July 16--St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church officials said they had to call Albuquerque police to quiet down a union demonstration last week because the protesters would not stop using loud, "dirty language" next to the church, during services and in earshot of its day school for children.
A California carpenters union organized a local demonstration against a nonunion subcontractor on the morning of July 8, disrupting 9:30 a.m. services, parish administrator Kathryn Ravenwood told the Journal.
"We asked them not to use dirty language and be quiet during Mass," she said.
The noise continued so "we called (the police) because we didn't know what our boundaries are," Ravenwood said, adding that church officials did not want to infringe on the civil rights of the demonstrators, but wanted to continue with church activities.
There was also concern from parents and the church because there is a day school on site, she said. The church is in the North Valley, on Montano Road NE just west of Fourth Street.
"If they want to come and picket, fine," she said. "It's just difficult because we don't know who these people are."
A Journal message for Justin Weidner, chief of staff for the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters in Los Angeles, which has organized numerous bannering campaigns around Albuquerque and Santa Fe for more than a year using Carpenters Local 1319 on its signs, was not returned Thursday. The Albuquerque union refers media calls to the L.A. organization.
Typically, a few hired workers hand out fliers and hold up a white banner reading "Shame On" with the name of a particular business following it and "labor dispute" in black lettering on two top areas of the banner. Fliers typically say Carpenters Local 1319 is behind the campaign, urging people to call to "see that area labor standards are met."
The council, which has almost completed building a $20 million training center at I-25 and Comanche NE, has yet to provide details to the Journal about the protests and how sites are chosen despite multiple requests for comment going back to at least April 2009.
The union protest at St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal last week was a little different. This time, several dozen picketers held individual signs reading "Lone Sun Unfair" as they walked and chanted in front of the church.
Lone Sun is a local nonunion general contractor that specializes in carpentry. It has been targeted by the union before, and its owner has been an outspoken critic of the union demonstrations.
Other union targets have been as varied as First Baptist Church at Central and Broadway, Sunflower Market on Lomas and San Mateo NE, behind the UNM School of Law, Hotel Andaluz Downtown, Il Vicino on the West Side and Hotel St. Francis in Santa Fe.
"Again, the Carpenter's Union was a blight upon our community, they disrupted a church service, they were vulgar, and they attacked members of our community with a history of contributions to our city and state," F. Chet Karnas, owner of Lone Sun Builders, wrote in an e-mail about the July 8 event.
Lone Sun is a subcontractor on a $2 million, 7,000-square-foot ministry complex project under construction at the church site. Britton Construction Inc., another local company, is the general contractor for the job.
The complex has been under construction since February, but carpenters union protests did not start until July 7 -- a day before the loud picketing took place, Ravenwood said.
The next day, about 70 people staged a counterprotest across the street from union picketers and the church, said Karnas.
Karnas has organized counterprotests at other sites targeted by the union. He has also started a blog with video clips, news links and more dedicated to fighting the protests. He's also been active in bringing the issue to the attention of business organizations and lawmakers.
Ravenwood said police told church officials they have a right to ask picketers not to interfere with normal business activities, and picketers must comply. Once police came out, picketers quieted down.
"It was all very quiet and peaceful," she said.
No report was filed by APD.
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