RESPONSE TO
THE BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST DMC
CONSTRUCTION, INC
For decades this country
has seen labor unions engage in aggressive tactics as a means of
intimidating merit shop companies from securing their place in the
competitive business market. This story continues as DMC Construction is
continually harassed through the picketing process and the distribution
of misleading information regarding our business operations.
DMC is proud of our 34+ years of operation as a merit shop business. We
bear no malice toward companies that choose to run their business
operations with union affiliations. We are proud to have developed
strong working relationships with many union subcontractors.
Through print and electronic media the Brotherhood of Carpenters, Locals
505 and 605, at the direction of out-of-town union superiors, has
attempted to mislead our clients, potential clients, and the general
public regarding DMC’s business record. As a company that conducts over
$30 million dollars of construction business per year we are proud of
our excellent performance record. Any company or organization of similar
size will encounter individuals that may disagree with a business
practice, or challenge any particular course-of-construction activity.
We are proud to direct any individual to the Contractors State License
Board website (www.cslb.ca.gov) and see that, unlike many contractors,
DMC has no listed violations.
DMC Construction is very
proud of the contributions we make to the community and the professional
standard we maintain with our business. Through the many years of
harassment by the Carpenters Union we have received considerable and
constant support from our neighbors, our community, and local media.
Please visit the following links to see how the community has responded
to the actions taken by the Carpenters Union. In these links you will
find letters to the editor published in various local newspapers,
unsolicited newspaper articles, and a
radio interview with DMC president
Dan McAweeney.
Thank you for taking the time to review our response to the allegations
of the Carpenters Union. We welcome the opportunity to speak with you
and discuss our method of conducting business, our role in the
community, and our pride in being the Monterey Peninsula’s leading
builder.
In direct response to the Brotherhood of Carpenters and their misleading
claims regarding our business we offer the following comments:
The Carpenters
Union has erroneously claimed that DMC misrepresented its work
experience in order to meet the experience requirement necessary to
qualify for performing the Emergency Room Expansion at Hazel Hawkins
Hospital. The Union's argument is misinformed and lacks key information
which proves that DMC made no such misrepresentation. Approximately
three weeks prior to the January 31, 2008 bid date, DMC submitted a
completed listing of its hospital (OSHPD) projects including location,
scope, and dollar amount to Hazel Hawkins Owner's Representative. The
Owner's Representative approved the listing provided and informed DMC
that it should proceed with submitting a bid to perform the work.
DMC submitted its bid based upon pre-bid approval by Hazel
Hawkins Owner's Representative. DMC did not misrepresent its work
experience whatsoever. In fact, in a fax message to the
Union dated February 7th, the Owner's Representative indicated that "DMC
met the qualifications as stated in the bid package and
addenda". When the Hazel Hawkins Hospital Board reversed its decision
to award the project to DMC due to lack of required work experience, it
reversed the pre-bid approval given to DMC by its Owner's
Representative.
Related to the
above, the Carpenters Union indicated that it had contacted Fred Bensch
of Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) to
determine whether DMC had performed the projects listed on its
aforementioned work experience at CHOMP. DMC was asked to give the
names of the individuals it worked with at CHOMP as part of its
submittal information to Hazel Hawkins. DMC listed Bruce Hyndman,
Director of Engineering, and George Narancic, Inspector of Record, as
its contacts. Both of these individuals would have verified the
projects that DMC performed at CHOMP. DMC did not interface with Mr.
Bensch at any time during the time period that it worked at CHOMP. The
Union did not to call either of the contacts provided who would
have verified DMC's work experience and by this omission erroneously
accused DMC of misrepresenting its work experience at CHOMP.
DMC strives to
provide quality and timely construction services to our
Community maintaining the highest level of honesty and integrity
possible. We value our positive role in the Community, our employees,
and our clients. We take strong exception to the Carpenters
Union's continued efforts to discredit our work and reputation through
misrepresentations and omission of facts such as those identified above.
The
Carpenters Union states: At the Pacific Grove Golf Clubhouse
project light fixtures were installed incorrectly and poor coordination
on the part of DMC led to delays and a loss of revenues for the client.
DMC responds:
Light fixtures and all other elements of the project were installed in
accordance with approved project drawings. Code violations, or
adjustments made to satisfy building department code interpretations,
were identified and resolved in an expedient manner by the design and
construction team, with on-going review and acceptance by the City
oversight team. Extensions of the completion date were due to unforeseen
site and adverse weather conditions. Delays were reported to the City
and agreed to in writing. DMC built this award winning project, which is
currently a source of great pride to the city of Pacific Grove, at a
price upon completion that was well below the next competitive original
project bid.
