Archinect - News

Architectural Workers United charges Snøhetta with anti-union tactics

2023-08-29T19:58:00-04:00

Earlier this summer, Snøhetta was accused of unfair labor practices amid allegations of outside tampering during an unsuccessful union push at the firm.

On the afternoon of August 29, a charge on behalf of the Architectural Workers United (AWU) was filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing Snøhetta of unlawfully discriminating against employees over their support for the failed unionization campaign.

“We trust that the National Labor Relations Board, upon hearing the evidence, will rule accordingly and in favor of the workers,” said David Sullivan (Machinists Union, IAM Eastern Territory General Vice) in a press release. “Today’s filing sends a message to the architecture industry that they are no different from any other industry and that if employers use illegal tactics to obstruct their employees from organizing, they will be held accountable.”

Related on Archinect: Snøhetta's U.S. office votes to not unionize

The AUW announced the news on Tuesday via Instagr...

Snøhetta's U.S. office votes to not unionize

2023-07-07T16:40:00-04:00

With much anticipation, voting results for Snøhetta's U.S. employees and their fight for a union have come to a decision. After following Snøhetta's journey towards unionizing back in May and June of 2023, their efforts have fallen short.

Thanks to active report updates from New York Times labor reporter Noam Scheiber, final voting counts from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) resulted in a 35–29 final vote count against unionizing.

Image via @noamscheiber's Twitter account.

As reported merely a little over an hour ago (around 11:50 am PST), the possibility of things taking a turn for the better was mentioned after Scheiber reported the NLRB did not count 6 ballots from Snøhetta's San Francisco office. Prior to the most recent count update, the voting results posted earlier this morning reflected a 29–28 vote. However, after the remaining San Francisco ballots were taken into account, the results still remained unsuccessful.

The topic of fair labor within architecture firms a...

Architecture's controversies in 2022: The industry continued to be scarred by strife and scandal

2022-12-21T08:00:00-05:00

The year’s end brings the chance to survey architecture’s progression and social impact through salient entryways that include labor, activism, and the development of topical building trends.

Another way of recapping things is by looking at the varied rows, discord, stories of ill-treatment, and critical reactions to certain projects that shape the way the architecture progresses and is viewed by the broader public. With everything from conflict to college dorms domineering the news cycle, our coverage has been as influenced by current events as it was by goings-on inside halls of higher learning and professional practice.

Previously on Archinect: Updated Munger Hall images show two floors removed as controversial project seeks approval

Twelve months ago, we documented what happened once the industry began to recover from a years-long pandemic-plagued economy. What followed was a year marked by new pinnacles and uncertainty within the industry. With an eye for the murkiness that ha...

Qatar puts number of 2022 World Cup migrant worker deaths 'between 400 and 500'

2022-11-29T17:30:00-05:00

The Qatari official responsible for delivery of the 2022 World Cup has said the number of migrant workers who have died on World Cup-related projects is “between 400 and 500”. Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary general of the Supreme Committee for delivery and legacy, made the admission in an interview but said a precise figure for the number of fatalities was still “being discussed”.

Following al-Thawadi’s vague estimate of worker deaths in a live TV interview, the Qatari Supreme Committee tried to minimize the numbers by issuing a statement that the figures referred to "national statistics covering the period of 2014–2020 for all work-related fatalities (414) nationwide in Qatar, covering all sectors and nationalities," as reported by Amnesty International today.

'Architectural worker' Muyiwa Oki chosen to challenge for RIBA presidency

2022-05-06T14:59:00-04:00

Oki, a qualified architect at global construction company Mace, has been chosen by an informal collective of early-career architects, students and architectural activists keen to shake-up the institute and move it beyond ‘empty slogans and self-serving initiatives’.

The campaigning collective behind Muyiwa Oki’s nomination includes grassroots organization Future Architects Front (FAF), past and current RIBA Council members, and RIBA’s Future Architects members.

As previously reported by Archinect, the group announced in March its intentions to put forth a “drama-free RIBA president who enacts positive, ethical and progressive change” as well as someone who would better address issues such as employment rights and climate change. This, the collective believes, would come from an early-career architectural worker who is likely to be more active and connected to these concerns.

Previously on Archinect: A group of UK architects is pushing for youth movement at the top of RIBA’s leadership

Oki, who obtained his Bachelor and Master of Architecture from The University of Sheffield, with previous experience at Grimshaw, will challenge for the position left by current president Simon Allford when his term ends in 2023.

