Unions

[drc72]

I am chiming in a little late on this topic but this mess is not good news for the City of Hartford. One of the first developers to develop something new in Hartford, the company that entered into the Adriaens Landing project when noone else wanted to is now is now receiving all this trouble. Adriaens Landing is a publicly funded project and on that note there are lots of other new projects in the city that are receiving tax breaks, special incentives, etc. meaning they will have to follow certain rules and this will possibly lead to more uproar in the years to come because many developers and companies were lured by these incentives.

I am not against the workers being allowed to unionize BUT they should be allowed to choose if they want to unionize, whom they want to unionize with and if with whatever they choose the Mayor, the union and the developer should not be harassed or harassing others about there decision. Every job in the city is crucial and by scaring away meeting planners, conventions, and new developments we are only hurting the city we all love so much. I hope the union and the mayor realize there are hundreds of other convention centers and conference centers to hold trade shows, meetings and conventions at and so just as easily as they choose Hartford they can easily choose to have there event somewhere else. This would in turn have a ripple effect because now why would we need these workers if theres noone coming to the city?

On a more personal note I did a senior project this year at my school (Watkinson) and I went out and interviewed the mayor, a journalist, and some of the developers investing in downtown including Len Wolman (head of the waterford group). This man has true faith in Hartford, he is not your stereotypical real estate developer (can anyone say Donald Trump), he cares for the city and wants to see it succeed. Mr. Wolman started the Waterford Group with his brother after coming to the USA and working in various hotels in CT - like the very workers who are in the middle of this union situation...Mr. Wolman worked hard to start this company which jumpstarted development in Hartford and now this is what he is getting. I know this is also not going over well with other developers who are investing in the city and this could hurt the city's future and we cant let that happen.

BINGO!!! The more BS developers get, the more chances they will develop somewhere else instead of Hartford. I am really disappointed at the way this has gone with the mayor.

[JimSawhill]

My business if family run and we don't have employees yet. If we did I don't think it would be on a large enough scale to require a union. Since you asked I'll go ahead and plug it (I have refrained in the Past):

Yakety Yak Wireless 38 Tunxis Ave. We sell T Mobile and Sprint/Nextel Phones and calling plans as well as Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Vonage VOIP, Blue Tooth and Other accessories.

(860) 656 9039

Yakety Yak Wireless Superstores

Don't get me wrong, I don't really like Unions and have never been a member of one or think I would find it necessary to be a member of one. My only point really is that corporations do exploit unskilled workers. It's not something that skilled workers have to worry about. Unskilled workers are replaceable at the drop of a dime and thats why I say they need a little more protection and that Eddie is 100% right to stand up for the citizens of his city who would have lost their jobs. I'm sorry I just don't agree with you guys. Jobs are hard to come by on my side of town. When you get a decent one it's nice to have someone going to bat for you to help you keep it. It's easy for you guys to say oh service is a little slow fire them all anyway, get some new people in. I just don't feel like that. Maybe it's because the affected people are my neighbors and friends, just remember they are Eddie's friends too. He's just a Peurto Rican guy from the slums in the North End. I think he goes with his heart on these issues and sometimes you have too when you are in his position coming from a background like his. You can't forget the community you come from.

Tycoon;

Cool name for your business!! I believe UNSKILL workers needs to be helped -- and I would Help my workers -- by helping them learn. I would hope that I wouldn't need a UNION in my business -- if my employees TRUST me.

Besides, if the people have to pay for union dues... they are making less, because instead of 8.50/hr -- with the due fees it will be 8/hr with 50 cents going to union president. I still think Unions needs to be fixed because the 'management' of unions are as corrupt as some of the managers of big corperations!

JimS

[HartfordTycoon]

Tycoon;

Cool name for your business!! I believe UNSKILL workers needs to be helped -- and I would Help my workers -- by helping them learn. I would hope that I wouldn't need a UNION in my business -- if my employees TRUST me.

Besides, if the people have to pay for union dues... they are making less, because instead of 8.50/hr -- with the due fees it will be 8/hr with 50 cents going to union president. I still think Unions needs to be fixed because the 'management' of unions are as corrupt as some of the managers of big corperations!

JimS

Theres definately truth in that. And for the record I am not a Union supporter. I am neutral as I have very little experience with unions anyway. I just feel that Perez has the obligation to go to bat for city residents when their jobs are on the line. As for the Marriott and Convention Center, I just don't feel that Perez is endorsing the Union. He just wants them to sign the "labor peace" agreement.