The
Carpenters Union states: At the Monterey County Administration
building poorly secured and inferior quality plastic sheeting on
exterior window and door openings was unable to withstand winter storms,
leading to water intrusion and weather-related damage.
DMC responds:
Weatherproofing installed at the Monterey County Courthouse project was
done as specified and directed by the owner’s project Construction
Manager. The photographs displayed by the union as examples of poor
waterproofing workmanship actually show sheet plastic installed to
provide dust and debris control that was not intended to act as a
moisture barrier. The temporary assemblies installed to mitigate storm
intrusion at the Courthouse are not shown.
The
Carpenters Union states: For a private residence in Carmel, a wall
for a tapered ceiling was built 3 inches too short, requiring a
bookshelf intended for that location to be cut down, and that a
fireplace that had been planned for the center of a new family room was
built off to one side.
DMC
responds: The project was constructed per plans provided by the
owner, drawn by a licensed architect, and approved by the local building
authority. All work was inspected by the City and approved as drawn. Had
the fireplace been relocated in the living space as directed by our
client, the resulting project modifications would have resulted in
violations of the City’s approved zoning ordinance and adopted building
code. While we make every effort to utilize 34 years of experience to
provide design suggestions or value engineering recommendations, we will
not knowingly proceed with work that violates zoning ordinances or
building codes.
The Carpenters Union is
continually making efforts to defame the past work performed by DMC
Construction by attempting to notify the public, our clients, and
potential clients of former litigations and settlements involving DMC.
Unfortunately, it is common in the modern world that differences of
opinion result in litigation for conflict resolution. Any organization
that performs a volume of work similar to that performed by DMC
Construction over the last three decades is subject to those who seek
reprisal through the court system. No organization of our size is immune
to this type of action. DMC has never been fined or found in
non-compliance with the standards of the Contractors State License
Board. We have never been found guilty or even charged with any criminal
negligence. Any fines or assessments against DMC have been the result of
settlement and the desire on the part of DMC to seek resolution rather
than continue with the tedious legal process. We are proud of our record
as a professional business and ask any organization that chooses to
smear our reputation to examine itself before casting aspersions.
Recently (August 2008) the
Carpenter's Union filed a petition against Pacific Grove Unified School
District and DMC Construction in an effort to halt the construction of
the new football stadium at Pacific Grove High School. Their claim
was that DMC Construction was not qualified to self perform reinforced
concrete construction services and that project Disabled Veteran
Business Enterprise requirements were not properly addressed. Once
brought before the judge it was quickly realized the Union's case was
unfounded and the judge denied the petition based upon a lack of any
merit. The efforts by the union to once again defame the
reputation of DMC Construction only resulted in precious school district
finances being diverted from educational resources for the children of
Pacific Grove.
The
Carpenters Union states: DMC did not properly list its
subcontractors on the winning bid for the PG Clubhouse. DMC did not
provide subcontractor list for the reconstruction of the Monterey County
Housing Authority’s Rippling River development in a timely manner,
submitting the list after bids were closed. With these accusations the
Carpenters union is accusing DMC of “bid shopping”, the unethical and
illegal practice of intentionally failing to list a subcontractor in
order to later find a subcontractor who will do the work for a
predetermined price that may not be the true cost of getting the job
done.
DMC responds: DMC
has never and will never undertake the practice of bid shopping. At the
PG Clubhouse, delays in the project’s foundation meant that DMC’s own
workforce was not available as planned to perform the concrete site work
required on the project. In order to facilitate the project construction
schedule DMC retained the services of a (union) concrete subcontractor
to complete the scope of work. The City approved of the subcontractor’s
participation. This decision never affected the cost of the project to
the client and allowed for continuation of the project’s critical work
path. No subcontractors were damaged by this process.
At the Rippling River
project DMC Construction provided a thorough bid response that was fully
compliant with the bid documents provided to all bidders, as verified by
the jurisdiction that issued and accepted the documentation. The listing
of subcontractors was not required in the bid process. The carpenters
union’s boast of exposing these situations only served to delay
construction processes and cause public entities to experience
unnecessary legal costs.
The Carpenters Union
states: They have uncovered allegations of multiple violations of
the California Labor Code, both in the public and private sectors.