However, he still needs to acqui...

Belgium approves four-day workweek and other worker protection measures

2022-02-16T15:29:00-05:00

Workers in Belgium will soon be able to choose a four-day week under a series of labour market reforms announced on Tuesday. The reform package agreed by the country's multi-party coalition government will also give workers the right to turn off work devices and ignore work-related messages after hours without fear of reprisal.

Belgium’s new labor reforms aim to improve the work-life balance of employees in both the public and private sectors. Workers in the gig economy will receive stronger legal protections and full-time employees will be able to work more flexible schedules. As reported by Euronews, employees will be able to request to work four days a week for a period of six months. Following this, they could choose to continue the arrangement of return to a five-day week.

Previously on Archinect: Revisiting the 4-day work week in architecture

In Belgium’s new model, the 38-hour working week would be condensed into four days, with the additional day off compensating for the longer workdays. In addition, workers will be able to request variable work schedules, and companies will be required to provide work schedules at least seven days in advance. The draft legislation must now pass multiple readings by federal lawmakers before being enacted.

Qatar to pass new minimum wage law for contractors

2020-09-24T19:39:00-04:00

Contractors working in Qatar will need to update their employment contracts, and can expect tougher competition in attracting labour, thanks to a new law that guarantees a minimum wage and makes it easier to change employers, a law firm says. Coming into effect 9 October this year, Law No. 17 sets the minimum wage at QAR 1,000 per month ($275), plus QAR 500 per month ($137) for accommodation and QAR 300 per month ($82) for food.

Moreover, the new law also removes the requirement for foreign workers to obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from their employer to work for someone else, GCR reports. This will naturally heighten the competition for skilled labor since employees will be free to switch employers if they desire to do so.

Architectural workers in the UK have formed a union

2019-10-30T16:03:00-04:00

United Voices of the World (UVW) will support the Section of Architectural Workers (UVW-SAW), as the new union is named, with free in-house legal advice, employment law and organiser training, skill-sharing, workplace representation and negotiation, as well as cross-sector experience and campaigns. Membership is between £6 and £10 per month, depending on income.

“We’re open to everyone involved in the production of architecture,” Jake, a UVW union member, tells The Guardian’s Oliver Wainwright, “from the model-maker to the office cleaner and admin staff, everyone should be united under the same umbrella.”

Jake added, “Employers will say that they can only afford to pay low wages because of the low fees they’re getting. But the reason they can take on that work at such a low rate is because they’re exploiting their workforce. If the workforce was unionised, then it would raise the value of architectural labour overall.”

Architecture: Professional calling or exploitative trap?

2019-08-19T18:30:00-04:00

The myth of the calling obscures the role of architectural support staff and encourages architects to surrender their workers’ rights. It stands in the way of solidarity between all architectural workers.

Writing in Failed Architecture, Marisa Cortright unpacks how the sense of unwavering duty implied by the architecture profession’s persistent reliance on hero myths and the idea of architecture as a calling undermines both the individual and collective interests of architectural workers, including those of non-architects like the administrative, finance, legal, public relations and business development professionals often employed by architecture firms.

Migrant laborers file lawsuit against casino developer in U.S. territory, claiming forced labor

2019-06-26T14:43:00-04:00

Seven Chinese labourers who worked on the construction of a casino and resort in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are suing the owner of the project and two of its contractors, alleging they were victims of a forced labour scheme and had suffered injuries on site. The labourers were working on the Imperial Pacific casino and resort in Saipan, the largest island in the South Pacific commonwealth.

GCR covers the lawsuit seven laborers from China have brought forward against the casino's developer Imperial Pacific International, contractor MCC International Saipan Ltd Co, and contractor Gold Mantis Construction Decoration in Saipan, a U.S. commonwealth island just 120 miles north of Guam.

Among a long list of labor rights issues, human rights abuses, misleading work authorization promises, and safety violations, the plaintiffs claim that "despite receiving injuries, those in charge did not take employees to hospital and banned them from seeking medical assistance, threatening deportation," on top of allegedly being denied injury compensation.

As visitor attendance at the Louvre skyrockets, museum staff express they've had enough

2019-05-31T13:55:00-04:00

The Louvre in Paris turned away thousands of tourists waiting in line to enter the museum yesterday after security staff staged a walkout. The employees are on strike to protest the museum’s handling of its exploding attendance, which exceeded 10 million people last year. This growth has resulted in “unprecedented deterioration in visiting conditions, and obviously working conditions,” according to the guards’ union.

