THE SUZIO STORY 125 YEARS OF FAMILY ENTERPRISE PHILANTHROPY AND SERVICE
The Meriden Historical Society is hosting an exhibit entitled "The Suzio Story - 125 Years of Enterprise, Family, Philanthropy, and Service" at its Museum and History Center, at 41 West Main Street in Meriden every Sunday in October from 11:00 to 3:00
Featuring memorabilia and photographs from Suzio headquarters on Westfield Road as well as videos of interviews with past and present employees
Capturing the remarkable story of a 21 year old Italian immigrant, Leonardo Suzio, who grew Suzio York Hill into one of the most successful and enduring family-owned businesses in Connecticut history starting in 1898
Including the role of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation Suzio members and Henry Altobello in the evolution and growth of the business from building (1910's) to road construction (1930's) to building materials (1955 - today)
Highlighting Suzio loyalty to its origin city Meriden, its employees, its vendors, and its community.
Striking longshoremen block union counterparts at State Pier
Greg Smith
New London ― About three dozen police officers were called in to maintain order Wednesday during a protest by more than 100 longshoremen outside the gates of State Pier in New London.
Local members of the International Longshoremen’s Association are on strike to protest Danish offshore wind company Ørsted’s use of a different union for operating heavy-lift equipment at State Pier, which is being used as a staging assembly area for offshore wind turbines.
Connecticut building trade union members already under contract for work at State Pier arrived in buses on Wednesday only to be blocked by ILA protesters, many of whom had come from New Jersey. Police arrived in force shortly after.
New London police officers joined with a contingent of state troopers to usher a bus through the gates off State Pier Road later in the morning. The bus passed through a throng of sign-waving protesters yelling profanities and insults.
The strike started on Monday, the same week Ørsted was preparing to load wind turbine components onto a barge for the first trip to South Fork Wind, off the coast of Long Island. All the parts necessary for one turbine ― the three blades, tower portions and nacelle ― will be loaded onto one barge and shipped for installation as part of the project.
The ILA is framing the fight as one that has implications for ports and its work crews all along the East Coast. Ørsted calls it a jurisdictional issue between two unions.
Despite the lack of longshoremen on site ― about 30 would be working ― Ørsted spokesman Tory Mazzola, in a statement on Wednesday, said work would continue to keep South Fork Wind on track.
“The South Fork Wind team is continuing preparations today for the upcoming load-out of the project’s first wind turbine. With the ILA still refusing to work ― and attempting today to block other Connecticut union workers from accessing the job site ― we had to move to a contingency plan to keep this work on-track.
The ILA plans to strike until it can get Ørsted to the negotiating table to work out a long-term plan that would see ILA members trained and working on the large cranes and self-propelled modular transports that are now operated by the Connecticut Building Trades’ Operating Engineers, a different union that already has a labor agreement in place for work at State Pier.
ILA Local 1411 business manager and spokesman Peter Olsen said the issue involves New London and all of the other ports along the East Coast where ILA has jurisdiction.
“We have been up front about what we want and what we need to hear from the other side,” Olsen said.
Longshoremen are not yet trained on the specialized equipment, and while its members planned to get trained, the union still has no guarantees from Ørsted that ILA members will secure those jobs. The loading, unloading and moving around of cargo at State Pier is what ILA has done for decades, Olsen said.
Ørsted, in its statement, said “We continue to engage with the ILA and we’re hopeful they’ll take us up on our offer to meet.”
“We continue to believe that the quickest way to address this jurisdictional dispute is for the ILA to engage the Operating Engineers to resolve the issue,” said Allison Ziogas, head of labor relations for Ørsted, said in a statement.
Jim Paylor, ILA assistant general organizer and co-chairman of the ILA’s offshore wind committee, said Ørsted has called it a dispute between two unions but in reality it is an “erosion of jurisdiction.”
“They created the jurisdictional issue,” Paylor said.
Paylor said Ørsted’s use of the State Pier put longshoremen out of work for three years and they have returned to find they will not be trained to operate some of the key equipment for that work.
“(Ørsted) didn’t have a right, in my opinion, to take something in our jurisdiction and give it to someone else. They’re going to take over your port and determine whose going to work on it? Nobody should be giving that kind of power to a foreign entity,” he said.
Mazzola, in his statement, said Ørsted continues to engage with the ILA, and “we’re hopeful they’ll take us up on our continued offers to meet.”
Paylor said New London would be the focus protests all week with unions “across the world” taking notice.
