ABC to Gov. Cuomo: Talk with the Experts, Not Just Donors

Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 3, 2016 – Leadership of the Associated Builders & Contractors, Empire State Chapter (ABC), called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to visit with merit shop (open shop) leaders while he is in Florida attending the Building & Constructions Trade Council of Greater New York winter conference.

“It’s unfortunate that once again Governor Cuomo chose to only speak with the New York Building Trades and not the entire construction community,” said Brian Sampson, President of the ABC Empire Chapter. Sampson was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, attending the ABC National Workforce Week. The conference is an annual celebration of the best in merit shop construction, recognizing the contributions of contractors and craft professionals to the construction industry.

“Just down the street from him in Fort Lauderdale are some of the greatest minds and workers of the merit shop community are celebrating their commitment to their craft and workforce development. But they won’t see Governor Cuomo.”

“Instead, we’re confident the Governor will once again pledge his undying commitment to building everything in New York using only union labor. Apparently state bidding laws, which the Governor knowingly and willingly manipulates to benefit his donors, only exist to discriminate against the more than 70% of construction workers that choose not to join a union,” added Sampson.

In his remarks, Sampson noted that the governor’s signature projects, like the SolarCity factory in Buffalo, are under federal investigation and also have in place a union-only construction project labor agreement.

“It’s long past due for the Governor of New York to do his job and represent all of the citizens of this great state and not just that fit his political narrative. It’s time that he follows the laws of this state so that we don’t see more embarrassing investigations like those tied to SUNY Poly and other state funded projects.”