To The Editor,
Freelancer Jay Fitzgerald carelessly ignored a cardinal rule of journalism – fact checking – when writing “Modular Construction Could Address Region’s Housing Shortage” (The CRE Insider, Feb. 22). Rather than inform the public like journalists should do, his coverage of modular construction ultimately kicked unionized contractors on the cusp of innovation squarely in the gut.
A sub-headline and quote from Commodore Builders’ James Apodaca screamed unions have not embraced modular construction – an assertion that is not true for the unionized electrical industry. Fitzgerald was evidently oblivious that several of the developments he highlighted actually featured unionized craftspeople.
In fact, Methuen-based TCB Electrical Services – a proud International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 103-affiliated shop whose book of business is 60 percent modular – wired the Residences at Malden Station and Chelsea’s Flats at 22. A multi-phase project consisting of 100-plus units in two buildings, TCB incorporated both modular and traditional “stick build” techniques with ease in Chelsea. What’s more, TCB was the only union contractor on Flats at 22 and has also served on modular multifamily projects in Gloucester (39 units), West Roxbury (39 units), Cambridge/Fresh Pond (61 units), Tyngsborough (96 units) and Lunenburg (120 units). TCB regularly works for Maine-based KBS Builders and is pursuing Boston’s 61-89 Braintree St., both referenced in Fitzgerald’s article.
Local 103’s modular history dates back to the 1970s, when the union partnered with Westinghouse to construct modular housing at Weymouth Port. IBEW electricians helped build the homes at the Westinghouse factory, then performed the final wiring on site. This pact was arguably the first of its kind in Greater Boston.
As a professional reporter, Fitzgerald must verify what his sources espouse, especially when running an accompanying feel-good photo about a modular project that was – contrary to the article’s contention – partially built union. Absent basic journalistic competence, his readers simply inherit the false premise labor has yet again stymied progress when they are really spurring it. Sloppy reporting insults the trained specialists of IBEW Local 103 and the over 200 socially responsible contractors who employ them.
Fact check that.
Matthew A.M. Lash is the business development director for the 7,500-member International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 and its sister organization, the National Electrical Contractors Association of Greater Boston. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from St. Michael’s College.
