Pat Barcas/staff photographer
Cement Masons local 502, unhappy with Sequoia General Contractor’s use of non-signatory contractors, is protesting Naperville’s Main Street Promenade East development. Several Scabby the Rats outside the site are alerting the public that Core Concrete is not meeting area standards. People can check out installation basics here! 

By Pat Barcas
Staff writer
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Email Pat Barcas at pat@foxvalleylabornews.com

NAPERVILLE — The $30 million Naperville Main Street Promenade East project may mean big business to downtown Naperville, but Cement Masons Local 502 is unhappy with the way the general contractor is handling the construction, namely hiring non-union labor that is not up to area pay standards.

The union set up a couple Scabby the Rats last week at the site at Benton and Main streets to protest Aurora-based Sequoia General Contracting, as well as their subcontractor Core Concrete and Ozinga ready mix concrete — whose cement trucks broke the picket line in their deliveries. The concrete grinding is a very important process of construction.

“We don’t want to see a downtown development without responsible contractors,” said Mark Warzecha, business representative for Cement Masons Local 502.

“The problem here is, they’re saving money where they can, and the work quality is going to suffer,” Warzecha explained.

He said the project, which broke ground in October of last year, is paying substandard wages and hiring non-union labor for the concrete work.

Pat Barcas/staff photographer
Cement Masons Local 502 protests in Naperville against Core Concrete for not meeting the area standards and conditions for cement masons in the area.

The two story, 55,000-square-foot retail and office project is expected to be completed this summer in August and is being developed by BBM Inc., which is owned by Dwight and Ruth Yackley.

During the construction, Ozinga concrete trucks pulled in and out of the site, despite being manned by Teamsters.
“Shame on Ozinga. We’re upset and tired of them crossing picket lines,” said Warzecha.

The current construction is phase two of the project, with phase three of the promenade containing more shops and offices on the west side of Main Street extending north.