Picketers Take a Stand at CVS Construction Site to Support 'Local Jobs for Local Workers'

Picketers at North Canton’s CVS construction site this morning don’t understand why the company wants their business, but it doesn’t want to give them work.

By 7:30 a.m., about 15 local workers arrived at the construction site at Main and Applegrove streets to voice their opinions. They picketed nearby Cleveland and out-of-state construction workers building the drug store.

Those are jobs — spanning several business trades — they said they all could have benefited from.

“I just can’t believe we can’t put the people who help them out on the job,” said Dave Kirven, a business agent with Plumbers and Pipe Fitters. “We’re their customers, but they don’t want to be ours.”

Kirven said he has heard from CVS representatives, and they’re not receptive.

“Basically they’re acting like they don’t care. ‘That’s too bad. That’s the way it is.’”

Mike DeAngelis, director of public relations for CVS, said in an e-mail this morning CVS has a history of successful projects with union and non-union qualified contractors who win contracts through open and competitive bidding.

"As part of this process, we consider any bid received from a qualified union contractor that is reasonable, or even close to the lowest bid on a contract," he said. "In fact, our North Canton construction project will be using a significant number of local union workers for jobs including carpentry, electrical, demolition, carpeting/flooring, among other work. These union subcontractors all won these jobs through our open and competitive bidding process. 

The plumbers’ union bids were not successful.  We cannot award jobs for bids that are unreasonably high. CVS has a responsibility as a business to its customers, shareholders and employees to control costs."

William Sherer II, business manager for the Iron Workers Local 550 out of Canton, said CVS hired steel erectors from Cleveland and others from Michigan.

“We’re pushing for local jobs for local workers,” he said. “We make a living here. We spend money here. We pay taxes here.”

He said CVS’ Caremark is a prescription provider for the 1,700 retirees and active members of the Iron Workers group and he expected a little more consideration to those who give so much to CVS.

Canton Councilman-at-Large Joe Cole made an appearance at the picket site this morning, too.

“I came to support my brothers and sisters in the labor movement,” Cole said. “The working men and women in America are under assault every day it seems.”

“This is just another example of corporate America run amok.”

He compared this morning’s picket to the Senate Bill 5 opposition, saying CVS’ actions were “just another attack on the middle class.”

Cole said he’s optimistic something good will come out of the workers’ picket and their willingness to speak out.

“You have to be optimistic,” he said as a string of cars drove by and honked in support of the picketers.