Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 3, 1990 TAG: 9004030613
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The unions took their concerns to Roanoke City Council on Monday and showed a 20-minute video on a national campaign by several unions protesting B.E.& K., an Alabama-based company that reportedly owns F.N. Thompson, the general contractor for developer Henry Faison's building.
The video portrayed B.E.& K. as a union-busting and strike-breaking company that pays low wages with hazardous working conditions that have sparked protests in several cities.
Council members watched the video and listened to the unions' complaints, but took no action because the city wasn't involved in the selection of the contractor for Faison's building at Jefferson Street and Salem Avenue.
James Wright, business representative for United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local 319, estimated that up to 85 percent of the construction workers on Faison's building will come from out of Virginia.
"We don't see how this will help boost Roanoke's economy if workers come in from out of state, take their money and leave," Wright said.
Don Fitzgerald, a representative for the Plumbers and Steam Fitters Local 491, told council that the unions are concerned that F.N. Thompson, a Charlotte, N.C., company, was chosen as the general contractor without competitive bids.
Fitzgerald said there also will be no competitive bidding for much of the work by subcontractors.
Wright asked council how the city could spend millions of dollars for parking facilities in the proposed building without competitive bidding.
City Attorney Wilburn Dibling said the city isn't required to seek bids on the project because it doesn't have a contract with Thompson or any subcontractors. Dibling said the city will buy the parking facilities from Faison after the building has been finished.
He said there are no federal or state funds in the project that would require a public bidding process.
Tony Skillbeck, a vice president for Faison & Associates in Charlotte, said Monday that F.N. Thompson has constructed other buildings for Faison.
Thompson was chosen after a "selective bidding process," he said. Faison talked with several contractors and chose Thompson after obtaining bids from three companies, Skillbeck said.
Skillbeck said he couldn't comment on whether Thompson will bring in out-of-state workers. Thompson officials couldn't be reached for comment, but city officials said they understand that some subcontractors will be hired locally.
They said that several large city projects in the past have been built by contractors from outside the Roanoke Valley.
by CNB