AIMCO MUST DEAL WITH THE COMMUNITY AND HELP THE WORKERS - NOW (7/11/08)
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Apartment Investment Management Company (AIMCO) must deal fairly or else it will face with the wrath of the community. AIMCO did wrong by the community by bringing in sub-contractors, playing hell with innocent mostly Blacks and Latino workers by contracting jobs to sub-contractors that with intent ripped off the workers of their salaries and peace of mind.
AIMCO must refrain from dealing with Bill Wong and folks like Linda Richardson who does not have the better interests of the workers and less the community. This over $100 million project linked to over 640 housing units demands some standards that have not been put in place. Citybuild touted as a model has failed miserably on the AIMCO project and we the community does not want to have anything to do with Citybuild - more with Rhonda Simmons.. AIMCO saved its skin by agreeing to terminate a couple of sub-contractors and giving the contract to Rubecon. Rubecon has established itself in the Bayview Hunters Point and came to the rescue of AIMCO - else AIMCO would be losing millions of dollar tied to its agreement with the State of California and the $73 million State Bond Loan. The $7 million HUD loan too. We, the community are fully cognizant of the fact of folks like Gary Banks, Keith Jackson, Arnold Townsend, Linda Richardson, and others. We are fully aware of Linda Richardson trying to earn some money on the side without doing anything of substance by trying to act as a Representative of Local Union 22 - a practice that must be shelved. I hope it learned its lesson from Bill Wong who did much bad then good. Rubecorn a General Contracting Company is just mending what has failed before and the good thing is that the workers that were fired are all back on the job. But, the workers on the job that were fired and did not work for months on end are all traumatized. Hence, bringing them back on the job is good but they are still victims of past injustices that must be addressed. They have scars that will time to heal. AIMCO through its lackey Fortney and Wygandt has been causing Rubecon problems even today. Sending our so called monitors, working for AIMCO, that photograph workers, intimidate workers by suggesting undue actions that are never forth coming, pretending to act like foremen, when in fact they are spies - in short plain interference. This nonsense must stop. We, the community are savvy but cannot interfere directly but we will do what it takes to save the workers from undue hardship. It is critical that the elements of the agreement be adhered to by all parties - that all workers are Union and that they get full representation - respected by all Unions and Management and of course Apartment Investment Management Company (AIMCO) a Denver, Colorado based entity that has a very poor track record in the Property Management business. On the part of all parties concerned only workers fit must be hired. We cannot afford to have workers that appear to suffer from permanent vertigo for example - work on the job. This is a safety problem. We, for sure should not permit workers that are prone to substance abuse and nothing short of mandatory and regular drug testing - is a must. Workers must represent the community and if Latinos, Whites, Blacks, Asians, Samoans, others - and so on from the community must be hired - that must be the order of the day. There must be some model executed on an emergency basis to address grievances - especially since some of the workers are affected from past trauma. Human beings are not machines and so when our Latino brothers were pitied one against the other with the Black brothers and sisters - the community as a whole - stepped in and wanted to address the situation with a holistic approach. The community is capable of addressing this situation for free but needs the blessing of all concerned. Behind the scene it is wrong for consultants to jump in and try to make money pretending that they are helping the workers. Such nonsense will not fly any more. We saw the thugs in Sacramento - some years ago and spoke up and we will speak up now. But, this time we want the thugs out of this operation - pretending to help the workers but in fact filling in their coffers. The AIMCO situation is complicated by one that must be understood by all. One track is a pending law suit that will determine the injustice meted-out by the fired sub - contractors that were fired. Also, AIMCO role as the management that compromised on standards with the workers and encouraged corruption - has compromised respect for AIMCO by the community at large. Some of us community members have spent hundreds of person hours to bring about a solution and the situation brings satisfaction that the workers are now working and can take bread and butter to their families. It also causes us pain to see the failure of certain protocols that have not been put in place and followed. It is imperative at short notice - proper protocols governing grievances and standard operating procedures on going jobs involving teams of workers be put in place. In some instances - an independent peer review is needed. First brain- storming, and then coming up with a fine-tuned procedure that works and finally an evaluation. There must be an organizational chart that spells out duties with standards governed by any Union and accepted by Management that should work for the best interest of the community linked to the AIMCO project at Bayview Hunters Point. AIMCO bears a responsibility to do right because for too long it has done wrong. Rubecon General Contracting Inc., has so far shown good faith and is working through the hurdles. We know this takes time and we look forward to remedy loop-holes, and faults in areas that hinder - progress. The community strives to work hard on a volunteer basis because we have put too much into this project - to let it down and wither on the vine. The community looks forward to working with Rubecon and its foremen and others in Management and out of management to build a sound rapport and take our on going relationship to the highest - level. |
