A Betrayal of New York City Carpenters
New York carpenters are facing a disastrous two-tier contract filled with cuts for new workers. Rank-and-file carpenters have to fight back against the union leaders who rammed it down their throats.
The Hudson Yards development, including “The Vessel,” stands on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan, March 12, 2019 in New York City.Drew Angerer / Getty
In 2018, the number of construction jobs neared record highs in New York City, fueled largely by a boom in residential construction for rich people. New construction permits are down slightly in 2019 from their historic highs in 2018 — by about 1 percent. But in May, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli told Crain’s New York he expects jobs in the industry will “be sustained by the large capital programs planned by the city, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.”
So why did the New York City District Council of Carpenters — representing more than twenty-thousand carpenters across nine local unions in New York City — vote to approve a new two-tier agreement with the bosses chock full of cuts for working union carpenters?
The Gory Details
Carpenters have been without a “Wall & Ceiling” contract — covering most indoor work — for more than two years. Until now, the old contract has been renewed month by month.
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