Your Stories, Your City
Yes, it's possible that we at Union-Built Matters are biased. But to judge from your letters, so are you, New Yorkers. You love unions and want them to lead in the construction of our city.
New Yorkers will share their opinions. This past year many of them sent us letters and sent us messages on social media. We heard from both union and non-union workers. And we heard from New Yorkers who fear for the future of our city as more big construction projects are awarded to non-union contractors.
The overwhelming summary of these letters is very clear: New Yorkers want unions to build their city. Below are some excerpts from those communications.
Non-union Workers
We’ve succeeded in reaching a very broad audience of New Yorkers, and that includes non-union workers and their families, who support what Union-Built Matters stands for. Some of these letters are heart-breaking in their pleas for help.
“Please help my husband”
“My husband been [a] sheetrocker in New York. 25 years. Every year [the] company he work for they work him more and more. Do he get more pay? Do he get more time [off]? More benefit? NO. He get nothing more for all the time he give to them. His pay exact same as when he start. And he in pain now all [the] time. It hard to stand up now. But every day he go to work to take care of [his] family. Every day the neck and back get worse. I [am] worried for him. His company don’t care at all. This [is] no way to live.”
“My boss told me to lie to inspectors”
“An inspector came to look at the concrete and rebar we did on the floor. This is a big building. High rise. But we were told by the manager on that job to use [only] so many rebar in the floor. I guess there were supposed to be more rebar he told us use less. The cement was still wet. The manager said to take a long rebar and stick it into the cement. Maybe this would fool the inspector. If the inspector asked about the rebar, the manager told me to say we used the right amount.”
“I never see that guy again”
“I was on a job where a co-worker was buried under a wall that caved on him. His leg was hurt bad. We called the foreman for help but he wasn’t around. We called the building manager and he said to move the guy to where an ambulance could get him. So we did. But nobody called an ambulance. We didn’t know that. So we called. It took hours to get that guy help. He was here from Central America. Had a family. We put him in that ambulance and I never see that guy again.”
"I’m very worried that so much of that work is being done by the less-regulated and less-trained non-union sector. "
Union Workers
Whatever their trade, union men and women share a commitment to doing great work, and to building the world’s greatest city.
Union Way. The Only Way.
“Before I joined a union I spent 7 years in non-union. It was hell. Because the people running those jobs don’t see you as a human being. You’re a cog on their machine. I saw workers break, get injured. And they were just tossed. New replacements brought in the next day. No experience. Just another part of the machine. In the union (I’m in Local 20) we’re treated with respect. We’re trained. Our careers and our safety matter.”
“I show my children what I’m building”
“I’ve been a union concrete worker in New York for 13 years. It’s an important part of who I am. Being in the union has given me a safe job with good pay so I can finance my family here. Before I was in the union I worked at dangerous job sites and for sporadic pay. Sometimes I didn’t even get paid. But now I’m proud of the work I do. On days off I will drive my kids around and show the buildings I contributed to and tell them, ‘Look what daddy is doing. I’m helping to build this city.”
New Yorkers
We also hear from people who are not in the industry but who recognize its importance in how we live. Some of them are city managers, some are politicians. But most are everyday citizens who just care about New York.
“I’m afraid for the future”
“I have read so much about the shoddy work that non-union contractors do on buildings here. That news is everywhere. And there just aren’t enough inspectors and laws to keep these guys honest. But they keep getting hired to build. It’s frightening. What kind of buildings are they putting up? What’s in store for our city?”
“We want unions”
“I’ve lived in New York City most of my life. I’ve been surprised to see the explosion of building that has happened here over the past 10 – 15 years. Cranes are everywhere you look. The skyline has changed a lot. And I’m very worried that so much of that work is being done by the less-regulated, less-trained non-union sector. I believe that unions put safety and quality first, but non-union contractors put dollars first. When it comes to the future of New York buildings, we want unions to make them.”
What About You?
How important is it to you that the buildings you live, work, shop and recreate in are built by New York's best-in-class construction unions? Do you have an opinion? We want to hear it.
How Are We Doing?
We need to know if we're changing the way you think about New York City construction.