Re: Atlantic Wharf (formerly Russia Wharf)
A Newburyport woodworking firm is claiming that union interference has cost it a $3 million job at the under-construction Russia Wharf office building, on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
According to the Newburyport Daily News:
[Owner Mark Richey] said he was told the Carpenters Union had pressured the developer, Wellington Management LLC, into dumping Richey?s nonunionized business in favor of a higher-priced, union shop ?
Richey said his company was the pre-qualified bidder on the 33-story project, currently one of the biggest construction projects on the Boston skyline ?
Though Mark Richey Woodworking is a nonunion shop, it uses union carpenters to install its Boston work, Richey said, and pays the ?prevailing wage or better? for work, plus benefits. The prevailing wage is about $40 to $50 an hour, based on skill levels.
Although state legislators have promised to get involved, since it is a private company making its own business decisions, there is little that can be done, authorities said.
http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_343220746.html