From the Hartford Courant:

at issue is a dispute between the city and Waterford. The city contends that Waterford must sign the "labor peace" agreement, because Waterford has a tax-fixing agreement worth between $15 million and $25 million over several years. Projects that get city money are subject to city ordinances mandating labor peace.

"I believe strongly in the workers' rights to organize, and they shouldn't be intimidated," Perez said. "They should follow the law."

Perez added that he has "no indication" that Waterford intimidates its employees who are considering unionizing.

"That's clear," he said. But it also isn't the point, he said. "You either have labor peace or you don't. And once you don't, you're in violation of the ordinance."

The union won't cite specific examples of employee intimidation by the employer, but Dugdale did point to wording in the convention center's employee handbook that he says threatens workers who speak publicly or to each other about working conditions. Such wording is illegal, Dugdale said, and the handbook is now the subject of a complaint with the NLRB filed earlier this week.

Courant Article

It seems to me like all Waterford has to do is sign the damn agreement and this would be done with. The city says the are required to do so and that is why the Mayor is involved. I don't think the agreement would push workers towards one union over another anyway, so I think some of the fears and claims are off base. It's the law and it's a city ordinance. Now we can debate whether that should be so, but as I understand it, Waterford is violating the law of the City of Hartford until they sign it. They should not be allowed to do that, nobody should.

[jcrc]

Does "labor peace" mean union? I don't know what is so peaceful about that? But that is beside the point. I think Waterford's position is that during the construction phase they had "labor peace", and their understanding is that they can run the convention center and the hotel they way they wanted. Also the tactics of calling conventioneers and ask them not to come to Hartford is not exactly the right way to conduct unionization. If the mayor is doing this so that he can get himeself re-elected, then he is playing politics at the expense of Hartford's economy health. I know politic is a dirty business, but it still sucks.

[HartfordTycoon]

Does "labor peace" mean union? I don't know what is so peaceful about that? But that is beside the point. I think Waterford's position is that during the construction phase they had "labor peace", and their understanding is that they can run the convention center and the hotel they way they wanted. Also the tactics of calling conventioneers and ask them not to come to Hartford is not exactly the right way to conduct unionization. If the mayor is doing this so that he can get himeself re-elected, then he is playing politics at the expense of Hartford's economy health. I know politic is a dirty business, but it still sucks.

Well, I don't think the Mayor himself was telling conventioneers not to come. That would be completely assinine. Maybe the Union folks were doing it, which would not surprise me. Whatever the case, it's a big misunderstanding and there are things both sides could have done to ease the situation. Let's not think of Waterford as some hero coming to save the day. They still have to play by the city's rules.

[jcrc]

^^I guess without knowing exactly what the City of Hartford and Waterford agreed upon, and without knowing exactly how Waterford treats its employees, we are just speculating. For all we know it can be an evil giant corporation, or it can be a model employer. No one said Waterford is some hero coming to save the day, but Harford desperately needs private investment, even with partial public funding its having a hard time, just look at Adriaens Landing, and having the Mayor leading what many in the business community considered as an anti-business campaign does not bode well for the city. Again, does "labor peace" mean union?

[HartfordTycoon]

^^I guess without knowing exactly what the City of Hartford and Waterford agreed upon, and without knowing exactly how Waterford treats its employees, we are just speculating. For all we know it can be an evil giant corporation, or it can be a model employer. No one said Waterford is some hero coming to save the day, but Harford desperately needs private investment, even with partial public funding its having a hard time, just look at Adriaens Landing, and having the Mayor leading what many in the business community considered as an anti-business campaign does not bode well for the city. Again, does "labor peace" mean union?

No I think it's a guarantee made to the city, not the feds, that they would allow the employees to organize peacefully without disrupting the process. I feel the same way as you, we do desperately need the help. I don't know what the answer is. I'm just not jumping on the Bash Perez bandwagon I guess. I think he's doing a great job overall and that he has done more to promote business in the city than to hinder it.

I think what we all have to hope for is that these first projects are a success and Hartford will merrit further investment. Once people start making money here, we won't have to entice anybody. If the projects aren't gonna work, well then we're pretty much screwed anyway.

[ctman987]

Just for kicks does anyone know if the labor peace agreement is actually only for the construction phase and not for operatins. It seems to me really sad that we cannot even have rules that are written out that are plain in simple that say yes there has to be labor peace in only the construction phase or only in the operations phase or whatever. All rules and regulations in the city need to be set out plain and simple and understood by all and I am sure there are more procedures, rules, etc. that need to get straightned out in other operations of the city

[JimSawhill]

Theres definately truth in that. And for the record I am not a Union supporter. I am neutral as I have very little experience with unions anyway. I just feel that Perez has the obligation to go to bat for city residents when their jobs are on the line. As for the Marriott and Convention Center, I just don't feel that Perez is endorsing the Union. He just wants them to sign the "labor peace" agreement.

