Union protest targets coach’s hudson yard move

| 14 Jun 2016 | 01:36

Teamsters Local 814 has erected an inflatable rat in front of 10 Hudson Yards to protest Coach’s use of an out-of-state moving company. Photo: Isidro Camacho

BY ISIDRO CAMACHO

Members of Teamsters Local 814 erected their notorious inflatable rat in front of 10 Hudson Yards last week to draw attention to Coach’s use of an out-of-state mover as the retailer moved in to the new building.

Coach, the luxury retail brand and the first major company to move into 10 Hudson Yards, is in the process of relocating its corporate headquarters from 34th Street into the gleaming tower overlooking the High Line.

The Teamsters are angered that Coach has opted to use All Season Movers Inc. rather than a Local 814 affiliated moving company.

The crux of the problem, according to Teamster business agent Walter Taylor, is that All Season Movers is based in New Jersey.

“These are good middle class jobs from the city” Taylor said. “They should stay in the city.”

Julian Tysh, Local 814’s membership coordinator, focused his frustration toward Related Companies, the developer at the helm of the Hudson Yards project.

Tysh pointed to the Hudson Yard’s own promise of stimulating economic growth within the city. “If you’re going to say you’re going to create jobs in New York, persuade Coach to use a New York based moving company,” he said.

A spokesperson for Related and the company’s website itself said it used Local 814 affiliated labor throughout the construction process. Coach now owns the space in 10 Hudson Yards so it ultimately decides which type of labor to use.

A spokeswoman for Coach could not be reached.

All Season Movers is affiliated with Union 514 as well as the Metropolitan Movers Association, an organization that has pitted itself against the Teamsters in the past.

Reached by phone, Pat Robbie, who owns All Season Movers and also is Metropolitan Movers Association president, declined to comment.

In 2013, the MMA sued then-City Comptroller John C. Lieu’s office in an attempt to lower the city’s prevailing wage for movers, according to Tysh.

In response the Teamsters and moving companies throughout the city formed Moving Forward, an organization of moving companies backed by Local 814.

Coach’s move will be complete next week, according to Amaury Parry, a Teamsters member who last week was distributing flyers disparaging Coach and All Season Movers in front of 10 Hudson Yards.

While Coach’s move may be over soon, the Teamsters fear that its choice in movers could set a precedent for other major companies that will soon occupy spaces in 10 Hudson Yards.