Opinion: Building New York out of the pandemic means supporting union labor
Crain’s New York Business
Joseph Geiger
Joseph Geiger, the executive secretary-treasurer of the New York City District Council of Carpenters, wrote an op-ed for Crain’s New York Business on the benefits of unions and union labor amid a public health emergency and economic downturn. Geiger wrote that because unions are meant to protect the interests of their workers, they were better equipped to respond to COVID-19 and creating better, safer working conditions for their members. “I strongly believe that New York can build its way out of the pandemic. That can only be done, however, by using a unionized workforce–our history and experience in the city and across the country proves it,” wrote Geiger. Large developers are shifting to open-shop models, which, according to Geiger, are exploiting workers. “Now more than ever, we can’t have developers or contractors who cheat the working class, and the District Council of Carpenters is dedicated to ending this unjust reign within the industry,” wrote Geiger. Geiger believes that supporting unionized labor is important to the economic recovery of New York.
Read full article here.