Labor Union Sues University of California for Awarding $120,000,000 Contract to Company that Covered Up Worker's Death

Carpenters Local Union 505 alleges the University of California is party to the improper awarding of a taxpayer-funded project at UC Santa Cruz in direct violation of state regulations

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., July 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A construction labor union is taking the Regents of the University of California to court for awarding a $120 million UC Santa Cruz student housing project to contractor W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal, which allegedly omitted damaging details from their bid for the project. Those details included the tragic recent death of a worker on its parent company's project in Los Angeles, an incident that the company was required to disclose per the University's official bidding instructions.

According to Carpenters Local Union 505, the University of California failed to hold W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal accountable for a number of serious bid form omissions. In addition to the worker death – which is currently being litigated against W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal's parent company, W.E. O'Neil of Construction Co. of California, in Los Angeles Superior Court – details from the lawsuit filed on July 10 show that W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal failed to disclose to the University that its parent company is the subject of a range of other serious lawsuits.

Exhibits to Local 505's lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Santa Cruz, also reveal W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal's plan to use a subcontractor – ADCO Drywall – that has been the subject of substantial wage theft settlements in lawsuits brought by workers.

Local 505 repeatedly made complaints about W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal's bid before the awarding of the contract, but University administrators and the Regents rejected these complaints, deciding to ignore the many deficiencies in the bid, despite their gravity and noncompliance with the University's own bidding instructions.

"This bid was duplicitous from the outset," said Doug Chesshire, Senior Field Representative for the Nor Cal Carpenters Local Union 505. "The UC Regents should be ashamed of being party to this attempt by W.E. O'Neil Construction Co. of NorCal to unfairly capture a lucrative state contract."

The Student Housing West Phase 1—Hagar Development project's budget, funded almost entirely by California taxpayers, is more than $120 million for the construction of 140 housing units and a childcare center on 17 acres of the UC Santa Cruz campus. The lawsuit asks the court to halt all work on the project, and direct the UC Regents to cancel the improper contract and select a qualified contractor instead.

"This project to provide much-needed housing for Santa Cruz students should also provide good, safe jobs for workers in Santa Cruz – and with a contractor that cares about safety and plays by the rules," Chesshire said. "Workers should not be put at risk so that a company can enrich itself on a public project, and the Regents should not put themselves at risk by allowing a project with such a flawed bidding process." 

About the Nor Cal Carpenters Union
The Nor Cal Carpenters' Union has an unwavering commitment to helping carpenters improve their lives, their futures, and their trade. It represents 22 local unions of more than 36,500 members and 6,395 apprentices. For more information, visit www.norcalcarpenters.org.

Contact: Haley Murphy, Singer Associates 
Phone: 707-815-8909
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Nor Cal Carpenters Union