The NYC District Council of Carpenters gathered at City Hall on July 13 to demand enforcement from the city’s Economic Development Corporation on the soccer stadium and affordable housing development in Willets Point.
The union is calling on the EDC to bring a contractor it hired for the construction work into compliance with rules dictating the use of union labor. According to NYCDCC, East Coast Dilling, which the EDC hired to do pile driving on the site, lacks a state-certified apprenticeship program — a requirement of EDC’s agreement on the development.
“The city guaranteed that workers hired on this major project would have to go through a – let me be very clear here — a state-certified apprenticeship program. Those weren’t my words. Those were the city’s words. Those were EDC’s words,” said Joseph Geiger, executive secretary-treasurer of the NYCDCC.
The rally flooded city hall with the neon orange of union carpenters’ T-shirts and gathered a large group of local electeds to try and hold the EDC accountable. Geiger said he raised these concerns with the EDC over two months ago and has gotten no response from the city agency.
“We’re still waiting for answers from EDC. There’s been no action, no answers, nothing,” he said.
Geiger’s members took a more aggressive stance toward the EDC. “Who’s the rat? The EDC!” they chanted.
Legislators shared the union members’ frustration.
“I was told that there would be no problem on this project. That everything was gonna be done by the letter and that my community would be able to count on good union jobs. And you know what? You’re right, Joe. It is bullshit,” said state Sen. Jessica Ramos, whose district adjoins the development.
Other representatives included city Comptroller Brad Lander and city councilmember Sandra Ung, Shekar Krishnan, Joe Borelli, Eric Dinowitz, Oswald Feliz, Joann Ariola, David Carr Jennifer Gutierrez, Sandy Nurse, Jennifer Gutiérrez and Lynn Schulman.
“If your job gets minimized on this project, our job gets minimized on this project. And that’s something that we can’t let happen. Our job is to support you and we’re gonna do it every single day,” said Borelli.
A union spokesperson clarified that NYCDCC is not trying to get the EDC to replace East Coast Drilling with a new contractor, but just to make sure that they utilize an apprenticeship program on the site.
EDC did not answer LaborPress’s question about whether it planned to bring East Coast Drilling into compliance with the rules.
“The Building and Construction Trades Council, including the Carpenters Union, have been a pivotal partner in this project and we look forward to continuing these conversations. This development will create over 14,000 construction jobs, all of which will be good-paying jobs for New Yorkers,” wrote a spokesperson for the EDC.
East Coast Drilling did not respond for a request for comment.
