what is mr ross' position on the assumptions and mathematics of the dreamers to have uncle sam bail out multiemployer pension plans such as that of teamsters local 707 which hokds up nassau otb employees ?
NYC's Hudson Yards Mega-Project Sues to Shun ‘Corrupt’ Unions
By and
Updated on
- Biggest project in city says some workers inflate hours
- The unions allegedly cost Related project over $100 million
Bloomberg’s Jason Kelly discusses litigation between Hudson Yards and unions.
Related Cos.’ $25 billion Hudson Yards project on Manhattan’s West Side sued a labor organization for the right to cut ties with a handful of unions that, it claims, have bilked it out of more than $100 million with inflated worker hours and other corrupt practices.
Related, building what it calls the largest private real estate development in U.S. history, sued the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. It accused the group of trying to force Hudson Yards to include allegedly corrupt unions in contract talks as the project moves into its second phase. Most of the unions are fine, the developer said.
Hudson Yards Construction LLC, the Related unit that filed the complaint Monday in New York state court in Manhattan, claims the union organization and its leader "are attempting to prevent HYC from entering into any agreements with any unions, unless HYC agrees to work with every union."
William Wachtel, a lawyer for the developer, put it more bluntly in a phone call.
"We’re not about to be forced to do business with people who spit in our eye and call it rain," he said.
Robert Barletta, a spokesman for the union organization, said the lawsuit is an attempt by Related to stunt a movement called #CountMeIn, whose members oppose non-union construction.
“We are confident that any court looking at this matter will see it for what it is –- an effort to suppress this movement and an attempt to suppress the free speech of hardworking New Yorkers,” Barletta said in a statement.
Hudson Yards said it has hired more than 20,000 union workers over the past six years, making it the largest employer of union construction workers in the city. At the heart of the dispute is the union organizations’ responsibilities under the 2013 project-labor agreement for phase one of Hudson Yards, scheduled for completion next year, according to the complaint.
The union group allegedly breached its labor agreement by failing to promote a safe work environment, resulting in more than 150 workers being sent home or fired for serious infractions and 250 workers failing to pass drug and alcohol tests in the last year.
In another claim, the developer accused the unions of inflating costs by allowing senior tradesmen to do the job of a "coffee boy" -- fetching food and drinks for workers -- instead of giving such tasks to the most-junior employees.
Hudson Yards also claims the union group is spreading defamatory and misleading information about the company to union workers during protests.
Neiman Marcus
Related’s 28-acre Hudson Yards project is mostly built on a platform over the Long Island Rail Road train depot near the Hudson River. Plans call for 18 million square feet of mixed-use development, including 10.6 million square feet for offices, about 4,000 residential units, a 1 million square-foot retail complex anchored by New York’s first Neiman Marcus store, plus 14 acres of open space, a culture “shed,” a school and a hotel.
One of the office towers, 30 Hudson Yards, will be the city’s second-tallest skyscraper when completed in 2019, according to Related’s website. It’s set to become the headquarters of Time Warner Inc.
The case is Hudson Yards Construction LLC v. The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, 151986/2018, Supreme Court of the State of New York (Manhattan).
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