After 13 years as Secretary-Treasurer of the San Francisco Building & Construction Trades Council, Michael Theriault is retiring Aug. 2. Over the course of his tenure, Theriault took lead on engineering a string of successful project labor agreements, oversaw some of the city’s largest developments, helped reestablish shop classes at SFUSD, advocated for social justice, fought for a Citywide PLA and guided the Council through the worst economic crisis in generations.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved amendments to the Hunters Point Shipyard Redevelopment Plan and the Bayview Hunters Point Redevelopment Plan June 26. The amendments will facilitate redevelopment of the Candlestick Point and Hunters Point Shipyard Phase 2 Projects.
On May 22, the new Salesforce Tower had its official grand opening ceremony. This marked not only a monumental addition to San Francisco’s skyline, but the establishment of the new tower’s position as the city’s tallest skyscraper, looming over the nearby Transamerica Pyramid. The ceremony’s ribbon-cutting was done by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff who was flanked by then-Mayor Mark Farrell and District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, among others.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors at its June 5 meeting tabled an item calling for a hearing of the full board planned for June 12 on a citywide Project Labor Agreement. The ordinance has since been tentatively scheduled to be considered at the June 20 meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee. If passed by the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, the measure would then proceed to go to the full board.
Work on the expansion of the Jewish Home of San Francisco, recently renamed the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living, is progressing with rebar columns rising above street level at the jobsite at Mission and Silver Streets in the Excelsior District.
More than 3,000 building trades union members from across the United States convened in Washington, D.C. over April 15-18 for the annual North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Legislative Conference. Attendees learned about important legislation and met with members of Congress to rally support for bills concerning infrastructure investment, prevailing wages and project labor agreements.
BCCI Builders broke ground in April on a modern artists replacement building on the corner of Horne Ave. and Robinson St. in the Hunters Point Shipyard. Developed by FivePoint and designed by architecture firm IBI Group, the $60 million project will supply 89,000 square feet of space for occupancy by artists at the end of 2019, helping to continue the decades long tradition of a thriving artists community at the Shipyard.
Union contractor Hathaway Dinwiddie completed work late last year on the new 20-story office tower at 350 Bush Street. The new high-rise features 18 floors of office space, one lobby level, a roof terrace, and a two-level sub-grade parking structure. The new glass tower incorporates the historic landmark San Francisco Mining Exchange Building, built in 1923, as its man entrance.
After years of poor maintenance and neglect in San Francisco’s public housing sector, an influx of federal funds is finally providing hope to residents starved for improved conditions.
Union construction crews are nearing completion of several projects modernizing public housing for non-profit housing developers in San Francisco. The first phase of rehabilitation work on 1,425 units began in November 2015 and was completed in 2017. Phase II projects are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018 or early 2019, with 2,066 units throughout the city getting much needed repairs.
