anti-Federal Realty leaflets around Davis Square

[ron_newman]

Someone's been putting these on cars near me, as well as in my apartment building lobby. Anyone know more about the issues involved here? I'm guessing this has something to do with last week's fatal construction accident at Assembly Row.

---

Profits Over People?
Income Inequality?
Somerville Deserves Better!

Federal Realty Investment Trust
has decided to
UNDERMINE SOMERVILLE'S COMMUNITY STANDARDS
on wages and benefits

ASSEMBLY ROW SOMERVILLE
Please call Don Briggs @ (617) 684-1500
And let him know our Community will not stand for
Federal Realty Investment Trust
To Choose Profits over People in Somerville!

Building and Construction Trades Council
of the Metropolitan District
#goodJOBsomerville #incomeINEQUALITY

Comments

[mytheria.livejournal.com]

Usually that language has to do with using non-unionized contractors... I haven't been following this, but I know that there was something about this around December or so

[ron_newman]

Do you (or anyone else) know what agreement is being violated, or where to find the community standards in question?

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

"community standards" means "union labor only"; it's a standard codeword.

Clearly, the building trades unions and the unionized contractors are bent out of shape that there's a project that uses non-union workers, and they're attacking Fidelity Realty Investment Trust for financing the project.

[ron_newman]

Federal Realty. Fidelity has nothing to do with this project.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

it's a standard codeword.

I may be unfair there -- I've never heard the term "community standards" used to mean anything other than "union labor", and as long as that's admitted by everyone, it's not a codeword.

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

Basically union companies think they're entitled to have work awarded to them over non union without putting forth a competitive bid and the rest of us are supposed to pay for it. Every industry has its way of preventing competition, sometimes it is barriers to entry, in this case it is masterful PR pandering to our liberal instincts.

[ron_newman]

It's not especially masterful PR, since it doesn't say what the community standards are or how Federal Realty specifically might be violating them.

Googling for "federal realty" "community standards" finds nothing relevant other than this very LJ post.

[irilyth]

Do you think PR is more masterful when it's more specific, or more vague? :^)

(I'm genuinely not sure, but suspect that vague complaints about bad behavior from an easy target might in fact be more effective at getting people riled up than a detailed list of specific complaints.)

[ron_newman]

Perhaps, but I don't consider Federal Realty to be an "easy target". I think most people around here view them favorably, so there needs to be a good and clearly stated reason to mobilize people against them.

[irilyth]

Ah, could be. I didn't recognize the name, and assumed they were in the Big Evil Developer TM category (in people's minds anyway) or something.

"Sloppy work on the part of the leaflet people" seems like a pretty likely explanation too.

[ron_newman]

They are the company who have built (and are continuing to build) Assembly Row. Some people may see them as inherently evil, but I don't.

Last week's construction accident is genuinely disturbing, but the leaflet doesn't even mention it.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

Some people may see them as inherently evil

Unionization is only stable if there is some way to keep non-union workers out. Hence unions, their members, and companies that are already unionized consider anyone hiring non-union workers to be inherently evil.

The whole purpose of unions is to raise wages above the supply-and-demand equilibrium. Hence, it only works if you can somehow restrict who is permitted to provide the supply of labor.

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

The story has been covered in the local papers, but regardless it is always the same story. "We have a right to bully our way to be paid exhorbitant rates for work that may or may not be good" and anyone who disagrees is a big jerk who doesn't care about working people. Never mind the working people who don't work for union companies, the customers, the competitors, the people who pay more indirectly, taxpayers, etc" The executive director of a local non profit I know was bullied on a regular basis when the general contractor she hired was not union, and the GC as well. They demanded to know of the GC how much the customer was paying (not any of their business) and did everything but put forth a competitive bid for work that would be professionally performed like most adults have to do.

[sd210.livejournal.com]

The reference in the flyer to the Building and Construction Trades Council is a reference to a pro-union trade group that collectively promotes the use of unionized trade workers in the building and construction sector.

From what I have read online about this, Federal Realty hired Callahan Construction to be the general project manager for the construction of one of the apartment buildings on Assembly Row. The local trade unions do not like Callahan, as they have a reputation of hiring non-union subcontractors on their projects. The various union groups were passing out flyers in March at Assembly Row in an effort to get people to call and pressure Federal Realty into requiring 100% union workers on the project. Federal Realty took the position that union trade workers would be used where economical, but that the entire project would not be union workers as it would be too expensive and it would drive rent prices up. As for the "community standards" referenced, no specific contract (as far as I can tell) has been violated here, but rather just that union trade workers were never given contracts (as they are typically not the lowest bidders). The union trade group's position seems to be that anything less than 100% union workers on this project is a violation of decency and community standards in general.

Apparently, Callahan Construction did retain a local ironworkers union to work on the project, but the union groups do not think that hiring one union trade is enough as they want all workers on the job to be from union trade groups. Here is an article that summarizes the history of this dispute. http://somerville.wickedlocal.com/article/20150529/NEWS/150526714#150526714/?Start=2&_suid=14346517072020737687936311061