Labor tiff: Teamsters
smell a rat at Lincoln site

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

A union labor dispute halted work on the Abraham Lincoln High School reconstruction project for about a half-day last week as a Teamsters local complained about non-union drivers on the job.
Members of Teamsters Local 470 arrived at the site, on Rowland Avenue near Ryan Avenue, early on June 26 after learning that materials suppliers on the job may be using non-union employees.
Specifically, two concrete companies hired by the $70 million project’s general contractor had non-union truck drivers, said Dennis Crean, president and business manager of Local 470.
Members of the local passed out informational fliers critical of Langhorne-based general contractor Thomas P. Carney Construction for awarding alleged no-bid contracts to the suppliers from outside the city. The Teamsters also displayed a giant inflatable rat on the back of a flatbed truck parked outside of the job site.
According to sources familiar with the dispute, they were waiting for one of the concrete trucks to show up. One arrived at about 7 the following morning, Crean said. At that time, Local 470, which does not represent any workers on the Lincoln job, picketed in protest.
After the concrete truck left, the union laid down its picket signs at about 9 a.m., Crean said.
Soon, building trades members on the site stopped working as a show of solidarity. Management closed the job site at about 11 a.m.
Work resumed the following morning, however, as the sides reached an agreement, according to Felecia Ward, a spokeswoman for the School District of Philadelphia. The school district awarded the Lincoln job to four primary contractors, including Carney, but not the subcontractors or suppliers.
Following a complaint by the Teamsters to the Philadelphia Area Labor Management Committee (PALM), the general contractor informed the school district’s project manager that the non-union drivers would be removed, Ward said.
The Northeast Times was unable to reach officials from Carney Construction or one of the two concrete supply companies for comment.
John Silvi, president of Chester County-based Silvi Concrete, said that he had not been notified of any labor complaints regarding his company’s role in the Lincoln project.
According to Ward, the Lincoln project is subject to a building trades agreement between the school district and 18 local building trades unions by which the district may award bids only to pre-qualified union contractors. The School Reform Commission approved the agreement on June 7, 2006.
Carney is on the list of qualified contractors. However, the list does not apply to sub-contractors and suppliers, Ward said.
Meanwhile, the Teamsters local leader claims that at least three union suppliers from Philadelphia are willing to perform the same work as the existing concrete suppliers at the same cost.
Crean added that Local 470 has "no problem" with Carney Construction, though it does oppose its use of "non-union suppliers."
Ward said that the district has not calculated the financial impact of the work stoppage on the project. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com