By Steve Eimer – Executive Vice President, Related CompaniesEditor's note: The following op-ed comes from Steve Eimer, executive vice president at the Related Companies. Rebuttals or other points of view are welcome; send toLate last week, Related Santa Clara submitted a letter to the Santa Clara mayor and City Council clarifying essential details regarding a petition made by a specialty craft union to a state agency known as the Department of Industrial Relations .
For various reasons — most importantly, the Covid-19 pandemic and a now-resolved CEQA lawsuit filed by the City of San Jose — the timeline for construction has been lengthened. Nevertheless, Related remains committed to its plans and has already privately invested hundreds of millions of dollars in pre-development activities to convert the 240-acre site into a premier mixed-use destination adjacent to an exciting sporting arena in the heart of Santa Clara.
Disappointingly, efforts to clarify that the project is not a public work have been mischaracterized by some as an effort to skirt prevailing wage laws. This is not the case. Related is not seeking any “exemptions” from California prevailing wage law and has never sought preferential treatment. In fact several of Related Santa Clara's contractors sent letters to the City Council. The companies — Murray Company, Rosendin Electric Inc., Standard Drywall Inc., Largo Concrete Inc. and Foundation Constructors Inc., to name a few among those involved in the project — all affirmed that Related was committed to using union labor and paying living wage.