Buildings Owned By Union Collapse While LIUNA President Calls For "Rebuilding Infrastructure"
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 8.08
Watch this amazing video of the collapse last week of Hamilton's historic Balfour Building, owned by the Laborers' International Union of North America. Never was there a more blatant example of demolition by neglect; LIUNA promised that the facade would be preserved but "oops," the whole thing just fell down. LIUNA owns almost the entire block, and is letting it all fall to ruin. (see the Lister Block here).
Meanwhile, Terence O'Sullivan, General President of LIUNA, is making a major speech in Washington on Friday, May 9 calling for " a new plan for rebuilding and renewing America’s basic infrastructure."
What hypocrisy. What a blatant example of "Do as I say, not as I do."
Block of historic buildings in Hamilton mostly owned by LIUNA
LIUNA says in its press release for its "Build America So America Works" campaign that it "will be the most intensive and sustained effort ever to redirect the nation’s resources to taking care of America’s basics – it roadways, bridges, dams, railways, schoolhouses and other fundamentals the country depends on every day, but which have fallen into decay, lowering quality of life and weakening our economy."
and this is the way it treats the historic buildings it actually owns.
“America needs a new vision of what is acceptable and what is possible in caring for its basic foundation,” O’Sullivan said. “LIUNA aims to put forth that vision and help lead a movement to make it a reality.”
“Building America is about our nation and its people,” O’Sullivan said. “It is about saving lives, improving the quality of life, lifting our economy and living up to the American Dream.”
Meanwhile, those who want to lift the economy and improve the quality of life in Hamilton have to spend their time fighting to preserve its history from the blockbusting predations of O'Sullivan's union.
Hamilton Spectator, May 8, 2008: The Laborer's International Union of North America (LIUNA) has applied for a demolition permit for another building on King William Street just three doors down from the fallen Balfour building.
“But in only a generation,” O’Sullivan said, “we have gone from the country that launched Apollo to a nation whose people can no longer be assured of crossing the Mississippi River safely or being safe from failing dams and levees. It’s time to build America so America works.”
And you might set an example by starting with your own buildings.
Image credits this page Isaac-CC
Didn't a bridge collapse a few months ago, and now we have Presidential candidates pandering to suspend the gas tax that funds the infrastructure repair? Maybe suspending the gas tax will fix the problem. Rather than no gas, we’ll have no roads – problem solved.
How convenient that there were people standing by on hoses and a cherry picker and even a camera on site! How very convenient...
I was thinking the same thing, still can't deny the rest of the pictures though.
If this union is like the building trades unions we have in New York, this is consistent with everything else it does. Our Carpenters' local here is notorious for being run by mobsters and would-be mobsters. It's hard to support nonunion labor, but sometimes it's preferable to what you can find in unions.
I use to live on Main St east in Hamilton, Main St. has had a lot of work done to it and looks much better then it use to. Sadly there are way too many buildings much like these on King street near Jackson Square which should have been repaired and remade into condos.
There use to be a really nice Bistro on King Williams which my wife and I use to go to once and awhile.
Those buildings had been abandoned for years, the one on the corner had a sign up at one time advertising it as a condo venture but for some reason it never took off.
It's really sad that these people own what many people consider to be a hell whole in the downtown. Everything else is and has been trying hard to improve but how far can you go when you have a slum right next to you? Makes me angry as a former Hamiltonian!
Just to be clear the interior shots posted here are of the Lister Building not the Balfor building which was demolished. The Lister Building remains intact as well as a designated heritage property here in Hamilton. There is even a $7-million dollar renovation bail-out on the table for neglectful LIUNA to renovate the building which they have stalled on for years. They cite costs and then cite higher costs even when given a raw deal by the city and province together. LIUNA is a massive contributor to the Liberal party in Ontario.
Activists, including local lawyers, architects, historians and citizens are working hard to preserve our heritage here in Hamilton. As the nearest city outside the suburban sprawl of Toronto Hamilton is quickly gentrifying and scumbags like LIUNA have been sitting on these properties waiting for this.
Also worth pointing out that the Thai restaurant next door Thai Memory was forced to close during the "emergency demolition" with absolutely no compensation. Residents were also evacuated the night of the collapse.
Anyhow as a resident of Hamilton deeply involved in this issue I'd like to thank Treehugger for bringing our plight to a wider audience.
The US don't exist long enough to have historical buildings (except for some native American relics).
In Hamilton, if a property falls into disrepair and the issue is not promptly addressed by the owner, the city has the power to perform the required work and bill the owner for that work. I've seen examples of this in various neighbourhoods throughout the city with work ranging from minor yardwork and window repair to more intensive efforts.
Under these bylaws, the city was finally able to coax Liuna to at least cover the windows of the Lister block with boards two years ago. However, the interior had been freely exposed to the elements through open/broken windows for years prior with no visible action from the city. Are Hamilton's bylaws too lax, or is the city simply too scared to crack down on Liuna?