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WHEREAS it is the stated mission of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to "foster a welcoming, economically viable Downtown"; and
WHEREAS the Partnership attempts to achieve this commendable goal by, among things, providing "Safety Ambassadors" so that visitors and residents are safe and are properly and courteously directed to the locations they wish to visit; and a "Clean Team" to remove trash and ensure that the sidewalks in Downtown are clean and properly maintained; and
WHEREAS the Partnership retains contractors to employ the employees who serve as Safety Ambassadors and the Clean Team; and
WHEREAS the employees of these contractors, who serve the citizens of Pittsburgh and the City's visitors, have a federally protected right to organize with a union and to act collectively to better their wages and working conditions; and
WHEREAS the Partnership, as representative of our City and its values, should use a responsible contractor that demonstrates a respect for the rights of employees to organize, and that is committed to providing decent wages and affordable health insurance for employees and their families; and
WHEREAS Block by Block, the current contractor retained by the Partnership to employ Safety Ambassadors, has engaged in conduct that, we believe, demonstrates an antipathy towards workers' rights; and
WHEREAS the National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating charges that Block by Block has violated workers' federally protected rights here in Pittsburgh in severe and profound ways by, among other things, prohibiting employees from wearing union buttons; prohibiting employees from talking to the media; conducting unlawful surveillance of employees as they peacefully leafleted about their working conditions; and unlawfully interrogating employees about their union support; and
WHEREAS Block by Block has engaged in similar conduct in Newark, New Jersey, in response to the Ambassadors in Newark seeking to organize with a unio...
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