Related alleges BCTC union group using “thuggish tactics” at 50 Hudson Yards

This is the second time a Related subsidiary has sued the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York since March

From left: Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross, Hudson Yards, BCTC's April protest. (Credit: Related Companies, Becker747400/Wikimedia Commons, TRD)
From left: Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross, Hudson Yards, BCTC's April protest. (Credit: Related Companies, Becker747400/Wikimedia Commons, TRD)

Tire slashing, blocking entries to the site and other “thuggish tactics of yesteryear” abound at 50 Hudson Yards, according to a Related Companies’ subsidiary’s lawsuit.

The new allegations are part of the developer’s second lawsuit since March against the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, according to the New York Post. Related’s subsidiary alleges that 11 days after the first lawsuit, the union group began ordering the disruptive behavior began at 50 Hudson Yards.

Court documents allege that the BCTC ordered members to picket the project and refuse to deliver concrete–and union drivers “feared for their lives.” The Post reported that two concrete deliveries from Ferrara Bros. and affiliated suppliers were sent away.

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Back in March, the developer accused the union of inflating costs by over $100 million at Hudson Yards, in part, through labor policies where high-ranking members would be assigned jobs typically given to significantly junior members. As The Real Deal reported, the initial lawsuit was triggered by a dispute that stems from Related’s decision to hire open shop labor for 50 Hudson Yards and phase two of the development.

BCTC has been organizing protests in response to Related labor hiring for over a year. One of their protests in early April seemed to take on broader significance as The Real Deal noted that one union with a contract at Hudson Yards participated for the first time in order to advocate against anti-union sentiment.

BCTC spokesman Jordan Isenstadt told the Post that the developer’s “absurd claims are meant to tarnish the reputation of the Building Trades Council” and that the union group “vehemently” denies the lawsuit’s allegations. [NYP]Erin Hudson