The beloved Louvre in Paris is one of the most visited museums in the world. With its iconic pyramid expansion designed by the late I.M. Pei it has become a must-see site. Just last year, the museum attracted 10.2 million visitors, a record-breaking attendance in the museum's history. Other than its breathtaking architectural design and fantastic art collection, the Louvre's publicity has skyrocketed thanks to various celebs who have used the museum as a backdrop for personal use.

However, with the increase in visitor numbers, foreign tourists have outnumbered local Parisian visitors making the number of museum-goers almost too much to handle. Museum staff have found difficulty in managing the crowds and have demanded an increase in visitor services staff as well as the adoption of a new cap on the number of visitors allowed to enter the museum at one time. Recently, the museum has initiated new programs to address these issues. However, Louvre employees do not see these measures so...

Migrant workers in Qatar allowed to leave without exit visas

2018-09-07T03:29:00-04:00

A law change that will allow the majority of migrant workers to leave Qatar without permission from their employers has been heralded by campaigners as a landmark in the battle against labour abuses in the build-up to the next World Cup. [...] Under the new law, employers will no longer have the power to deny exit permits to most of their workers, though they will retain this right for 5% of their workforce. The reforms are a “step towards fundamental rights for migrant workers.”

Hundreds of construction workers protest Hudson Yards developer Steve Ross, calling on NFL to remove him from commitee

2018-08-24T13:31:00-04:00

Thousands of union construction workers gathered Wednesday at the NFL HQ in New York City to protest the founder of Related Companies, the developer behind the large-scale redevelopment of Hudson Yards. Wearing t-shirts that read "Step down Steve Ross," the workers were calling on the organization to remove Ross, who is also the owner of the Miami Dolphins, from the NFL's Social & Racial Justice Committee.

Organized by the Building and Construction Trades Council and its "Count Me In" campaign, the city's 100,000-member unionized workforce has been protesting the development company's use of nonunion labor at Hudson Yards. Wednesday's action at the NFL Headquarters—where over 50 construction workers were arrested after temporarily blocking traffic on Park Avenue—was followed the next day with further protests held outside of Hudson Yards. The union has been holding demonstrations at the site every week since last year.

Thousands of union construction workers rallied calling on Steve...

London man jailed for forcing 15 construction workers into slavery

2018-04-24T14:13:00-04:00

A Romanian man who used threats of violence and indebtedness to keep a group of his countrymen as slaves while he pocketed their wages from a London construction site has been sentenced to seven years in jail.

David Lupu, a 29-year-old Romanian, was found guilty of holding 15 of his countrymen in slavery or servitude in two small one-bedroom apartments in East London and sentenced to seven years in jail.

Lupu had lured the men to work as demolition workers in the UK, falsely promising a wage of £50 a day for work and a good standard of living accommodation, however took away the victims' ID cards upon arrival and threatened that they had to pay hundreds of pounds for permits and certificates to work in the UK. When Lupu failed to pay them after one month of work, they confronted him, and, according to the London Metropolitan Police report, "his response was to threaten to beat them to death."

Two victims managed to escape when Lupu traveled to Romania and reported him to the police.

Amnesty International reports ongoing systematic exploitation of 2022 World Cup migrant workers

2017-12-22T15:23:00-05:00

Migrant workers constructing stadiums for the Qatar 2022 World Cup continue to be trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and exploitation, according to new research by Amnesty International. Fifa is already under pressure from its own advisory board to act over the kafala system, used to monitor migrant labourers, which has been described as modern slavery. Now, a survey by Amnesty has found two-thirds of migrant workers have paid excessive or illegal recruitment fees.

Despite promises from Qatari and FIFA officials about improved labor conditions, the situation for Nepali migrant workers building the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup remain dire.

In its 2015 report Qatar: Profit and Loss. Counting the cost of modern day slavery in Qatar: What price freedom?, the International Trade Union Confederation estimated that "7,000 construction workers will die in Qatar before a ball is kicked in the 2022 World Cup" and demanded that FIFA would make workers' right a central concern of the preparations. In response, FIFA launched a Human Rights Advisory Board in early 2017 and published its first report in November. Amnesty International welcomed the report but pointed out that it omitted "some key issues related to the Qatar 2022 World Cup."