From the Hartford Courant:

at issue is a dispute between the city and Waterford. The city contends that Waterford must sign the "labor peace" agreement, because Waterford has a tax-fixing agreement worth between $15 million and $25 million over several years. Projects that get city money are subject to city ordinances mandating labor peace.

"I believe strongly in the workers' rights to organize, and they shouldn't be intimidated," Perez said. "They should follow the law."

Perez added that he has "no indication" that Waterford intimidates its employees who are considering unionizing.

"That's clear," he said. But it also isn't the point, he said. "You either have labor peace or you don't. And once you don't, you're in violation of the ordinance."

The union won't cite specific examples of employee intimidation by the employer, but Dugdale did point to wording in the convention center's employee handbook that he says threatens workers who speak publicly or to each other about working conditions. Such wording is illegal, Dugdale said, and the handbook is now the subject of a complaint with the NLRB filed earlier this week.

Courant Article

It seems to me like all Waterford has to do is sign the damn agreement and this would be done with. The city says the are required to do so and that is why the Mayor is involved. I don't think the agreement would push workers towards one union over another anyway, so I think some of the fears and claims are off base. It's the law and it's a city ordinance. Now we can debate whether that should be so, but as I understand it, Waterford is violating the law of the City of Hartford until they sign it. They should not be allowed to do that, nobody should.

Tycoon:

Ok. I see what you are saying. If Waterford did agree to union concessions -- yes, let them talk about organizing. However, if Waterford treats their employees nicely -- maybe they won't UNIONIZE. If you ever had to do a show in New York, you can't put a wheel on a boat trailer without the unionn getting involved. Then the union wants US to tip them. I been to the NY Boat show --was an exhibitor at MSG and at Jacob Javitts, and if wanted to move a potted plant (silk) or move a lamp (that you bought from your business) you had to call the union.

I hope it won't be like that in Hartford. I just hope Waterford and Hartford will discuss it -- and hopefully, the employees won't be harassed by the union -- and Waterford should not harass them if they are talking about unionizing.

I helped a friend in at a boat show in Tampa... the center's employees were helpful, but you could do things for yourself. The place was unionized, but they were mostly there to help with lighting. Rugs were put down by us and our plants were placed by us.

JimS

[beerbeer]

Courant article today on Connecticut Democrats boycotting. Anyone who didn't know how far in the union pockets the Dems are, now has proof.

[drc72]

Courant article today on Connecticut Democrats boycotting. Anyone who didn't know how far in the union pockets the Dems are, now has proof.

Way go Dems! I see you guys are really into helping Hartford out.

[beerbeer]

Hartford is just starting to put itself on the map on a national level as a legitimate convention center site, he added.

[grock]

The unions are the reasons ING is moving to Windsor, WFSB is moving to Rocky Hill. In order to get tax breaks the city required the use union labor to build. Windsor and Rocky Hill offered tax breaks without that union requirement.

[HartfordTycoon]

Yeah, that's all total BS. Unite here is full of it. I know I've supported having Waterford sign the labor peace, but Unite Here is nothing but bad news. I give the city officials the benefit of the doubt, but this is stupid and completely self destructive.

[damus]

The unions are the reasons ING is moving to Windsor, WFSB is moving to Rocky Hill. In order to get tax breaks the city required the use union labor to build. Windsor and Rocky Hill offered tax breaks without that union requirement.

I hate that. Especially the symbolic damage that WFSB is going to do. In Providence NONE of the TV stations have a studio in the city. What's wrong with the WFSB studios downtown? Are 61 and 8 at least still in the cities?

[ctman987]

I hate that. Especially the symbolic damage that WFSB is going to do. In Providence NONE of the TV stations have a studio in the city. What's wrong with the WFSB studios downtown? Are 61 and 8 at least still in the cities?

