Union levels labor claim against Whitehall

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.mcall.com/all-b2-5whitehall.6241324jan24,0,3207545.story

Floorlayers local upset over township hiring local company for work at municipal building.


Members of the carpenters union, (from left) Andy Butrica, a union rep for Local 1823; an unidentified man, and Ky Gaffney of Philadelphia stand by a large protest sign in front of the Whitehall Township Municipal building on Wednesday. (CESAR L. LAURE, Allentown Morning Call / January 23, 2008)

By Kirk Beldon Jackson | Of The Morning Call
January 24, 2008

A Philadelphia union is accusing Whitehall Township of unfair labor practices for hiring a non-union company to install carpet at the Whitehall Township Municipal Building, now under renovation for damage caused by a fire last summer.

Since Tuesday, members of the Floorlayers Local 1823 have posted a large sign saying ''Shame on Whitehall Township'' along a section of MacArthur Road fronting the Whitehall municipal complex. The union is part of an umbrella group headed by the Carpenters Union, which has an office in Bethlehem, said union representative Andy Butrica.

The Floorlayers Local 1823, which has about 70 Lehigh Valley members, is unhappy because the township hired R&J Carpet Connection of Whitehall to install tile and carpeting in the municipal building, which was severely damaged in a July 29, 2007 fire.

''I just want the public to know what's going on,'' Butrica said. ''The number one is to send a message to the public that these jobs aren't being competitively bid.''

In a flier handed out to passersby, the union also took aim at R&J Carpet, describing it as a contractor ''who destroys the area wage and benefit standards.''

Township officials said that most of the renovation has been done with union labor and that the flooring contract amounted to less than 1 percent of the $2.7 million project. The flooring contract amounted to $26,000, according to the township. R&J Carpet gave the figure at $25,000.

FULL story at link.