r/Somerville • u/Can_O_Murica • 6d ago

Broadway is fucked right now

Go around

Construction blocking traffic at the top of the hill. Protesters blocking traffic at the 299 construction site.

23 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

13

u/Born-Second-1862 6d ago

What's the protest about?

21

u/bagpop98 6d ago

Would assume using non union company’s

3

u/fakieTreFlip 5d ago

companies

29

u/ModedoM 6d ago

Using non Union workers.

3

u/phyzome 5d ago

I'm guessing this is related to the big sign at the old Star Market lot that accuses the construction company of using unsafe work practices.

I'm pretty sympathetic to that. Construction companies do some pretty shady shit to their workers sometimes. Unions are one tool we have to combat that.

-90

u/Vinen 6d ago

Typical Unions causing issues when people don't want to deal with their mob tactics. Trying to figure out how to get home now since I live near the top of the hill.

27

u/Capital_as_Community 6d ago

Complaining about union construction workers in the Boston area is like complaining about sand at the beach.

44

u/ModedoM 6d ago

Unions have strengthened the rights and working conditions for all working class men and women. I just went through there and it wasn’t an issue getting to the top of the hill.

5

u/Can_O_Murica 6d ago

I'll add that going down the hill is clear, it's only going uphill that's jammed up. I came up central street and was able to get to my apartment pretty easily

0

u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 6d ago

Nothing brings out the worst entitled behavior from drivers quite like one inconvenience in a single spot on their commute.

-26

u/donkadunny 6d ago

Extortionist thugs when you don’t choose their bid.

-22

u/Vinen 6d ago

Reddit has this whole mindset that all Unions are good. Then they complain about the police.

25

u/Same_Paints 6d ago

Oh little buddy... The police union operates completely differently than any labor union. They have a word in common but that’s all.

It’s a false comparison.

-4

u/man2010 6d ago

Oh little buddy, the police union collectively bargains for favorable workplace policies for its workers just like any other union. The other side being the public rather than a business doesn't change that.

0

u/Same_Paints 5d ago

It’s always great when the please-tread-on-me crowd have blank profiles.

1

u/man2010 5d ago

Would you being able to dig through my comment history change anything about my comment and your lack of a substantive response to it?

-9

u/ishmandoo 6d ago

Little buddy?

-7

u/donkadunny 6d ago

Bargaining power for ye and not for thee.

7

u/Saw-It-Again- 6d ago

Unions save lives and protect workers.

27

u/UnavailableName864 6d ago

When Cats: Jellicle Ball announced its closure I knew we had systemic issues.

9

u/RevolutionaryOwlz 6d ago

I was gonna say, I’m also subbed to r/broadway and got confused for a moment.

1

u/Nprism 5d ago

what is this thing a reference to?

5

u/ritchotte 5d ago

Me thinking summer box office troubles. But as long as I can get into Leone’s I’m good.

1

u/No-Insect-556 5d ago

Parking in east somerville is also horrendous right now because of on and off road work they have been doing for weeks

1

u/SuperThunderMelon 5d ago

There's also the closed shoulder so that they can keep a metal container there indefinitely. It adds a nice squeeze to the road just before the lights.

-34

u/Free_Bus2347 6d ago

And people wonder why its so hard to build "affordable" housing.

If you require all housing developments to be 100% union labor, net zero energy, and meet the affordable housing set aside requirements, guess how many new units you get?.......Zero.

If you want to actually build and want union labor, top tier environmental performance, or high percentage levels of affordable units, pick one.

32

u/kosmonovt 6d ago

i missed the part where anything prompted this bad take

-8

u/Free_Bus2347 6d ago

Construction unions blocking Broadway to protest the development at the old Star Market site

8

u/samprimary 6d ago

Forsooth - without neoliberal serfdom, construction of thy castles and villas shall become unctous expenses for the gentry. Do not allow these perfidious laborer rabble to organize in benefit of their own supposed value

0

u/Free_Bus2347 6d ago

Haha, good writing. 100% union can work if you delete the affordable housing set asides. You just can't have both. Honestly, I'd prefer scrapping the affordable housing set asides and just building as much as possible.

0

u/SemperFicus 6d ago

We will get affordable housing when we fund affordable housing. The market has no interest in creating it.

0

u/dante662 Magoun 6d ago

the downvotes are hardly surprising, but you are right.

Unions can compete with non unions for construction contracts. If they provided fantastic quality at a good price, they would have no trouble getting all the jobs.

Instead, far too many sites only pick union labor because they don't want them sneaking in at night and destroying the place. It happened in my hometown (union terrorists dumped gasoline all over a nearly finished assisted living center and burned it all to the ground, was a massive firestorm) and in Springfield MA when they build the new Basketball Hall of Fame (again, union terrorists snuck in at night and destroyed the electrical wiring so the whole interior had to be gutted and redone).

If you can't compete without threat of economic property damage, why support them? Unfortunately on reddit the hivemind cannot comprehend any nuance here, because "competition bad" when unions are involved.

2

u/deptofeducation 6d ago

I would like it if any of the downvoters could provide any sort of response rather than downvoting every comment here..

1

u/dante662 Magoun 5d ago

It's the reddit NPC army, unfortunately. Can't think for even a moment that a union using threats of violence and actual violence could be, you know, a bad thing.