A union representing workers at multiple Downtown Jersey City high-rises is demanding the developers pay the employees up to $500,000 that it says is owed to them.
Kevin Brown, New Jersey director of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 32BJ, said Ironstate and Panepinto, developers for high-rise buildings at 70 and 90 Columbus Drive, and Fisher Development, which build 33 Park, violated the standard wage ordinance” for tax-abated properties when they established the workers’ hourly wages.
The standard wage ordinance was enacted in 2012 and required that developers to pay service workers the standard wage and benefit rate at tax-abated sites. The formula for standard wage is 150% of the federal minimum wage plus a health care supplement. That came out to $13.97 per hour.
Brown said the developers were paying the state minimum wage since 2016, when it was $8.38 per hour. The minimum wage is now $13 an hour.
Union officials and workers, joined by city councilmembers James Solomon and Denise Ridley, demonstrated in front of the buildings Thursday afternoon. The union represents porters and cleaners at these high-rises.
Ironstate and Panepinto received a 5-year tax abatement for 90 Columbus Dr., a 50-story, 539-unit building; and a 10-year tax abatement for the 50-story tower at 70 Columbus Dr. A Marriot built nearby by the development partnership also received a tax abatement.
Default notices sent by the city regarding 90 Columbus and Fisher’s 33 Park said the...
A California lawmaker is suing Sacramento police for falsely accusing her of driving under the influence, saying the case may have been motivated by her tough-on-cops legislation or possibly becaus...