Pyramid Club to be given a modern makeover

The Pyramid Club, a dining, social and meeting spot at the top of 1735 Market St., is slated to get a $2 million to $3 million facelift.

The members-only club has occupied 21,000 square feet on the 52nd floor of the Philadelphia office tower since 1993 and due for an upgrade. The company that operates the facility, Club Corp, recently renewed the Pyramid Club’s lease for 10 years and that made it an ideal time to move forward with the project, said General Manager Rick Winland.

Supreme Court backs finding that firing of Lancaster County workers was 'anti-union'

The state Supreme Court has reinstated a Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board finding that Lancaster County officials improperly fired two employees because they supported a unionization drive.

The decision the high court handed down this week overturns a Commonwealth Court ruling that found county officials displayed no "anti-union animus" in the 2010 firings of Adam Medina and Tommy Epps.

Labor friction escalates between California port truckers, shippers

Long-simmering labor tensions between Southern California port truckers and shipping companies they accuse of wage theft escalated on Tuesday as a group of drivers demanded recognition as full-fledged employees and petitioned to join the Teamsters union.

The action, according to the Teamsters, was taken by at least 50 drivers who work for New Jersey-based Intermodal Bridge Transport (IBT) hauling freight to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest cargo hub in America.

Voorhees Town Center sells, but at a loss

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust has sold the Voorhees Town Center in an off-market transaction for $13.4 million, which is at a loss.

It bought the property, which was then known as the Echelon Mall, in 2003 as part of a $263 million portfolio acquisition from Rouse Co.

PREIT has sold the mixed-use property in Voorhees, N.J.

Sanders urges Verizon to resolve local labor dispute

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders waded into a labor dispute involving Verizon on Monday, urging the telecommunications giant to negotiate a fair contract for 39,000 members of the Communications Workers of America.

The Democratic presidential candidate joined Verizon workers at a demonstration outside a Verizon Wireless store near Times Square. He also defended a union official who says she was fired after organizing Verizon Wireless stores in Brooklyn.

United Auto Workers, General Motors reach contract agreement

The United Auto Workers union and General Motors Co. have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract, avoiding a strike for now.

The UAW said the agreement was reached at 11:43 p.m. Sunday, 16 minutes before the deadline it had set to either reach an agreement or call a strike at GM's U.S. plants.

Details of the proposed contract weren't immediately available. The UAW said local union leaders will meet Wednesday in Detroit to vote on the tentative agreement. If they approve it, GM's U.S. hourly workers will vote on it.

Nutter launches investigation of L&I inspections

Mayor Nutter ordered the city's inspector general Monday to investigate if the Department of Licenses and Inspections has followed new safety rules put in place after the deadly Center City building collapse.

The mandate stems from a report in Sunday's Inquirer that L&I failed to properly inspect more than 80 percent of private demolitions over the last nine months.

Post Brothers Betting Big on University City; Plans Garden Court Revamp

Post Brothers is starting to execute their plans to get in on some of the action around University City. The company announced they’ve acquired the Garden Court Plaza, a gorgeous 1920s-era apartment building at 47th and Pine Street (map), with plans to undertake a massive renovation project that largely caters to the area’s built-in population of post-graduates.

According to a press release about the acquisition, Post Brothers has “earmarked” $250 million to invest in projects that look to keep recent grads and a growing workforce in and around University City (47th and Pine is really Walnut Hill). “Our principal goal is to harness the energy of this exciting neighborhood to create re-imagined, high-quality apartments that are reflective of the neighborhood’s vibrant, upwardly-mobile population,” said Post’s CEO Michael Pestronk.

The plan at Garden Court Plaza calls for 146 apartment units, and will look to take the historic structure to the next level by bringing a new management team on site. Oh, and they will also be adding an amenity package on par with the flashy new high-rises popping up on Market and Chestnut streets.