These violations generated investigations to the Department of
Industrial Relations and local agencies and even liens on the project,
resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in wage restitution, Civil
Wage Penalty Assessments, and fines between 2001 and 2004.
DMC Responds: An
allegation of a violation does not constitute a violation.
DMC Construction
performs millions of dollars of public and private sector work each
year. The prevailing wage reporting process is a cumbersome, complex
process with compensation and benefit rates changing on a continual
basis. DMC is not only responsible for its own wage reporting but, as a
general contractor, we are liable for the reporting of all
subcontractors that provide services on our projects. With the volume of
work performed by any company of our size, clerical errors in a process
involving hundreds of individuals and literally thousands of individual
calculations, are unfortunately inevitable. Any reporting error tied to
DMC oversight has occurred without intent. All errors were rectified
immediately to the satisfaction of owners and independent auditing
agencies.
The
Carpenters Union states: DMC Illegally disposed of asbestos in
landfill and improperly handled hazardous waste. Fined $40,000 in civil
penalties, $60,000 paid for supplemental environmental projects to
educate and enforce unlawful contractor asbestos work in Monterey
County, or provide assistance to improve load check programs at Monterey
County waste disposal locations.
DMC Responds: DMC
reached a settlement for fines and supplemental education regarding this
incident as a business decision accepting responsibility for an
unfortunate condition it did not create. An environmental report for
this project was provided before construction commenced stating no
asbestos containing products were present in the subject building. DMC
relied on an asbestos-free assertion and performed demolition indicated
on plans. After the demolished materials were removed they were later
found to be asbestos containing.
The
Carpenters Union states: DMC allowed concrete slurry water to
enter the storm drain and discharge into Monterey Bay, polluting the
waters off Pacific Grove. Sentence required compliance with Fish and
Game Code §5650.1 to be included in all subcontracts.
DMC Responds: At
the referenced project DMC had setup a concrete slurry wash basin per
state and local Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan requirements and
standards. A project subcontractor inadvertently left a hose running
causing cement-laden water to spill over the banks of the retention
basin and into the storm drain system. Unfortunately, DMC’s site
representative was not made aware of the situation until after water had
already entered the storm drain. The really unfortunate part of this
incident came from the concerned citizen who, rather than notify any
personnel on the project site of what was occurring, opted to wait over
one hour until the flow of water ran five blocks down hill and then took
photographs of the situation.
In summary: The
Carpenters Union has taken the only two incidents of environmental
concern stemming from DMC projects and tried to make a case that we are
environmentally irresponsible. This could be no further from the truth.
DMC takes great care to maintain strict abatement compliance and
conformance with storm water pollution prevention guidelines. As stated
by local enforcement agencies, “DMC is a leader in environmental
awareness and a model contractor for adherence to construction
procedures.”
Through its attempt to
discredit DMC Construction the Carpenters Union has cost the community
and public agencies a significant quantity of time and valuable
resources. Constant threats of litigation toward public agencies and the
continuous protesting of DMC’s project bids are causing agencies and
organizations to spend time and precious funding to defend against the
unions petty allegations. And the greatest example of disservice to our
community stems from the Carpenters Union preventing the construction of
a housing project for troubled teenagers:
A local non-profit
agency gathered funding to convert vacant military housing at the former
Fort Ord into housing for homeless teenagers in transition. Each
townhome unit had a community kitchen and a certified counselor to help
with the transition of troubled youths into our community. When the
project was first bid DMC was the only responsible bidder and our bid
was below the project budget. The Carpenters Union protested the bid and
threatened litigation because the agency’s bid forms were allegedly not
in compliance with public contracting code. For fear of litigation the
project was put out for rebid. When the project was rebid DMC was again
the only responsible bidder on the project. The Carpenters Union then
protested the project and threatened litigation for a lack of proper bid
advertisement. The second bid was rejected and the project was set up
for a third bid. DMC was again the lowest responsible bid with two other
bidders that happened to be signatory to the Carpenters Union.
Unfortunately the project cost had now exceeded the non-profit
organization’s funding capabilities and even with value engineering
efforts on the part of DMC the project was never awarded and never
constructed. The Carpenters Union may feel that DMC was damaged through
their “successful” efforts, but the real damage was done to our
community, to the volunteers who conceived and funded the design of this
project, and to the countless teenagers who were never afforded the
opportunity to better themselves through this valuable community
project.