Jean Nouvel rejects accusations of exploitation at Louvre Abu Dhabi

2017-09-25T15:31:00-04:00

The French architect Jean Nouvel has defended his Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, a massive domed complex that opens in November, from accusations it was built by exploited and abused migrant workers. [...] In an interview as the finishing touches are put to the colossal construction, the architect dismissed accusations over exploited workers as an “old question” and insisted conditions for those building the museum were better than for some employed in Europe.

"A 2015 a Human Rights Watch report," The Guardian explains, "suggested migrants working on the Louvre museum and neighbouring Guggenheim, part of a £18bn 'cultural hub' on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, were subjected to conditions amounting to forced labour including summary arrest and deportation if they complained."

Nouvel insists on having inspected the workers living quarters at the beginning of the project, resulting in no concerns: "We saw no problem."

Louvre Abu Dhabi's "rain of light" concept © Louvre Abu Dhabi, Photography: Mohamed Somji

Widespread human rights abuses of migrant laborers building the Gulf region's megaprojects have repeatedly been reported over the past years.

Trump administration scraps Obama's Local Hiring Program

2017-08-31T20:26:00-04:00

The program was tested in states like New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania and involved viaduct construction, pavement rehabilitation and highway development projects. The study was extended for five years in January, just before President Trump took office. Advocates of local employment allowances say hiring from the neighborhood helps offset longstanding racial and gender imbalances in the construction industry.

The Trump administration is relinquishing another Obama-era regulatory provision, which was proposed in 2015 aiming to allow cities to set aside work for local residents on federally funded public works projects. No reason has been given for the Department of Transportation termination of the initiative, set to take effect tomorrow,

Amnesty International reports new numbers of Qatar's FIFA World Cup 2022 migrant exploitation

2017-05-26T12:55:00-04:00

Migrants building a state-of-the-art stadium for the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar are abused and exploited – while FIFA makes huge profits.

As previously covered in Archinect news, many migrant workers in Qatar face abuse and exploitation, forced labor or even death.

A recent report from Amnesty International reveals new numbers — over 90% of Qatar's workforce, an estimated 1.7 million people, are migrant workers coming from Bangladesh, India and Nepal. 3,200 workers, mostly migrants, work on Khalifa Stadium every day. The majority of the workers seeking jobs in Qatar are escaping poverty in their home countries. They are often forced to pay recruitment fees ranging from anywhere between $500 to $4,300 that leave many in debt and hunger. Passports are taken away, making those people unable to leave their jobs or the country while being unpaid for months.

Considering the conditions and the threats that the migrant workers endure in Qatar, it is truly challenging to not regard their situation as one of the forms of modern-day slavery.

The conspicuous ethics of the Dubai Frame, opening date delayed to later this year

2017-03-13T14:49:00-04:00

Raised as a monument to Dubai’s aspirations as a center of international commerce, the Frame is now a physical manifestation of the crude system that erected it.

Considering the already controversial nature of the Dubai Frame, The New York Times recently published a piece on the project in relation to the city's “entrenched system [that notoriously] leaves outsiders vulnerable to mistreatment — from professionals sketching blueprints to construction workers laying foundations [...] a system in which kinship can outweigh contract terms”.

Based on the 2008-09 ThyssenKrupp competition-winning design by architect Fernando Donis, the 150-meter-tall Dubai Frame structure in Za'abeel Park has drawn plenty of opposition over the years, most notably from Donis himself. Donis filed a lawsuit against the Dubai Municipality for stealing the copyright to his design and for breaching the international UNESCO-UIA regulations from the competition. “At the end they took it, built it and will profit from it, without having involved us nor paid us,” Donis previously told Archinect in 2015.

After multiple delays, the opening date of the Dubai Frame was pushed bac...

Qatar World Cup workers: FIFA launches welfare body to improve labor conditions

2016-04-28T17:49:00-04:00

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has announced the launch of a body to oversee the treatment of workers on Qatar’s World Cup stadiums. Fifa has been under pressure from Amnesty International, among others, over the alleged human rights abuses suffered by construction operatives at World Cup venues.

Previously in the Archinect news:

Dire safety conditions also in Brazil: 11 workers have died so far during Rio Olympic construction, audit finds

Zaha Hadid: 'Qatari situation' doesn't apply to her stadium site

2016-02-02T13:32:00-05:00

In an interview with The Times, Dame Zaha Hadid said that the Qataris “should do something” about the issue of migrant workers. [...] “I’m not a defender of the Qatari situation, but it’s important to get the facts right and then we can discuss it. I’m very happy that the press make the government aware of problems on certain sites. But it doesn’t apply to this site.”

