This story was updated Feb. 7 to correct and clarify some facts regarding the carpenters union.
BRIDGEPORT – Union carpenters working on building the $190 million, 420-unit apartments known as The August at Steelpointe Harbor want KBE Building Corp. to stop undercutting them with non-union workers from out of state.
Nearly 200 members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America as well as other trade unions local gathered on a brisk morning Saturday, Feb. 1 on East Main Street in front of The August construction site to give that message and more to all who would listen.
With state Sen. Herron Gaston (D-Bridgeport/Stratford) in attendance, union officials made their case to KBE Building that they want fair wages, workers compensation insurance and benefits for all workers at the site. They also have alleged the subcontractors have paid workers in cash, skirting payroll taxes.
“There’s guys out here making $29 an hour with no benefits,” said Joe Ambrosini, business manager with Laborer’s Local 665 in Bridgeport. “There’s state money attached here. We got to wake up. Bridgeport is an emerald. It’s a diamond in the rough. Why is this place not developed yet? It’s because there are certain players in the game and it’s about time the building trades start being part of the game.”
Other leaders of the union present at Saturday’s rally and march specified what their rank and file workers are looking for.
“The issue is people like KBE come into communities like Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Haven, what have you and they bring practices to that community that cut out folks from that neighborhood, including legitimate contractors who are paying the burdens,” said Miguel Fuentes, Connecticut council representative, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters of the carpenters union. “(Those contractors are the ones) who are paying the taxes, affording their people benefits. And they are being undercut because KBE subcontractors – they have a history of doing this – brings people who cheat to compete as a business model.”
In addition to fair wages and workers compensation the union alleges KBE subcontractors don’t provide to their workers, another issue that irks the local carpenters is that those out-of-state workers are hired instead of local Bridgeport ones, union officials charge.
“It is a workers’ rights issue,” said Dan McInerney, president of Fairfield County Building Trades. “We as union workers union protect every worker’s right, not just union workers. When we do better, everyone does better. We’re gathered here today because KBE likes to hire contractors, even though they tell you they do the right thing and that they are supposed to be responsible for those who work under you.”
The state Department of Labor (DOL) agrees with the carpenters union, having issued five work stoppage orders to subcontractors on The August work site since November. They also issued more than $160,000 in fines. Those subcontractors include Harland Mechanical of Yonkers, New York; Structura Group of Jersey City, New Jersey; and ADM Concrete Dumping Corp. of Jamaica, New York. The reasons for the orders were failure to secure the payment of worker’s compensation insurance and misclassification of workers.
Stop work orders are issued to employers who knowingly misrepresent employees as independent contractors or provide false, incomplete, or misleading information to an insurance company on the number of employees for the purpose of paying a lower premium, according to the Connecticut DOL website.
According to a Facebook post, KBE and the City of Bridgeport held a job fair on Jan. 28 at the Margaret Morton Government Center for trade contracting firms to meet with the developer. The post said they are looking for qualified Bridgeport residents to work on The August. The listed the following job openings: carpentry, concrete, electrical, flooring, masonry, mechanical, painting, plumbing, roofing, sitework, sprinklers. They are also looking for heavy equipment operators and general laborers.
“Some people are getting fair wages, workers comp, healthcare as employees,” Fuentes said. “But there are others that are skirting rules as a way to compete. It should all be done properly and legitimate.”
Fuentes told The Fairfield County Business Journal that he and other union officials had spoken with Mayor Joe Ganim about the unfair labor practices.
“He said the project should have been a project/labor agreement. And like that’s not we are looking for here,” Fuentes added. “We are looking for a project that is done appropriately.”
The work being done by union employees at The August includes pile driving. The rest of the carpentry work — pouring concrete, wood framing, putting up drywall, building cabinets and windows — is being done by non-union workers.
The August is designed to help provide housing for middle-income residents in Bridgeport through a Connecticut Housing Finance Authority program. The developers are the Christoph family, led by Bob Christoph Jr., president of the RCI Group.
“The Christoph family took their trust in KBE to do a decent job,” McInerney said. “I don’t think that is happening right now, not when you have five subcontractors who had stop work orders placed by the DOL.”
Sen. Gaston told The Fairfield County Business Journal that on Monday he intended to speak with Christoph about the labor issues.
“We know that there are state dollars that are a part of this project, which means these are taxpayers across the state of Connecticut,” he said. “These are also taxpayers for the City of Bridgeport, where we pay some of the largest taxes in the state. They deserve a seat at the table.
“I believe he (Christoph) has a plan in place in addressing this concern.”
Steelpointe Harbor project
The Steelpointe Harbor project in Bridgeport, Connecticut has a total cost of around $200 million. The project includes a multifamily development, a marina, and commercial space.
This newly designed waterfront community offers and will offer a mix of residential; restaurant, retail, commercial marina, and waterfront uses which combine to create a diverse livable, pedestrian-friendly environment.
The upscale community includes a 465,633-square-foot, multi-story, wood-framed building providing four stories of 420 luxury residences, set above street-level retail and restaurant space. The amenity space provides a resort-style pool, athletic courts, dog park, fitness center, and outdoor landscaped courtyards. The adjacent 166,691 square-foot, five-story parking garage is post-tensioned concrete with a naturally ventilated “open” design.
