the Javits center three years after the takeover.
by Gregory A. Butler
On July 25, 1995, Governor George Pataki and a force of 200 New York State Troopers siezed the Jacob K Javits Convention Center, which had been controled by the five families of the New York Cosa Nostra for the previous 9 years. According to Pataki, the instrument of mafia domination over the Javits was 3 of the building's 5 unions, namely the N. Y. District Council of Carpenters; Local 807, Teamsters and Expos Local 829, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The method of gangster rule? Control over hiring by the unions.
The first act of the state was to have the contractors fire every one of their employees who worked at the Javits. Then, those workers, and anybody else who wanted to work the shows, had to apply for a job as an employee of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Operating Authority, a state agency. Now, it's 3 years later. Has organized crime been driven out, and, more importantly, have conditions improved or worsened for the Javits center's workforce?
FLASHBACK: First, let's look at the way things were when George and the state police marched in. The fact is, the Javits center, although nominally owned by the state, was strictly La Cosa Nostra property from the day Genovese family underboss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno's S & A Concrete did the first pour for the Javits' foundation. When the building finally opened, 4 years late and $15 Million over budget, it was, on paper run by the state Urban Development Corporation. In fact, it was really operated by the decorating contractors who set up and dismantled the shows.
THE DECORATORS: Freeman Decorating Company, E. S. & R., Exposervices, and the other trade show companies have some interesting labor policies. Despite having international agreements with the unions, these companies operate non union where they can get away with it, like in Vegas or Florida. But in towns like Chicago or New York, where mob run unions are strong, they have a very cozy relationship with the racketeers. The costs in these places might have been higher, but the contractors simply passed them on to the exhibitors.
The contractors had a small pool of full time supervisors, and, as long as their company guys were working, they allowed the unions to select the remainder of their workforce. The way it usually worked out was that a small group of company men, and an equally small group of stewards and guys selected by the stewards, worked all the time. In fact many of these men had $100,000/yr incomes. If they needed extra labor, they went to the union hiring halls. If you came out of the hall to the Javits, though, you only got the day. Sometimes you only got 4 hours.
SECOND CAREERS FOR WISEGUYS: But who were these stewards and the men they selected for jobs? Many of the steady Carpenters, Expos and Teamsters were former gangsters, who, on federal parole after having served time for racketeering, needed to have legit jobs. Since these guys had shown omerta, didn't rat when they got caught, and did their time "like a man", the mafia rewarded them with these jobs. This way, the former mafiosi could have a decent standard of living in their post criminal years.
The job selector for carpenters at the Javits was a man named Anthony Fiorino. Fiorino, who is a champion pro handball player by profession, had never worked a day in his life as a carpenter before being hired by the Freeman Decorating Company. In fact his sole qualification for being carpenter steward at the largest carpenter jobsite in the city appeared to be the fact that he is the brother-in-law of Columbo family capo Liborio "Barney" Bellomo. The Teamsters and Expos had equally shady individuals for chief stewards.
ENTER THE SMOKEYS: So, Pataki was right when he said that the center was mobbed up. And, in fact, he did clean out most of the goodfellas, including Fiorino (who went back to pro handball). But how did the takover affect the non gangster trade show workforce?
Well, the expos lost their jurisdiction. Some of their work, helping carpenters install exhibits and putting up drape, became carpenter apprentice work. The rest, handleing freight on the show floor, became the work of the Teamster helper/checkers, who had previously just unloaded the trucks and put the freight by the loading dock doors. Individual expos were permitted to apply for jobs as carpenters or teamsters, but local 829 lost the work.
Carpenter work changed a lot. A large number of apprentices were hired off the street, many with no previous experience. Many of these "A.P.'s" are Black, Latino, Indian or Chinese, and a number of them are women. This was a big change for the Javits, which had been a very white, very male place. Of course, there was a downside. Previously, when apprentices were sent to the Javits, they were paid the journeyman rate. These A.P.'s were paid at apprentice rates. And, for the first 2 years, all A.P.'s were paid either 1st year pay or 2nd year pay, even if they were actually 3rd or 4th years. Also, since A.P.'s are lower paid, they get more work than journeymen.
As for the journeymen, there were some major changes. Before, once the regular guys were working, whatever jobs were left went to the hall, and were given to whoever happened to be shaping up that day. On days when outside work was slow, this could really be a blessing. Under the new system, only carpenters registered with the Javits could work, and the house would do the labor calls, not the union. If you wanted to shape up, you wouldn't go to the union, but to the Javits' own private hiring hall.
GOODBYE GOODFELLAS, HELLO STATEFELLAS: Also, like before, a system eventually developed where certain people worked all the time, and most worked sporadically. About 80 of the Javits 434 carpenters work on most of the calls. Most of these workers wern't at the old Javits, a number of them are A.P.'s, quite a few are minority, and there are even a few women among them. Unlike the old days, the union doesn't pick these people, they are requested by the decorating contractors. The labor hall office picks and chooses the rest of the call, and they, of course have people they look out for. So, there are still a few carpenters making $100,000/yr, and the rest scraping by on whatever. Most of the other carpenters end up making $20,000 or $30,000 and some as little as $8,000.
So, for the average trade show carpenter, "the more things change, the more they stay the same". Things ARE better for the bigshots. The state makes more money, since it and not the contractors supplies the labor, the contractors get a more efficient workforce, since, instead of hiring whoever the hall sends, they have a pool of full time tradeshow labor, and the exhibitors get better service for lower cost. And the low people on the totem pole pay the price.