IBEW Local 38 pickets Euclid Amazon project

In early October, members of IBEW Local 38 picketed outside the Amazon fulfillment center project in Euclid.Roughly 40 members of Local 38 stood outside the Amazon building on Oct. 8 alerting the public that the conveyor portion of the construction project is being done by non-union workers.According to Local 38 Business Manager Dennis Meaney, Intelligrated, the conveyor company, claimed there was too big a difference in bids between union and non-union contractors, and the difference led them to hire a non-union electrical/mechanical shop from Memphis, Tenn., to perform the work.Meaney estimates about 350 jobs were lost to the non-union sector, which includes electricians, pipefitters and millwrights on this part of the project. Until now, union members were performing nearly all the construction work at the Euclid Amazon fulfillment center.Additionally, a non-union contractor from Louisiana will perform the voice-data-video work.Up to this point, the Amazon project had provided jobs to 80 members of Local 38, who were doing a variety of work including power for the building, general lighting, fire alarm and temperature control.“I believe this is nothing more than corporate greed,” said Meaney, of the decision to go non-union.“Intelligrated is bringing people in from out of the area and will not pay them area wages and standards,” he said. “The non-union people working on the site said they were getting no healthcare and no pension, so they are working for less than half of what we have established under our contracts for this area.”Meaney said Local 38 had the support of all the other Local unions affiliated with the Cleveland Building Trades.