Construction ramps up in fall. CT still lost 900 jobs in September
Keith M. Phaneuf
Connecticut lost 900 construction jobs in September — a time when the industry normally ramps up employment to finish outstanding projects before winter.
That September loss, which at -1.5% ranked among the worst of any state, followed a year in which Connecticut’s construction employment grew just 0.5%, slower than 41 other states, according to state labor statistics and a leading trade group.
The head of Connecticut’s chief lobbying group for the construction industry said that problem isn’t likely to change until state officials can figure out how to accelerate the rebuild of Connecticut’s aging transportation infrastructure.
When “you have lost 900 jobs right around when you’re moving from prime construction season into crunch time, it’s an indication we could be doing better,” said Donald Shubert, president of the Connecticut Construction Industry Association. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Construction sector employment dropped from 61,600 jobs in August to 60,700 in September, according to the Department of Labor. That’s only the second time in the past decade that construction employment here fell in September — the other happening in 2016, labor records show.
According to the Associated General Contractors of America — an Arlington, Va.-based trade association representing thousands of general and specialty contractors and suppliers — Connecticut’s 1.5% drop in September ranked 48th among 50 states in terms of construction job growth.
Bottom of Form
The contractors association also noted that Connecticut’s 0.5% construction job growth over the past 12 months, from 60,400 jobs to 60,700, ranked 42nd among all states.
Both construction industries and construction trades have been urging Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration to go accelerate the state’s transportation capital program, a challenge that has stymied several governors.
Chris DiPentima, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said construction firms here have been struggling to fill vacant jobs. But he also said more robust state investments in transportation work is key to revitalizing the industry.
“They [state officials] need to get the work out into the streets and put the pressure on the construction industry, the private sector, to find those jobs,” he said.
“There is ample evidence that job growth would be even stronger if this industry could find all the workers it needs,” said Patrick Flaherty, director of research for the Connecticut Department of Labor, adding that there are more than 1,200 jobs currently posted for construction workers. Flaherty also said other sectors also are struggling to recruit workers.
Both Lamont and state Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said earlier this month the administration is working to add engineers and other professionals needed to launch more projects.
Eucalitto said the DOT has about 3,100 employees, roughly 200 more than it did in January.
But the administration also recently confirmed it has scaled back significantly its financing plans this fiscal year for highway, bridge and rail upgrades.
Connecticut borrows hundreds of millions of dollars annually for capital work by selling bonds on Wall Street, pairing those funds with hundreds of millions more in matching federal grants. The state then pays off the debt through the state budget’s Special Transportation Fund, which gets the bulk of its revenues from fuel and sales tax receipts.
The administration recently said it plans to borrow $875 million for transportation projects this fiscal year. That’s a 5.4% increase from the $830 million borrowed last year, but well below the $1 billion target it set last November for the 2023-24 fiscal year. And it’s far too little for construction firms and trades that argue Connecticut should be borrowing closer to $1.5 billion annually to upgrade an infrastructure largely built in the 1950s.
Because borrowing hasn’t risen sharply, the Special Transportation Fund has been running huge surpluses. The STF closed last fiscal year with a 15% surplus, equal to $277 million, according to final numbers from the state comptroller’s office. And that was despite a 13-month gasoline tax holiday that returned about $330 million to motorists. Most of that loss, $240 million, occurred during the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The fund is on pace for a $204 million surplus this fiscal year, a 10% cushion, according to Lamont’s budget office.
All of this black ink has Connecticut gasoline station owners, fuel distributors and others pressuring Lamont and lawmakers to cut gasoline taxes, arguing they aren’t being channeled into highway repairs anyway.
In other words — use them or lose them.
The stakes in this debate also are huge for two other reasons.
The massive five-year $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure program launched in 2022 is entering its third year. Federal grants are covering 80% to 90% of the cost of many state transportation projects, meaning the more states commit, the more overall funding they can leverage.
And both DiPentima and University of Connecticut economist Fred Carstensen said investments in construction could pay huge dividends for the overall state economy.
Construction permits are being issued here at roughly one-quarter of the pace they were 40 years ago, and since the 1980s, the state’s net economic growth has been minimal, said Carstensen, who heads the the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis.
Construction projects tend to have a strong job multiplier effect, he said, noting they typically use primarily local labor and local suppliers, adding, “You don’t input concrete from Pennsylvania.”
A 2013 analysis from the center found that for every $1 billion in bonding Connecticut actually spends on capital projects translates roughly into 10,000 construction and related jobs.
