OCEAN PARK Expresionless and silent, a small group of dissidents stood in front of a colorful complex on Thursday, protesting the labor practices of the developer that owns it.
Just as they have done nearly every day for the past several months in front of the Main Street building, the protesters held aloft a large banner reading: “Shame on Palisades Development Group.”
They claim to represent Carpenters Local 1506, a labor union upset with Palisades Development Group for its connection with Cole Wilson Inc., a company that it accuses of employing unsavory labor practices in constructing another complex in Hollywood.
Palisades Development Group owns both the development at 1717 Vine St.in Hollywood and the complex at 3101 Main St. in Santa Monica. To manage the project in Hollywood, Palisades hired Alpha Construction, which in turn contracted the services of Cole Wilson Inc. to perform the construction work.
The protesters declined comment on Thursday, deferring to Carpenters Local 1506. A representative for the union did not return calls requesting an interview.
The small, but steady contingent distribute fliers reading: “Shame on Palisades Development for Desecration of the American Way of Life,” an image showing a rat gnawing on an American flag.
Receiving the brunt of the attacks is Cole Wilson, which the union accuses of failing to meet labor standards by not paying what it calls “prevailing wages to all its employees doing that work, including payments for health care and pension.”
The union proceeds to make a connection between Cole Wilson’s practices and the financial impact on the public, believing that the community would foot the bill for the employees’ health care.
“The low wages paid tend to lower general community standards, thereby encouraging crime and other social ills,” the flier states.
The flier encourages its reader to contact Palisades Development Group founder Avi Brosh, letting him know that his firm has an “obligation to see that contractors who perform work on buildings they will occupy meet area labor standards.”
Brosh also declined to comment for the article.
Cole Wilson Inc. actually pays its employees more than what the average union carpenter earns, said Dan Cole, one of the firm’s founding partners.
“To my knowledge, they (union) have made no investigation and don’t know what we pay or don’t pay,”Cole said Thursday.“We pay excessive of the prevailing wage rate.”
Cole added that the company does provide health care for its employees and that the waiting period to access health care is much shorter than what the average waiting period is for carpenters.
Cole Wilson Inc. employees are not unionized.
The relatively new development on Main Street is mixed-use, with several commercial spaces occupying the ground floor — including Rudy’s Barbershop, Flight Centre travel agency and Applegate Gallery. A Cold Stone Creamery recently moved out.
The Palisades Development Group main office is located just around the corner on Marine Street.
The protesters come for several hours every morning, setting up their banner and standing quietly as cars zoom past and pedestrians walk by. There are usually two women holding the banner, but on Thursday, they were joined by a fellow male union member.
From the window of Rudy’s Barbershop, stylists and customers have a clear view of the activities going on outside.
Stylist Eric Willet wonders when the protesters actually earn a living, noticing that they’re out every day from about 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., more than half the normal working day.
He doesn’t believe the protest deters customers from patronizing the businesses in the complex.
“In my mind, those that have something to say are doing the actual protesting,” Willet said. “No insult to them, but they don’t fit the part of really caring.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 6, 2007. Read the original PDF.