawful as an overbroad rule, would warrant default judgment under the performance clause of the settlement agreement.  Concurring, Chairman Miscimarra found that default judgment was also inappropriate based on the General Counsel’s failure to provide the Respondent 14 days’ advance notice and opportunity to remedy the alleged noncompliance as required by the settlement agreement. Accordingly, the Board remanded the case to the Regional Director for further appropriate action.

Teachers in Methacton School District on strike; classes cancelled

EAGLEVILLE, Pa. (WPVI) --It is just a few weeks into the new school year, and now students and teachers in the Methacton School District will be off again for an unknown amount of time.

Teachers are expected to officially go on strike at 7:30 a.m. Monday. They have been working without a contract since January.

A stalemate in the bargaining process lead to an announcement Friday by the Methacton Education Association that its members had authorized a strike.

The union represents over 400 teachers and professional staff.

The issues being negotiated include salary, benefits, class size, teacher-student ratio and team teaching.

Methacton Schools: No deal reached; Teachers will strike. Walter Perez reports during Action News at 11 p.m. on September 17, 2017.

Over the weekend, school board president Chris Boardman reassured parents and teachers that negotiations had been productive.

But shortly after that, the union released a statement, saying in part, "...dramatically increasing the employee's share of the health care premium while not adequately increasing salaries is unacceptable..."

A state mediator is now involved to coordinate the exchange of proposals between parties.

Picket lines were expected to be established at locations including Methacton High School.

According to the school district, State Department of Education rules will prevent the work stoppage from going past 15 days.

Source: 6ABC

'Ambush' union elections erode workers' rights

Eight years under the Obama administration was a boon for union bosses and the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) anti-worker agenda. The so-called independent agency reached a series of conclusions that diminished employee rights and handed them over to "Big Labor."

Thankfully, Representatives Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) successfully championed an amendment to the recent omnibus appropriations bill, H.R. 3354, that would unravel one of the board’s most misguided policies: the “ambush election” rule.

Union pickets over contract dispute at Hilton Albany Hotel

Union leaders are urging a boycott of the Hilton Albany hotel over a labor contract dispute with its Long Island-based owners.

Members of the Hotel Trades Council started picketing outside the Lodge Street hotel on Thursday to protest contract demands being made by United Capital Corp. of Great Neck, L.I., that call for elimination of the pension plan and other concessions.

"These demands are mean-spirited," said Rich Maroko, an executive vice president and general counsel for the union, which represents about 35,000 hospitality workers statewide. The union represents about 600 workers at the new Rivers Casino in Schenectady.

Hearings on graduate unionization effort conclude

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On Wednesday (Sept. 13), seven days of hearings concluded before a hearing examiner appointed by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board related to the petition filed by the Pennsylvania State Education Association to unionize Penn State graduate students.

More than 20 witnesses testified about graduate education at Penn State. Faculty from across the University testified that graduate students, including students who have their graduate education funded on assistantships, are engaged in teaching and research that are part of their degree programs. Penn State believes that graduate students are here to be students, not employees.

A schedule for submission of post-hearing legal briefs is pending. Following submission of those briefs, the hearing examiner will determine whether to dismiss the petition or order an election for some specified group of graduate students. If there is an election, either side can appeal the results. Ultimately, the courts may have to decide this unsettled issue of Pennsylvania law.

Information about the unionization process under Pennsylvania law and FAQs for Penn State graduate students, faculty and staff are available at gradfacts.psu.edu.

Questions about the hearings or unionization process should be directed to gradinfo@psu.edu.

Source: PSU