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Those life sciences companies who receive state grant money to expand may also receive unwanted attention from local unions that plan to protest publicly over what they claim are unfair pork barrel giveaways.
As an example, a half-dozen members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 103, based in Dorchester, picketed outside Framingham town hall on Oct. 31. They were protesting the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) board’s vote to award the town $5.2 million in grant money to expand its water and sewer infrastructure to support a planned expansion of Genzyme Corp.’s manufacturing operations. The cash had been provided by the state’s $1 billion Life Sciences Act, which became law last June.
Local unions are seizing on the fact that the state’s money will fund construction projects that use non-union help. The IBEW 103 is opposed to giving out state money to companies it alleges use contractors that don’t provide adequate compensation to construction workers. “This is a travesty,” said Lou Antonellis, the IBEW 103’s business agent for Framingham. It’s not just a struggle to get more union jobs, he claimed. Companies such as Genzyme, which benefit from the state’s largesse, hire contractors that don’t pay their workers the prevailing wage or provide them with adequate health care. “We don’t think these companies deserve a nickel,” he said.
The IBEW 103 isn’t protesting alone: the 75,000-person strong Massachusetts Building Trades Council, also based in Boston, has stated it will be a vocal opponent of such state awards. The council represents 74 locals in a mix of trades, including carpentry, bricklaying and iron working.
Genzyme and the unions disagree on Genzyme’s work with contractors and unions.
Company spokesman John Lacey said Genzyme has a long history of using union labor in its construction projects. Moreover, Genzyme closely analyzes the compensation of the workers its subcontractors hire to ensure the wages, vacation time, and health benefits are reasonable. “We have a good relationship with the unions we work with,” he said.
The MLSC, which oversees how the Life Sciences Act’s funds are spent, claims it has already reached out to labor. “We have opened a dialogue with the building trades to hear their concerns,” said MLSC spokesman Angus McQuilken in an e-mail. He said the center is committed to “fair business practices” as it continues to make targeted investments, such as the one in Framingham.
Still, the unions intend to keep protesting. “As long as taxpayers are funding corporate welfare,” said Antonellis, “we’re going to keep talking and telling people about it at the State House and at these biotech conferences.”
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