Union spokesman: Pointe ‘got what it paid for’ in construction

A local union spokesman claims The Pointe at SIU Developers, LLC paid non-union workers less than half the standard wage during construction of its apartment buildings, but officials from The Pointe said they simply hired the best people for the job.
Norm Winters, business agent and recording secretary for Operators Local 318, said he organized picket lines outside Pointe sites earlier this year when he learned tradesmen on the job were being paid approximately $23 less per hour than the area’s standard wages.
“We had contractors in there that were paying their employees below our area standards as operating engineers,” Winters said.
Winters, whose union represents operating engineers in the lower 14 counties of Illinois, said the wages set by the Egyptian Builders Association are $43.95 per hour, but workers at the Pointe were being paid $20.
Winters said he did not speak with any of the employees on the job.
He said his union contacted The Pointe for the job, but owner Chris Creek wasn’t interested.
Angie Jackson, director of operations for The Pointe, said the union was picketing because the developer didn’t use union work exclusively, but Winters said he was only protesting the substandard wages.
“We never picketed (about the work) being non-union,” Winters said.
Jackson said The Pointe went with the bids that were brought to them and wanted to hire the best people for the job.
“If the company wanted the job, it was up to them to decide how much they wanted to pay for the job,” she said. “Whether that company uses union (work) or not, that doesn’t matter. It’s about getting the job done well.”
Winters said he learned The Pointe brought in workers from outside the area as well.
“What we like to see is local people go to work,” he said. “We want to see ... people in our areas pay taxes for hospitals and schools. And the only way they get to pay those taxes and earn money for their family is … to go to work.”
Jackson said The Pointe used mostly local subcontractors for its buildings.
Winters also said between eight and 12 residents approached his picket lines with various complaints about problems in the existing Pointe buildings.
An Oct. 16 article in the Daily Egyptian highlighted complaints from Pointe residents about faulty appliances and electrical work, incomplete furnishings and a lack of promised amenities.
Jackson said some of those accusations are false, but admitted the developer could have been more proactive about informing residents of delayed construction of amenities such as tanning beds and basketball courts.
“There’s never going to be perfection,” she said. “You can build a brand-new house and something won’t work correctly ... We are in the process of doing everything we need to do. My goal is to make the people there happy.”
But Winters said the company didn’t hire quality craftsmen and got what it paid for.
“You don’t get a Cadillac for a Volkswagon price,” he said. 
Winters’ picket ended when the work of the operating engineers on the buildings was finished, he said.

Nick Johnson can be reached
 at 536-3311 ext. 263.