Activists disagree on union benefits of apprenticeships on affordable housing projects
When the de Blasio administration agreed to study ways to house lower-income families and incorporate job standards in the mayor’s two citywide rezoning proposals, the Real Affordability for All coalition over the weekend abruptly dropped its opposition to the plans.
But the Greater New York Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust, another group that had joined forces with RAFA in raising questions about the administration’s plans, wasn’t so quick to embrace the proposals, waiting until Tuesday to issue a statement of support.
RAFA, which includes community organizations, housing activists and construction union members, was one of several supporters who signed onto a second coalition started by the Greater New York LECET called Building Blocks NYC. As a labor management fund, Greater New York LECET advocates for unions and contractors that use them.
Before the New York City Council reached an agreement with the administration Monday on several changes aimed at increasing affordability, groups involved with both coalitions spent weeks prodding New York City officials to take steps to encourage the use of unionized firms in the construction of such sites. RAFA and Building Blocks NYC also raised concerns about gentrification, calling for the target income levels to be lowered.
But RAFA and the Greater New York LECET appear to disagree on the impact of one of their central shared goals: mandating that construction sites incorporate state-approved apprenticeship programs and include provisions that give preference to hiring local workers.
RAFA Campaign Director Maritza Silva-Farrell described the use of apprenticeship programs as a step toward compelling the use of organized labor on construction sites. Thus, Silva-Farrell said, Real Affordability for All was pleased the de Blasio administration agreed to study ways to incorporate a unionized workforce and reach lower-income families in its housing plan.
“Through the study, (we’ll) see … how we can incorporate local hiring and certified-apprenticeship utilization so that members of the community can be hired to get into construction jobs, and when we say, certified-apprenticeship utilization, that is also for union construction jobs,” she said. “That is sort of a pathway to a union job.”
The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York referred comment requests to RAFA. The council has previously pushed a plan that would involve hiring local residents for apprenticeship spots, which would provide these individuals with training and a chance to work toward joining a union, while also allowing the unions to build at cheaper rates than normal.
But when asked about the administration’s description of the training programs’ bolstering union contracts, Pat Purcell, executive director of the Greater New York LECET, told City & State about two weeks ago that it was inaccurate to describe the state-approved apprenticeship program as something that would dramatically bolster the use of organized labor.
“For them to put that spin on it is incredibly, incredibly disingenuous and incorrect,” Purcell said at the time, noting that any firm that agrees to meet certain state standards can be certified to run an apprenticeship program. “There’s currently – I believe the number that I got today – was 153 non-union construction companies that have state-registered apprenticeship programs. … The issue that the other side has, quite honestly, is they don’t want to participate in anything that will allow the state to regulate what needs to be done to meet training and safety standards.”
Despite having a different interpretation of the policy at hand, Greater New York LECET said it supported the planned study.
“We look forward to helping shape the parameters and methodology of the feasibility study,” Purcell said in a statement. “We are confident that it will demonstrate that there is a perfectly legal approach to incorporating state-sanctioned apprenticeship requirements and local hire programs for the communities covered in City Hall’s housing initiative.”
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that Pat Purcell was discussing the administration’s description of apprenticeship programs rather than the Real Affordability for All’s description or any other group’s.