Fox 61 is still at the Stilts Building in Downtown Hartford and Chanel 8- the New Haven news station I believe is still in New Haven and there is a Studio on the Green for NBC30 in New Haven

Unite Here is nothing but trouble. I have been on their website which is full of links of hotels to boycott, hotels to support and lists when hotels contracts are up and gives links to sites that provide on info on how bad a hotel is (meaning fully boycott it, semi boycott, its fine - has a Unite Here union then). These conventioners when they are in the city will most definitly leave Adriaens Landing and head up by the civic center and beyond fueling money into those numerous family and locally operated establishments as was done witht the Women of Faith Convention in October, 2005. United Here and other orginazations calling for a boycott do not get they are harming the people they are trying to help. If there is a boycott there are not conventions and meetings being held at Adriaens Landing and there is no work for these employees and then no reason for them to be on staff.

[drc72]

I hate that. Especially the symbolic damage that WFSB is going to do. In Providence NONE of the TV stations have a studio in the city. What's wrong with the WFSB studios downtown? Are 61 and 8 at least still in the cities?

61 is still at the Stilts building, and Channel 8 is located in New Haven but they have a satelite studio at 10 Columbus BLVD in Hartford. Channel 30 would be a nice fit for WFSB's old location.

The unions are the reasons ING is moving to Windsor, WFSB is moving to Rocky Hill. In order to get tax breaks the city required the use union labor to build. Windsor and Rocky Hill offered tax breaks without that union requirement.

I'm sorry to say, but if the unions continue to pull this BS, then Hartford is gonna have an even tougher time attracting new companies. There could of been 3 conventions bringing thousands of people, but the 3 conventioners decided to back out because of the union politics. Drive away potential business, when Hartford really needs it most. Really smart!!!Unbelievable!!!!!

[Luca Brasi]

Unions are self-serving and this proves it. They could care less about Hartford and are only interested in strong arming themselves into a position that benefits them.

This clown Dugdale acts like he's doing everyone a favor by informing potential conventions that there may be pickett lines and demonstrations. He is such the good samaritan....

[drc72]

Unions are self-serving and this proves it. They could care less about Hartford and are only interested in strong arming themselves into a position that benefits them.

This clown Dugdale acts like he's doing everyone a favor by informing potential conventions that there may be pickett lines and demonstrations. He is such the good samaritan....

I'm really starting to believe Eddie Perez is bad for Hartford. I think he just cares about himself and getting the union vote. I know you hardcore Democrat's don't want to hear that, but it's the truth. What Hartford really needs is a strong mayor that is willing to stand up for the city, instead of worrying about his own political career. It's time Eddie got voted out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ctman987]

I used to be a big supporter of Mayor Perez but recently my support has gone downhill for him and this issue at Adriaens Landing has not helped. I dont what the mayor doesn't get about the ripple affect this boycott/ cancellation of meetings means for the ENTIRE city. There will be less visitors around the entire city because people will leave Adriaens Landing if they are there in the first place. If these visitors are not brought in then on those dates when there are not all these people living downtown yet the many city residents who work at establishments downtown as well as Adriaens Landing will have nobody there, these businesses will lose money, lets just hope they can stay open.

[beerbeer]

Apparently their goal is to drive ING out of the state.

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctlab...headlines-local

More proof that union leaders only care about their own power and not the workers.

[ctman987]

I read the article this morning and I am outraged. ING has already decided to leave the city of Hartford and head to community with less restricitions. At least they didn't head to another area of the country like many other countries. Now they are being lambasted by this union and hopefully they will stay and keep these 2,000 crucial high paying jobs in CT. Because of this Hilary Clinton has decided not to speak at tonight's event downtown and it would have been nice to have a US Senator and former first lady visit Hartford and see how the city is changing but no that's ok we will just harass the companies that are keeping high paying jobs in CT.

[HartfordTycoon]

This is completely outrageous. The Unions are burning their bridges in the community. Hopefully Eddie sees the damage they are doing. This issue is completely different from the labor peace agreement with Waterford. It really sucks that they drove Hillary away. The Unions don't care about either party, only themselves. That's why I'm not a union supporter. I do still support Eddie Perez and the government of the city of Hartford. But they need to grow some balls quick. How come he can scare the hell out of the entire CT Legislature, but he can't tell the Unions to F*** Off?

[ctman987]

It is just crazy that this event is being protested because ING ...WAS the supporter before they pulled out. The event is for the Connecticut Association for United Spanish Action an advocacy group which I am going to safely assume advocates for thousands of Hispanics living in cities like Hartford, New Haven, Willimantic, Waterbury, Bridgeport, etc. By protesting they are hurting this advocacy group which is now stuck in the middle because one of the companies that decided to move jobs into CT before and keep them here has decided to sponsor their event....now their getting hurt...and their keyknown speaker wont be there.

[drc72]

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!! That's all I got to say.