ITHACA -- A newly formed coalition is putting pressure on Cornell University to use union labor in construction of its $17 million, 130,000-square-foot office building downtown. But Cornell says using union labor would make the project less financially feasible.
Known as the Common Good Coalition, the group includes local labor unions, the Building Trades Council, the Cornell Organization for Labor Action, the Cornell Democrats, members of the Tompkins County Living Wage Coalition and professors from the university's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
"First, it must be emphasized that we're all in favor of this (project)," said Edmond Ritchie, president of the Building Trades Council, an umbrella organization for construction and labor unions.
"We just want it to be done under terms and conditions where the workers involved have health care, have pensions, have all the benefits that Americans have come to expect and are paid the negotiated wages that fit our area," he said.
Ritchie said the group mobilized after seeing other large projects in Ithaca largely built by non-union labor.
"That almost always means workers come from 100 miles away or more to come here to do the work," he said.
A recent example of that, Ritchie said, was the construction of the new Tompkins County Public Library at 101 E. Green St. For that $6.5 million project, the contractors came from Syracuse, Geneva, Hammondsport and Elmira. Ritchie said he believed the painters were local, but information on exactly how many workers were union-represented could not be confirmed Wednesday
The coalition, which wants the project to be completely bid to and built by unions, has met twice and plans to meet again Feb. 28. It was created by Buffalo-based lawyer Richard Furlong, whom the Building Trades Council hired.
"It's not just union labor," Furlong said Monday. "It's the inclusion of local workers. It is the inclusion of minorities and women in adequate numbers of the work force. It is an agreement to utilize union workers to maintain that facility once it's built."
The developer for the project, whom Cornell has not yet chosen, would construct the building, own it and bear the financial risk for the project. Cornell plans to choose a developer in March from among three finalists.
Ritchie and Furlong said using union labor would save money in the long run. But according to a statement sent to The Journal Monday by John Majeroni, director of Cornell Real Estate, a requirement to use 100 percent union labor would add unnecessary cost to the project and make it less financially feasible.
For those reasons, and because Cornell employees would occupy just over half of the building, imposing Cornell's labor arrangements on the building owner would not be justified, Majeroni said. Most contractors the university uses are union contractors, he said.
Majeroni said that the three proposed developers anticipate that 50 to 80 percent of the construction workers on the building will be union workers, and all have used union labor before.
Ithaca Mayor Alan Cohen said Monday that he did not believe that the city had any authority to compel the developer to use union labor, if the city approves the project.
Cornell has not yet chosen its location, but it is considering sites around the intersection of Tioga and Seneca streets.
"I would love to see this project be 100 percent union, and I would strongly encourage the developer pursue an agreement with the trade union," Cohen said.
"While in the past this has resulted in savings for many projects, I do not know if it will result in savings for this project," he said. "I can't insist on an all-union shop if it's going to kill the project."
News
cars.com
