For the past few weeks a man has been handing fliers to students at the corner of Elliot and Mendocino avenues. The fliers state that Congrove Corporation, which is building SRJC’s new Culinary Arts Center, is “under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board.”
The fine print at the bottom of the page traces the flier to Carpenters Local 751, a local chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC). Founded in 1881, UBC is North America’s largest building trades union with more than half a million members in the construction industry.
The flier urges students to ask SRJC Board of Trustees President Richard W. Call why an out-of-state company that is under investigation by the federal government is building the new facility. According to its company profile on http://www.manta.com, Congrove Corporation, based in Yuma, Ariz., is a private company with annual revenue of $1.1 million.
However, no lawsuits against Congrove Corporation were found on any public record websites including the National Labor Relations Board. Additionally, Carpenters Local 751 refused to comment or acknowledge any incentive for the fliers.
“When we were going through the bidding process, there were carpenter union representatives trying to put pressure on us to go local,” Call said. According to Call, Brown Construction is the company that is actually building the Culinary Arts Center. Congrove Corporation is a subcontractor that is providing the cement for the facility.
“By law we can’t just pick a local company; we have to pick the lowest bidder,” Call said.
For any community college to purchase any kind of service or equipment, it has to go through a bidding process in which many companies bid to provide the services. The school hires the lowest bidder.
“We would’ve much rather had a local contractor. It just didn’t work out that way,” Call said.
The new Culinary Arts Center will include five teaching kitchens, a 60-seat café, bakery and classroom space. The two-story structure will cover 22,000 sq. ft. and will be built on the east side of Mendocino Avenue facing the school.
Despite the flier controversy, plans to build the new facility go undeterred.
