Carpenters Local Union 505
alleges the University of
California is party to the improper awarding of a
taxpayer-funded project at UC Santa Cruz in direct violation of
state regulations
SANTA
CRUZ, Calif., July 15,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A construction labor union is
taking the Regents of the University of
California to court for awarding a $120 million UC Santa Cruz student housing
project to contractor W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal, which
allegedly omitted damaging details from their bid for
the project. Those details included the tragic recent death of a
worker on its parent company's project in Los Angeles, an incident that the company was
required to disclose per the University's official bidding
instructions.
According to Carpenters Local Union 505, the University of California failed to hold W.E. O'Neil
Construction Co. of NorCal accountable for a number of serious bid
form omissions. In addition to the worker death – which is
currently being litigated against W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of
NorCal's parent company, W.E. O'Neil of Construction Co. of
California, in Los Angeles
Superior Court – details from the lawsuit filed on July 10 show that W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of
NorCal failed to disclose to the University that its parent company
is the subject of a range of other serious lawsuits.
Exhibits to Local 505's lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in
Santa Cruz, also reveal W.E.
O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal's plan to use a subcontractor –
ADCO Drywall – that has been the subject of substantial wage theft
settlements in lawsuits brought by workers.
Local 505 repeatedly made complaints about W.E. O'Neil
Construction Co. of NorCal's bid before the awarding of the
contract, but University administrators and the Regents rejected
these complaints, deciding to ignore the many deficiencies in the
bid, despite their gravity and noncompliance with the University's
own bidding instructions.
"This bid was duplicitous from the outset," said Doug Chesshire, Senior Field Representative for
the Nor Cal Carpenters Local Union 505. "The UC Regents should
be ashamed of being party to this attempt by W.E. O'Neil
Construction Co. of NorCal to unfairly capture a lucrative state
contract."
The Student Housing West Phase 1—Hagar Development project's
budget, funded almost entirely by California taxpayers, is more than
$120 million for the construction of
140 housing units and a childcare center on 17 acres of the UC
Santa Cruz campus. The lawsuit asks the court to halt all work on
the project, and direct the UC Regents to cancel the improper
contract and select a qualified contractor instead.
"This project to provide much-needed housing for Santa Cruz students should also provide good,
safe jobs for workers in Santa
Cruz – and with a contractor that cares about safety and
plays by the rules," Chesshire said. "Workers should not be put at
risk so that a company can enrich itself on a public project, and
the Regents should not put themselves at risk by allowing a project
with such a flawed bidding process."
About the Nor Cal Carpenters Union
The Nor Cal
Carpenters' Union has an unwavering commitment to helping
carpenters improve their lives, their futures, and their trade. It
represents 22 local unions of more than 36,500 members and 6,395
apprentices. For more information, visit
www.norcalcarpenters.org.
Contact: Haley Murphy, Singer
Associates
Phone: 707-815-8909
Email:
haley@singersf.com
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/labor-union-sues-university-of-california-for-awarding-120-000-000-contract-to-company-that-covered-up-workers-death-302197413.html
SOURCE Nor Cal Carpenters Union