After seeing a story that came across Labourstart about a Philly suburb's new shopping center being picketed by union construction workers I ventured to the web page at PhillyBurbs.com , unfortunately I know almost nothing about the Non-Union contractor in question but what I did see was the typical anti-union sentiment that is in the main stream mind, the all unions are bad idea that the anti-union lobby forces down our throats. I by no way am saying that all unions are good, but that in fact there is no generalization anyone can make about all or none. I sat and thought about it for a while and came up with the only response I could, one based solely on factual evidence. My only hope is that anyone who reads it will just open their minds a little and maybe even read more about it and hopefully get themselves here and explain why they have that point of view. Were they burned by a union, is it something they read or is it blind ignorance?

All I know is that any way the sentiment got there it should be discussed and maybe, just maybe we can start to discuss what we have in common and open our minds to each others opinions.

The story from

Union picketing construction site in Cinnaminson

By TODD MCHALE
Burlington County Times

CINNAMINSON — Picketers and, on occasion, a giant inflatable rat have become a daily part of the scene at the Shoppes at Cinnaminson construction site.

Joe Pillo, organizer for the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 5, said union members organized the daily pickets and display of the giant rat to let the public know that a good part of the construction work at the more than 300,000-square-foot shopping center is being done by non-union workers.

“They're undermining the worker,” Pillo said of the contractor now constructing several of the buildings in the shopping center.

“When you have a contractor who hires workers under substandard wages and conditions, we have an obligation to picket,” Pillo said.

He said the bank pad sites at the shopping center were built with union workers, so he doesn't understand why other buildings are not.

“They're paying below area standards when it comes to wages and benefits,” Pillo said. “It makes it difficult for (union) workers who live in the area to feed, cloth and educate their families.”

He said he believes the work being done is “substandard.”

However, Tim Aglialoro, president of Ben-Mar Construction Co. of Waterford Works, Camden County, disputes all the union's claims.

“This is our 51st year in business and we've never been union,” Aglialoro said. “It's not about being union. It's about the work, and we do beautiful work.”

He said if a union contractor had put in lower bids for other sections of the center as one did for the bank sites, it probably would have landed the project.

As for his workers, Aglialoro said he hasn't heard any complaints from them about not being union.

“Nobody works for me that doesn't want to be here,” Aglialoro said. “I've got guys that have worked for the company for 15 years. I don't think they would be here that long if it was that bad.”

He said his company does offer a benefit plan to its workers.

Regardless, Pillo said he believes non-union contractors like Ben-Mar are the reason why workers face lower wages and dwindling benefit packages these days.

“The best scenario is to bring this to light...,” Pillo said.

Some comments

" Nobody Should Be Forced Into Hiring Union Labor. The Only Thing The Union Bosses Are Concerned About Is Themselves Making Sure They Get Their Dues From The Union Worker"

"dont insult the readers intelligence by making it sound like all the union is doing is looking out for the " little guy". That was the ideal at the inception of unions many years ago.That no longer is true for unions, you dont think all that " protection and caring" is free do you? Spin it anyway you like ....its all just bussiness. Dont blame everyone else for union greed."

"Unions serve a purpose but in my experience they also encourage poor work standards."

"(unions)are forceing companines out of busness and driving up the cost of living on the old &disabled on a fixed income"

"I have a hard time showing pitty when I commonly see 20 union guys standing around 1 guy working each making $50+ an hour....Its funny because even when the union "protests" they do it half @ss....I see them with a little sign you can't read, sitting around a cooler with thier feet up EXPECTING to get paid. He who works hardest will win..."

Heres my response:

I don't know exactly what nonunion construction companies do in the Philly burbs, but if they are anywhere near as unscrupulous as a majority of nonunion contractors here in New York you guys have a real problem and it should be brought to the attention of the general public.

Currently we have a large percentage of contractors (aprox. 1/4 of all current construction in NY has employees that work off the books or are misclassified as independent contractors) here who pay their undocumented employees below the minimum wage and misclassifying them as independent contractors. Entitling them to let the "employee' bear the burden of making sure his taxes are being payed, workers comp insurance is in place, supply their own safety equipment and working conditions.In fact in the year ending 2006 according to the New York Times a construction worker in NY that was nonunion was 500% more likely to die at work.

Currently our Building and Construction Unions, local politicians from a bipartisan background and a host of other agencies, like the Brennan center for Justice and the Fiscal Policy Institute have been bringing to light the reckless behavior of these unscrupulous contractors, their safety violations, their shotty and dangerous work, their unskilled workers, the slave wages(according to the Brennan report some are forced to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for $6-$12 an hour), the public safety concern, the nonpayment by employer of taxes for said employees(in fact 2 construction companies are facing jail time(NY Newsday reported one for $220,000 and another $394,788 in evading employee taxes), The Governor himself has declared an Executive order to end this misclassification of workers, this doesn't even mention the tax burden these contractors push off onto the general public and those contractors who(according to Fiscal Policy Institute) cost workers lost wages and benefits and local, state and federal governments nearly $500 million in 2005.
When one of these 50,000+ workers gets sick and winds up in the hospital who do you think winds up paying for that? We do.Who winds up paying for their kids schooling, the upkeep of our infrastructure, our public employees wages? the list goes on. What is the cost to us for the lowest bid?

Now I don't know Ben-Mar from a hole in the wall, if he has employee benefits, fair wages, legal workers, has his employees pay taxes through payroll deductions, ensure that all his workers have the proper safety equipment, etc., if thats the case hes better than most of the NY nonunion contractors.
Here in NY when a bid comes out the unscrupulous contractors have a very unfair edge against those that play by the rules of law and are robbing the public and their own employees. This is a fact.

To those that have posted before that say the problems with unions, they don't care and whoever works hardest, etc I beg you to please open your eyes and read a little more about the subject. I work as a graduate apprentice union construction worker and in my field if you sit on your ass, do shotty work or are in violation of safety codes you harm your employer and will most likely be out of work. Without contractors who employ us we don't work. In return we have wages and fringes which our forefathers fought hard for.

Please don't tell me that what I dedicate myself to being a part of is only to benefit a small few, when the truth is that when union workers fight for something, be it better conditions, safety concerns, better wages, higher training, better building codes and a fair and level bidding playing field for our hometown workers, we fight for all workers in the construction industry. The current state of affairs has set our industry back over 100 years and when you talk about "the only person that someone cares about" please think of those contractors that continuously break the laws for the higher profits of a very few.

Thanks for reading if you want to read more in depth and express your opinions about these and many other issues in the modern labor movement and socio-political issues that affect all of us please drop by the website is co-administer www.unionreview.com and please understand that we really want to hear from workers in all fields, union or nonunion makes no difference, because life is getting harder for all American workers and the more divided we become the easier we are to be taken advantage of. We all need to start to communicate our needs, see opposing views and get down to the bottom of what we as Americans need to do to assure that our children have an opportunity to have a decent job, be able to raise their own families and one day retire like the generations before us.

Methinks maybe the owner of Ben-Mar and a few friends got onto the PC and had a field day