To read the full (paywalled) The Times interview with Dame Hadid, click here.

Previously in the Archinect news:

"7,000 construction workers will die in Qatar before a ball is kicked in the 2022 World Cup," new ITUC report finds

2015-12-29T18:00:00-05:00

A report by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has estimated that 7,000 workers will die before the first ball is kicked in the 2022 World Cup. [...] “Qatar’s labour laws are ruinous for workers. All the government has done is to codify slavery. Employers can now even lend out workers to another employer without the worker’s consent for up to a year”

In its 2015 report Qatar: Profit and Loss. Counting the cost of modern day slavery in Qatar: What price freedom?, the ITUC demands that FIFA would make workers' right a central concern of the 2022 World Cup preparations. The organization has also called on Qatari authorities to take these immediate steps to improve workers' conditions:

End the kafala system starting with the elimination of the exit visa;
Allow worker representation – a collective voice with elected representatives and workplace committees;
Employment contracts through direct employment or large, reputable, recruitment companies;
A national minimum wage for all workers, and collective bargaining rights;
Proper labor inspection and grievance mechanisms, inclusive of contractors, and an independent labor court.

Click here to read the full report.

Previously in the Archinect news:

Gulf Labor initiative renews criticism of Abu Dhabi museums over migrant workers' rights

2015-08-03T19:39:00-04:00

Migrant workers building branches of the Guggenheim Museum, the Louvre and the Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi continue to face crushing debt, substandard wages and harsh working conditions despite recent efforts to improve treatment, according to a report published this week by Gulf Labor, a coalition of artists and activists. [...] the researchers found that “underpayment is far and away the primary concern” for the workers themselves.

This issue of labor rights in the greater gulf region previously on Archinect:

BBC journalists arrested for reporting on Qatar's World Cup laborers

2015-05-19T14:00:00-04:00

We were invited to Qatar by the prime minister's office to see new flagship accommodation for low-paid migrant workers in early May - but while gathering additional material for our report, we ended up being thrown into prison for doing our jobs. Our arrest was dramatic.

Previously:

Labor violations affirmed in latest report of NYU Abu Dhabi construction

2015-04-21T20:26:00-04:00

An independent investigation into the construction of New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus has found that despite the school’s best intentions and efforts, about one third of the workforce at the site — roughly 10,000 workers — was not covered by the school’s labor guidelines, and thus faced unfair and exploitative practices [that were reported in previous allegations].

To add to that, construction of the NYUAD main campus is nearly complete and the workers have already moved on to other jobs.

World Cup ‘slaves’ scandal: Qatar holds 2 UK rights researchers over ‘emigration violations’

2014-09-08T14:44:00-04:00

Qatari authorities have confirmed they are holding two British researchers who are investigating the 2022 World Cup facilities, which is linked with a scandal over poor working conditions and dozens of deaths of foreign workers. ... "All of the actions that have been taken against the two Britons are consistent with principles of human rights enshrined in the constitution," read the statement released by the Qatari QNA news agency on Sunday.

The silence from Zaha is deafening.

Whitney Museum to Offer Year of Free Admission to Construction Workers

2014-05-19T13:50:00-04:00

At a hard-hat tour of the Whitney’s Renzo Piano-designed building in downtown Manhattan earlier this month, it was announced that the institution plans to extend a year of museum membership to the project’s construction workers.

High Culture and Hard Labor

2014-03-31T14:33:00-04:00

If liberal cultural and educational institutions are to operate with any integrity in that environment, they must insist on a change of the rules: abolish the recruitment debt system, pay a living wage, allow workers to change employers at will and legalize the right to collective bargaining. Otherwise, their gulf paymasters will go on cherry-picking from the globalization menu [...] while spurning the social contract that protects basic human rights.

Previously

Tackling Concerns of Independent Workers

2013-03-24T19:07:00-04:00

Today, the Freelancers Union is one of the nation’s fastest-growing labor organizations, with more than 200,000 members, over half of them in New York State. Ms. Horowitz, who has never lacked audacity, says she expects to expand the organization to one million members within three years. For some perspective, the United Automobile Workers union currently has 380,000 members.

Perhaps, architect interns, and those contract workers, will look to adding their numbers to this collective, instead of waiting for venal institutions - you know who you are - to make substantive changes to the way that things work.