Unemployed Union Members Picket Kohl’s Construction in Henrietta

Unemployed Union Members Picket Kohl’s Construction in Henrietta

If you’ve traveled down West Henrietta rd. recently you may have noticed a construction project at the corner of Jefferson. If you were there during the past three days you probably noticed a group of union carpenters on the sidewalk picketing.



The construction project is one of three new Kohl's stores in the area. The other two, in Fayetteville, and Liverpool, are scheduled for grand opening in April 2004. Kohl’s contracted the drywall for this particular project to a company called Gypsum Systems. Of course the contract was won for the lowest bid, but the union says that the bids were extremely close and Gypsum only undercut them because “Gypsum does not pay wages and fringe benefits established in this area by the Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters.”



Gypsum Systems was one of the two beneficiaries for the Governor's Office for Small Cities (GOSC) Community Development Program economic development grant which brought over one million dollars to Ontario and Livingston counties. The program created 200 new jobs, but unfortunately it appears that the jobs created were low wage non-union jobs. Gypsum’s parent company, Mader Construction was found guilty of unfair labor practices in 1989.



The group of unemployed workers has been picketing for five to six hours a day since April 19th and plans to continue until the construction is complete. Attempts by the union to contact Kohl’s regarding this issue have been met with unreturned phone calls. Both Kohl's and Gypsum have refused to comment. The corporate media has yet to cover the picket.



The real problem, though, goes deeper than one project, one company or one contract. The real problem, as union member Dean Lopiano put it, is that there are “a very few people making a ton of money and a lot of people making crap.”



What can we do to help? David Alexander, Council Representative for Rochester Local 85 urges us to “keep supporting local people for local jobs, especially local companies that pay a living wage, [provide] health insurance and retirement funds.”



So the next time you pass the picket show your support, or better yet stop and stand in solidarity with these women and men fighting for a better deal.