Michael Puffer
Adeveloper targeting a 157.1-acre site in Waterbury and Naugatuck for a massive Amazon distribution facility continues to express confidence in the project, but is also asking for an extra year to vet the site and pursue local permits.
Bluewater Property Group reached a $2.5 million purchase agreement with Waterbury and Naugatuck in May 2022. The deal gave the developer 18 months for due diligence and was set to expire in November.
On Tuesday, the Naugatuck Board of Mayor and Burgesses unanimously agreed to give Bluewater, a company with offices in New York and Pennsylvania, an additional year for due diligence and permitting.
Thomas Hyde, interim director of the Waterbury Development Corp., said Waterbury’s Board of Aldermen is scheduled to take up the one-year extension during a special meeting on Monday, Oct. 30.
Hyde noted while Amazon has walked away from some projects in other states, it has recently expanded its presence in Connecticut. And both Amazon and Bluewater have shown sustained interest in the Waterbury-Naugatuck site, he said.
An Amazon-affiliated company paid $4.8 million in August 2022 for an 8.5-acre Naugatuck property abutting the 157.1-acre development site. That property was to be used as an access point, and its purchase was taken as a sign of Amazon’s commitment.
Bluewater has agreed to give the city a $100,000 nonrefundable deposit in exchange for the extension, Hyde said.
“Amazon has continued to expand in Connecticut,” Hyde said. “We just saw two new distribution facilities open up. They are not walking away from it. We are optimistic the project is going to continue to move forward.”
Bluewater has proposed a roughly 130-foot-tall, multi-level robotic-sort facility of up to 3 million square feet.
Meeting with Naugatuck officials Tuesday, Bluewater Vice President Christina Bernardin said the need for additional time is understandable, given “very challenging” topography that shifts by 250 feet. The company will also need the additional time to pursue local permitting, she said.
“We are super confident about this,” Bernadin told Naugatuck officials. “We are excited about moving forward and think the one year will get us to the finish line.”
Naugatuck officials were emphatically supportive of the extension and approved the request within seconds and without question.
After the meeting, Bernadin told the Hartford Business Journal the extension request should not come as a surprise as the site is “very challenging.”
“We just require another year to assess it for construction feasibility and to obtain project approvals,” Bernadin said.
CRDA board to vote on moving $100M+ XL Center renovation forward
Michael Puffer
The Capital Region Development Authority will ask its board of directors on Thursday to sign off on advancing plans for a long-simmering $100 million-plus XL Center renovation.
The investment is expected to make up for decades of deferred maintenance to the downtown sports and entertainment arena. It will also reconfigure portions of the building with the aim of helping to attract more performers and visitors.
The CRDA has sought a comprehensive overhaul of the 47-year-old concrete structure for years. In June, the General Assembly agreed to contribute up to $80 million toward the effort, provided private sources fund at least $20 million of the project.
The green light sought by CRDA staff would also authorize continued negotiations with Oak View Group, the entertainment company currently managing the XL Center. The two sides have been negotiating a deal that could involve OVG contributing at least $20 million.
In exchange for its investment, Oak View Group would get an extended contract to manage the arena. It would keep the first $4 million in net profit each year, and split any additional net revenue with the CRDA. Any contract worked out would require another approval by the CRDA board.
CRDA staff aren’t worried about lost revenue as the 15,500-seat arena currently runs at a yearly deficit of about $2 million, which is subsidized by state taxpayers.
Officials justify the ongoing loss by citing anecdotal benefits to hotels, restaurants and other businesses from spill-over event traffic. The hope is that the renovation will make the building more active and profitable.
The current plan includes a new ramping and bay door system that would eliminate a bottleneck that drastically slows the loading and unloading of props and equipment – a big expense and turnoff for performers.
The stage would be reoriented to meet a concert capacity of 13,000, and the “lower bowl” of the arena would be rebuilt to offer different types of in-demand premium seating.
Other improvements include upgrades and repairs to IT and audio/visual systems, mechanical upgrades and, budget allowing, improvements to the amenity concourse surrounding the inner arena.
The CRDA board will be asked Thursday to acknowledge its approval of the renovation plans, and to instruct staff to keep pushing the project forward.
CRDA staff have kept the board well-informed as the project has moved forward, but Michael Freimuth, executive director of the economic development agency, said he wants to be certain of support before bids are issued.
“We have talked about it endlessly, but we are about to put bids on the street, so I want to confirm everybody is comfortable with the program,” Freimuth said Wednesday.
Freimuth anticipates presenting a contract proposal with Oak View Group to the board in December or January.