Union Workers, City Officials Blast Contractor At Ironside Newark

NEWARK, NJ — Ask some elected officials and residents about Ironside Newark – a formerly vacant warehouse recently transformed into a new, $80 million office building – and they’ll tell you it’s a sign of empowerment and progress… one of many in New Jersey’s largest city.

But others want to know: can a building truly be a symbol of rebirth if the people cleaning it make $10.50 per hour?

This was the mantra that inspired hundreds of union workers with 32BJ SEIU and their supporters to rally outside the privately-owned Ironside Newark on Wednesday. The protesters – who included several members of the Newark City Council – demanded that the building’s owner, Edison Properties, dump their cleaning and security contractor, Planned Companies.

With a tongue-in-cheek nod to Edison Properties’ parking business, ParkFast, workers held up a banner that said “No Parking for Poverty Jobs,” while chanting “Newark is a union town!”

“When I heard that Planned Companies was coming into town, I was upset,” said Rosa Vega, a cleaner at a nearby building in Newark at 80 Broad Street. “We can’t have our working sisters and brothers suffer with this bad contractor.”

32BJ SEIU has alleged that Planned Companies is a “lawbreaking, poverty wage contractor with a history of wage theft.” Labor citations and ongoing probes against the company and its subsidiaries reportedly include:

• “In 2013, PBS was cited for wage violations twice in New Jersey and PLS once in Connecticut. In April, the Connecticut Department of Labor cited PLS for failing to pay a worker for several hours of work at a residential building in Stamford. In August, PBS was cited by the NJ DOL for failing to pay a worker for work at an AvalonBay apartment complex. The NJ DOL cited PBS again in October for failing to pay a worker for a day of work at an apartment building in Trenton.”
• “In 2010, the NJ DOL cited PLS and Planned Building Services (PBS) for wage violations on two separate occasions. In April, the labor department cited PBS for improperly paying a worker at an apartment building in Hoboken. Then, PLS was cited in May for failing to respond to a charge of unpaid wages by a worker at a residential building in Weehawken.”
• “A 2008 audit by the New Jersey Department of Labor (NJ DOL) found that Planned Security Services (PSS) committed wage and hour violations against 160 of its employees. According to the labor department, the company owed unpaid wages to almost half of its New Jersey workforce.”

Patch reached out to Edison Properties and Planned Companies seeking comment about Wednesday’s rally and the union’s accusations. We’ll update this article with any replies we receive.

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According to 32BJ SEIU spokespeople, Edison Properties – which also owns Manhattan Mini Storage – is a major beneficiary of the public investment in Mulberry Commons, a new, public park that the City of Newark contributed $10 million towards.

City officials have said that Ironside Newark, located at 110 Edison Place near the Prudential Center, is one of the keys that will serve as a catalyst for development near the long-awaited park.

• See related article: Newark's $10M Mulberry Commons Will Empower City, Mayor Says

Ironside Newark is also the new home to one of the largest candy manufacturers in the nation, Mars Wrigley, which will serve as the anchor tenant after being offered a $31 million corporate tax break to move to Newark.

• See related article: Mars To Move HQ To New Jersey, 1,500 New Jobs Expected

The building – which recently won a 2019 Smart Growth Award – includes 456,000 square feet of modern loft-style and penthouse offices, with access to a rooftop terrace featuring green space and views of both Newark and Manhattan. Retail and restaurant space fronts directly on Mulberry Commons.

But despite the millions of dollars invested in the building itself, cleaners and security officers at Ironside Newark are set to earn “poverty wages,” some as low as $10.50 per hour, the union charged Wednesday.

“Workers are calling on Edison Properties to do right by Newark, and make sure that subcontracted cleaning and security jobs at Ironside Newark are good jobs with a responsible contractor,” 32BJ SEIU stated.

“Edison Properties needs to do the right thing and hire a responsible contractor to clean and secure this new development that came at the expense of taxpayers,” said 32BJ SEIU Vice President and New Jersey State Director Kevin Brown.

“Planned Companies must not come in here and tear down the standards of labor that we have worked so hard to build,” Brown said. “They have routinely abused the rights of their employees to organize and form a union. We’re not going to back down until Edison makes the right decision.”

Another rally in response to Planned Companies’ alleged mistreatment of workers is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, June 14 at a residential building, Galaxy Towers, at 7000 Boulevard East in West New York, union officials said.

Workers’ concerns were shared by several Newark officials, who were also present at Wednesday’s demonstration.

“Edison Properties is investing millions in the redevelopment of Ironside Newark, but it needs to do the right thing by hiring a contractor that works for working families,” Deputy Mayor Rahaman Muhammed said. “I’m standing with 32BJ in saying that Edison, the owner of this property, should hire a responsible contractor.”

Other officials present included Central Ward Council Member Lamonica McIver, South Ward Council Member John Sharpe James and Council Member-at-Large Eddie Osborne.

Local advocacy groups Working Families Party of NJ and Make the Road NJ helped to spearhead Wednesday’s rally.

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