On Thursday A
pril 14th, more than 50 protesters gathered in Quincy at the Marina Bay Residences, a Callahan, Inc. project owned by Texas-based developer Hines. The protesters carried banners and signs claiming that Callahan does not pay area standard wages and benefits, and that they support tax and insurance fraud (left). Many of Callahan’s regular subcontractors have records of wage theft, lawsuits, and other violations.
Just days after the first rally, 100 people gathered outside Callahan’s Assembly Row project in Somerville (left). Protesters marched through Assembly Square, handing flyers to shoppers and pedestrians educating them about Callahan’s business practices. Union carpenters, other tradespeople, and community members then heard speeches from Somerville Aldermen Mark Niedergang (Ward 5) and Matt McLaughlin (Ward 1, which covers the project).
“It’s not acceptable when the city, the state, and the federal government provide subsidies to developers, [and] those developers go and hire contractors like Callahan. We know about their illegal and unethical practices, said Alderman Niedergang (right).
Niedergang and McLaughlin also criticized Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT), owner of the Assembly Row parcel. The Somerville Board of Aldermen passed a unanimous resolution last January urging FRIT to hire local residents and use union labor. FRIT ignored the request, despite substantial tax breaks and investments from the city. “I’m here about the jobs, and I’m here about the homes. And if you’re not delivering on those two things, we need to reconsider our relationship with these people,” said Alderman McLaughlin, speaking about FRIT (below).
Two days after the Somerville Rally there was a third protest, this time at The District in Burlington, where Callahan is constructing a hotel. There, 40 protesters again called into question the business practices of Callahan and their choice of subcontractors (below). Universal Drywall, who is set to do the drywall on this job, is currently being sued by the Attorney General’s office for illegal misclassification of workers as independent contractors.
It is clear that Callahan’s business practices are unacceptable to workers and community members, and that where Callahan is building, protests follow. For more about Callahan’s business practices, visit callahantruth.com.
