At the March 2010 groundbreaking, Bruce Ratner saluted union labor, to cheers, thanking them for "arm in arm support for this project" (video)

Union workers might feel double-crossed by Forest City Ratner's plans for modular construction of Atlantic Yards towers, but at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Atlantic Yards arena, little more than a year ago, on 3/11/10, everything was fine.

As I reported, developer Bruce Ratner saluted union labor, now quite wary of the developer's plan for lower-cost modular construction.

"Now, 2004, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10--union labor!" declared Ratner, to cheers, at the 5:52 mark of the video below.



Ratner cited "dozens of rallies, arm in arm support for this project. It's all about jobs! You have built this city and you will build this Barclays Center and Atlantic Yards and everything that our company does, just like you've built with us, hand in hand, for over 30 projects, in this city. Thank you, Gary LaBarbera and particularly, thank you for union workers. Thank you so much."

More cheers.

Union dismay

Today, the Times reported dismay from LaBarbera:

“This is something that could be of great consequence to the building trades,” said Gary La Barbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, an umbrella group for the construction unions. “We have never been supportive of prefab buildings, for obvious reasons.”