By KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
Union members have been picketing for several weeks at the construction site at 26 W. Broadway, protesting the use of non-union personnel on the 10-story condominium tower.
The difference is the quality of the work, the safety of the job, and the skill of the employees, Local 45 business representative Sal Antonucci said. We do a better job, we do it quicker and we are definitely competitive with these guys.
Antonucci stressed that all union members complete a four-year training program and that includes job site safety.
But the developer of the site, David Shokrian of Sun America, praised the work being done and said all workers on the site have strong backgrounds.
I'm happy with the way they are doing their job. They are doing very nice, clean work. They have been recommended by people who have done work with them in the past. I checked their record.
Protests at what will become the White Sands Condos have been ongoing since Dec. 17.
Union members said they had been working on the site since June, but were laid off after the hard work was completed. Local 45 member Michael Collins said, We are the only ones that have the type of education and qualifications that are called for.
Shokrian, though, believes that non-union members are just as qualified and educated as union members. He said that 80 percent of the job has been done or will be done by union members, including the plumbing, steel structure and the future mason work.
I am quite happy with the union people that have done parts of this project, and I am quite happy with the working people that don't happen to be union.
Shokrian alleged that the protesting union members have used abusive language and threatened him. Shokrian made a citizen's arrest against Martin Deely, a union member, for allegedly spitting at him earlier this week, said a Long Beach Police spokesman.
I do have the right, as does everybody else in this country, to decide who they would like to hire to work for them, Shokrian said. What they are telling you is that they are going to threaten, intimidate and harass. They are going to use physical force to force somebody to hire them.
That is all false, said union member Shawn Larson. We are just doing our job. For gentlemen that use non-union workers, there's nothing much we can do. We talk to them and try to convince them, but there is no harassing.
The union members feel that since Long Beach City Council member Dan Kearney is a top union leader in New York City, he should have intervened, even if he is out of his jurisdiction. If he's going to be a city councilman, then he has to support the city and that doesn't mean keeping his union members here in Long Beach out of work, Larson said.
Since the issues were decided before Kearney became a city council member, Kearney said he is just learning the issues and is looking to bring a balance for both sides.
Even though I'm a union representative, I just can't make everything union in the city. It just wouldn't be feasible for everyone.
Members are upset since they supported Kearney in his campaign and now they are the ones who are left out in the cold, Larson said.
Kearney responded, I'm all pro-union, but I have to take everything in a balance. I'm trying to rectify everything right now and it's hard.
Union members, though, say they are most concerned with the safety hazards of the job site. They feel that there is inadequate protection for public from falling debris.
A section of the boardwalk bordering the site was closed off, but Collins said it doesn't mean that passerbys are safe. Who knows if a piece of wood is going to fall straight down or if it is going to blow off the side? No one is going to tell a falling piece of debris this is where you are supposed to land, you're not allowed to let the wind blow you outside of the protection area. It doesn't work like that unfortunately.
Some union members claim that the Occupational Safety Hazard Administration (OSHA) issued safety violations to Sun America, but OSHA officials said there were no violations issued for either Sun America or David Shokrian. OSHA has not stopped us from operating have they? No, Shokrian said.
As union workers, Larson said, they have a certain responsibility and training. They have the right to inform an employer that a work environment is unsafe without the fear of retaliation. Non-union members do not have the same option, Larson said.
Since using union members in a construction project costs more, members said the developer simply doesn't want to pay for the skilled labor.
If it was a union job, he'd make money, enough money to buy a nice new GMC truck, Collins said. With a non-union job, he'd make enough to buy himself a couple of Humvees and a built-in swimming pool. Collins feels that the developer is putting profits before safety and the people.
Shokrian, though, says that the protesters have created a problem. They should go back to work. They should let these good, hard working people who are at the job site do there job.
But for union members, their safety concerns are high and they don't see a viable solution anytime soon.
We want to get our guys in there and get the work done, Larson said. The fact of the matter is, is it going to take somebody getting hurt before something is done before the proper protection is put up? Before the proper safety measures are taken? What is going to have to happen first?
