March 31, 2006
Philadelphia's Green Monster
In case you didn't know, the Comcast Center is supposed to be a certified "green" building, which means it will release oxygen or something. In fact, it will be the tallest green building in the United States, something we Philadelphians can, I suppose, be mighty proud of. Perhaps people will come from all over to see our tall building!
That being said, the plumbers' union is against one of the cornerstones of the green building, waterless urinals. They're against them because, obviously, they cost less money to maintain and less money to install. That means, uh, less money for plumbers.
And now, as noted earlier, John Street and Vince Fumo are both making a push to pretty much tell the plumbers' union to, uhh, flush it. And, Sunday, there's even a protest at Love Park at 1 p.m. that will also be telling the plumbers' union the same thing.
Presumably, the protesters on Sunday will be there because they want to highlight the fact that the waterless urinals in the Comcast Center will save 1.6 million gallons of water a year. You might think that Vince Fumo is hoping to broker a deal with the plumbers' union for the same reason. You also might have the brain of a gerbil.
While Fumo may love the water savings, he's also in it for this reason:
Without the code change, it might be harder for Liberty to win a certificate from the Green Building Council. In that case, New York and its 945-foot-tall Bank of America tower would capture the title of America's tallest green building.
Fumo "would love to see us beat New York on something like this," Tuma said. "It's all about the city's image. The more good press we get, the more construction the city is going to get."
And they say we don't have an inferiority complex!
Fumo, Street join the push for waterless urinals [Inky]
Full protest info after the jump.
Spread the word... On Sunday, April 2nd at 1:00 PMCome to Love Park And Tell the Plumbers' Union they can't flush progress!
Come out and show the unions and local politicians that you support the use of waterless urinals to make the Comcast tower the TALLEST GREEN BUILDING IN AMERICA!
Bring your inflatable rats, bring your toilet tricycles, bring your silly protest signs!
Let the local politicians know that they have constituents who will support them in taking on out of control unions!
Plans for Comcast's new office building at 17th and Market call for innovative green technologies that will make the building the tallest green building in the country. As Philadelphia continues to attract attention as an emerging world city, a project like this is paramount to our fair city's growth in the modern global economy. Progressive projects bring progressive businesses and progressive solutions to urban challenges.
Unions are a vital part of this city and have served a pivotal role in getting Philadelphia where it is today. They have protected workers' rights and have won many important battles on behalf of our fellow Philadelphians in the trades. However, times are changing and some of the arcane stances of the unions must change to allow for our city to continue its recent growth.
For the new Comcast tower to be certified as a green building, the architects have designed bathrooms that will used waterless urinals. The plumbers' union, Local 690, has threatened stop the building from using this new green technology.
Here at the facts about the urinals:
- they will save an estimated 1.6 million gallons of water a year
- using less water will ease the strain on the city's already over worked sewage system
- not just environmentally friendly, these urinals are more sanitary and make for less odor
- the urinals still have drains and will still be installed an services by the unions
- installation of these urinals may cause a shift in some jobs, but will likely not cause a loss of jobs for the unions
- the Philadelphia chapter of the EPA supports the use of these urinals
- waterless urinals are found in dozens of buildings around the country, including at Walt Disney World and in an elementary school in PittsburghLet's give the plumbers' union a taste of their own medicine and protest their ignorant stance…because when plumbers act like this, they ain't sh*t.
Brought to you by Philadelphians for a More Progressive Philadelphia
Posted by D-Mac on March 31, 2006 01:16 PM
Posted to Comcast Tower
, Construction
, Controversies
, Protests
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As a tree-hugging dirt-worshipping Portlander, maybe I cannot appreciate the level of pull the unions have in Philadephia (in Portland unions are more of a cute idea than a crushing reality)
My view is unless there is a downside to these new water-saving urinals the powers that be in government need to do the hard thing and push for progress and saving our resources.
That said, I would probably have somebody else start my car in the morning. Maybe biking to work would be a good idea...
Posted by: Chris Dornan at March 31, 2006 01:30 PM