Loading...Wisconsin NECA/IBEW Construction Union Team Helps Build a New Skyline
Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana – these states started the current trend of cost cutting and belt tightening when it comes to collectively bargained work. While mostly in the public sector, their austerity measures have had effect on many other businesses as well, including construction.
On top of it all, because of their location it hasn’t been easy for these states to transition from an industrial way of life to a more modern one either. City leaders and developers have had to face tough decisions when it comes to putting their precious capital and TRUST on a more expensive construction crew – even though it will be built better in the end.
That’s what happened to the developer in our story today – when it came to his new building, The Moderne, in Downtown Milwaukee.
Not only was it difficult to procure the funding for the building, he also knew that if he didn’t do it right the first time, it wouldn’t work at all.
What he realized literally changed the course of his company forever. Being cost-conscious didn’t have to mean cutting corners, especially when relying on the NECA-IBEW team during crunch time.
Walk down the street in Milwaukee, and ask 10 people what they think about unions, and you might get 10 different answers. Things are tough, and as a function of that, people are looking to cut costs wherever they are.
This is Rick Barrett, Founder of Barrett Visionary Development. Barrett is one of the big names in building in Milwaukee. Barrett Visionary Development has just that – a vision for Milwaukee. It involves new sky rises, urban living, mixed-use development – all built by union men and women.
You see, he’s got his own opinions on the value of union construction. He believes in it so much, he’s now calling himself a ‘union’ developer.
What convinced him of the value of union work? His work with the NECA-IBEW team on The Moderne in the Park East neighborhood in Milwaukee.
Rick Barrett, Developer, Barrett Visionary Development, Inc.
“Building union is the only way to build projects of this nature. You need the workforce that has the skills to build a project like this.”
NECA Contractor Uihlein Electric and their IBEW workforce completed all the electrical work on the project.
Tony Tiedemann, VP, Uihlein Electric
“It was put out as a design build, so we did the electrical design on the project, and ultimately there was a budget we had to get to. So we designed it very aggressively, going with alternative means and methods and coming up with different dynamic solutions that would ultimately lower our risk from an installation, increase the quality from the owner’s perspective and shorten the schedule.”
That compressed schedule doesn’t mean that it wasn’t difficult work. Uihlein and the IBEW were just up to the task.
Dave Gruber, Foreman, Uihlein Electric
“For example, if you take the floor boxes in these units, you had to hold certain dimensions, you had to avoid post-tension cables you couldn’t interfere with that, there’s rebar in the concrete, there’s tons of things we couldn’t do after the concrete was poured.”
Tony Tiedemann, VP, Uihlein Electric
“I think we peaked at about 12 people. So for a 30-story building, to say you can build it with less than 12 people is a pretty good thing, at an aggressive schedule too.”
Partially funded by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, the job was 100 percent union, cost a total of $52 million dollars, is 30 stories containing 203 apartments, 14 condos, and one restaurant.
Matthew Rinka, Principal/Architect Rinka-Chung Architecture
“We were really impressed with the dedication that everyone from the electricians to the HVAC guys and crews on concrete, their dedication to making sure it was done correctly. And I think we couldn’t have come out with a building like this if a team like that hadn’t worked together.”
In this life, people fall into one of two categories: Problem makers and problem solvers. The NECA-IBEW team solves problems.
John Bzdawka, BM, IBEW Local 494
“I always tell my members, your job is to make the guy that hired you look good. And that’s what we do with Rick, we try to do that with all our developers and customers.”
NECA and the IBEW also made life easy for the general contractor for the job, J.H. Findorff.
Zak Koga, Project Manager, J.H. Findorff
“We find ourselves working with the union electrical contractors in a lot of our jobs, and I think it’s really because in our markets they tend to be the most sophisticated and high performing electrical contractors. And they’re competitive. At the end of the day in the free market, they’ve been competitive, they can perform, they warrant and maintain projects, they build them fast and safe and they’ve been good partners.”
Barrett himself is now preaching the good news of the NECA/IBEW Team to everyone he meets. He’s got a good reason why – they're skilled, safe, trained and productive, all things which directly increse his bottom line. In other words, they made him money.
Rick Barrett, Developer, Barrett Visionary Development, Inc.
“A lot of other developers believe that when you think of union, there’s a lot of additional cost. There’s additional cost in per hourly rate perhaps. But what really happens with unions is these guys get the same amount of work done in a faster way, and time is money.”
And for Milwaukee, this building stands as a testament to what can be done with hard work and a faith in the union man and woman.
Zak Koga, Project Manager, J.H. Findorff
“It was a symbol, for the city of Milwaukee. For builders, developers, for the industries, the Moderne was a symbol that things can happen and will happen and get some through some harder times during our recession years.”
Rick Barrett, Developer, Barrett Visionary Development, Inc.
“I couldn’t be more proud to say that I’m a union developer. I plan to use them throughout my career. These are my guys and when things get tough, these are the guys that I want to take with me.”
Rick Barrett and his development team are planning on building a new building in Milwaukee – another high-rise, this one closer to the lakefront. The details still need to be worked out, but one detail is for sure – NECA and the IBEW will do the electrical work.
Thanks for being with us on this edition of Electric TV. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our eNewsletter so you don’t miss out on the next story.