Potential Looms for First New York City-Wide Construction Strike in 80 Years

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11828/potential_looms_for_first_new_york_city-wide_construction_strike_in_80/

Late last week, hundreds of cement workers walked off the job at the World Trade Center Site and several other sites in protest of management association The Cement League’s demand that New York City’s cement workers take a 20 percent wage reduction on residential and hotel projects. The contract between 2,700 cement workers represented by Locals 6a, 18a and 20 of the Cement and Concrete Workers of New York and The Cement League had been expired for more than a month.

Walking off the job was a bold move to signal to management that workers were not going to tolerate a 20 percent wage cut. The move was particularly brave since the sites the workers were working at were covered by project labor agreements that outlaw strikes. Thus the strike was not officially sanctioned by the union leadership, in order to avoid any legal charges being filed against them.

The three-day walk-off strike at various sites around New York City was able to successfully bringing the management association back to the table. The two sides now have till August 16 to negotiate a new contract.

Workers are promising a new type of militancy, as NYC construction unions prepare for a showdown with management associations across the city, who are making demands for massive cuts to the various unions that work on construction sites. While union leaders will not publicly say if they will “walk off” again, the three-day walk-off was widely interpreted as a threat that, if issues were not resolved, there would be more work stoppages.

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expect large givebacks from its workers while continuing to increase the money it pays its CEO's.

Good on the workers! I hope they get what they want.

there are a lot of contractors going after fewer and fewer bids. That makes it more competitive and drives down profits. Naturally, the employer's first thought is to fuck the workers.