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Documentary filmmakers have discovered abusive working conditions for laborers of NEOM’s The Line megacity development in Saudi Arabia. Per new reporting on the website Middle East Eye: "Labourers are forced to work grueling hours far beyond legal limits to construct the flagship project of... View full entry
While the numbers are relatively small, these victories represent a massive shift in how designers see themselves: We went from being a privileged set of artisans to workers seeking solidarity with other workers in all industries. Learning from the workers and organizers who have put in the hard work before us, designers need to continue to take advantage of the current climate and organize more workplaces. — The Progressive Magazine
Chris Beck is an architect and member of the newly formed BA Union at New York-based Bernheimer Architecture, which recently ratified a collective bargaining agreement as the industry’s first union at a private-sector U.S. architecture firm. Writing for The Progressive Magazine, he says... View full entry
The historic effort by staff at Bernheimer Architecture to form the industry’s first union at a private-sector U.S. architecture firm is now complete after their ratification of a collective bargaining agreement in the firm's New York office this week. The vote on Thursday was unanimous. Founder... View full entry
The UK’s Section of Architectural Workers (SAW) has announced its affiliation with Unite, one of the UK’s most influential trade union groups. The move will see SAW operate under the same union group as the UK’s wider construction sector. When it was established in 2019, SAW was affiliated... View full entry
The UK-based salary transparency advocates The Pay 100 have released their latest set of survey data on average salaries across UK firms. Expanding upon last year’s inaugural snapshot of results, the 2023 addition also includes data on unpaid overtime. As reported by the Architect’s... View full entry
New York State’s pay transparency law has come into effect, requiring employers to disclose proposed pay rates. As of Sunday, September 17th, employers with at least four workers must disclose the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly range of compensation in any advertisement for job... View full entry
Employees of Sage and Coombe Architects have declared the formation of a new union within the New York office, the firm announced via a social media post late Thursday. “Sage and Coombe Architects is pleased to announce it has recognized a union as requested by a committee of firm employees... View full entry
Not only is he an accused serial killer, Rex Heuermann is also a deadbeat boss, according to the state Department of Labor.
It filed suit Tuesday to recover nearly $70,000 in back wages, penalties and interest for stiffing a former executive assistant.
— NY Daily News
Rex Heuermann, an architect, was arrested in July near his firm’s Midtown Manhattan offices on charges related to the murders of three women. Their remains were discovered at Gilgo Beach in 2010. In a separate legal matter, Heuermann and his architectural firm, RH Consultants & Associates, are... View full entry
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... View full entry
[C]onstruction is a risky job, and even more so for undocumented immigrants, who often work under informal verbal agreements. And for women, being vastly outnumbered on every construction site means more pressure to accept lower pay and mistreatment. That’s why, as more immigrant women don hard hats in New York City, advocates are training them to stand up against exploitation – and transform the construction industry itself. — The Guardian
More than half of New York City’s 200,000-plus-strong construction workforce are immigrants. Myriad abuses abound in informal labor markets, adding to a dangerous climate that last year saw fatalities reach a three-year high. The women featured in the Guardian article also... View full entry
An update has been provided in the case of Snøhetta’s U.S. employees who have, since the spring, been pushing internally to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union. Staffers will vote today via mail-in ballots as to whether or not to join the union, which... View full entry
The architecture faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design has expressed its “unequivocal support” for striking workers on the campus. The strike, now approaching two weeks in duration, is being carried out by 60 movers, custodians, and ground service staff, represented by the Teamsters... View full entry
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation establishing a statewide pay transparency law in New York State. The law was passed by both the New York State Assembly and Senate in June, and requires employers to list salary ranges for all advertised jobs and promotions. The new legislation... View full entry
In any future analysis of architectural workplace conditions, the impact of 2022 cannot be understated. Throughout the year, our editorial played host to a wide variety of labor-related developments in the profession, from top-down efforts to improve salary transparency to bottom-up unionization... View full entry
A UK-based organization dedicated to salary transparency in architecture has published its first snapshot of salary results following hundreds of grassroots submissions. As we reported in October, The Pay 100 is calling on architecture workers in the UK to submit their salaries to the group, who... View full entry
