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10 Constr. Law. 1 (1990)

handle is hein.journals/conlaw10 and id is 1 raw text is: Double Breasting in the Construction Industry
Joseph H. Bucci and Brian P. Kirwan

Brian P. Kirwan

I. An Introduction to the Practice of Double Breasting
The construction industry is a volatile one character-
ized by wide fluctuations in product demand and a sen-
sitivity to changing economic, political, technological and
labor relations developments. The competitiveness of
the construction industry, and one's survival in it, re-
quires a conscious awareness of the above factors and
an ability to react and respond to each. An emerging
concept that encompasses both the prevailing economic
pressures and labor relations is the practice of double
breasting. Double breasting refers to the creation of two
distinct operating entities, one governed by a collective
bargaining agreement and one totally unencumbered by
such an agreement. The single most universal character-
istic of any double-breasted operation is common own-
ership of both the unionized and nonunionized com-
panies by a central business entity.
Joseph H. Bucci is an associate in the Construction Industry Practice
Group at the national law firm, Shea & Gould in New York City. Mr.
Bucci specializes in the representation of architects, engineers, con-
tractors, owners, and developers. He is a graduate of the Duquesne
University School of Law, a former project engineer and in-house
counsel to a national general contracting firm, and a journeyman
steamfitter.
Brian P. Kirwan is in his third year of law school at The Catholic
University of America School of Law in Washington, D.C. Currently
he works for Lyon and McManus, a construction litigation firm in
Washington, D.C.

The practice of double breasting is one that has arisen
in response to the rapid growth and success of open shop
operations. An open shop contractor is not signatory to
a collective bargaining agreement and has complete con-
trol of the hiring of employees, the assignment of job
tasks, the size of work crews, and the establishment of
wage, hours, and fringe benefits. Marking the mid- 1960s
as our starting point, union control has effectively been
reduced to less than one-third of construction dollar vol-
ume in the United States.' Indeed, while union employ-
ment as a percentage of total employment in the con-
struction industry was approximately 40 percent in 1973,
by 1983 there was a decline to approximately 30 percent,
with further declines through 1988 to a figure of 21.1
percent.2 Additionally, union losses have not been lim-
ited to any one particular geographic region or craft. The
traditional union contractor is being confronted with the
realization that profit margins are susceptible to wide
fluctuations on projects utilizing union labor while there
appears to be a thriving and expanding market awaiting
contractors who have adopted the open shop structure.
Double breasting is being hailed as the means through
which a contractor will possess the commanding advan-
tage of being able to effectively compete in both the
unionized and nonunionized markets within the con-
struction industry. While no one factor may be attrib-
(continued on page 24)

Copyright © 1990 American Bar Association

Joseph H. Bucci

Produced by the ABA Press

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