For Our Members, With Our Members

Posted January 20, 2026

By Rodrigo Badaro

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Confucius

We wish all our members and your families a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a healthy, peaceful, and prosperous 2026. It has been an honor, a pleasure, and a great responsibility to represent and serve you for another year. Working under the leadership of BM/ST Chris Brennan, alongside a strong team of Labor Leaders in DC 35, makes that work even better.

Fighting For What Is Ours

Back in August, Representative/Organizer Martin Castillo identified a project in Waltham—a fit-out for the Danish multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the makers of Semaglutide (Ozempic). After Martin reported it to Assistant Business Manager Joe Guarino, he reached out to the vice president of the general contractor, Consigli, and together we informed our signatory contractors about the bidding opportunity.

A couple of months later, Sousa Painting was leading the race to land the project, but they were asked to submit a “best and final” offer. When we followed up at the site, we were surprised to hear that Consigli had awarded the painting contract to the non-union contractor Kaloutas.

We immediately informed Consigli that we would exercise our right to take job action at multiple sites, letting the community know that the GC and owner were not upholding fair labor standards. At first, Consigli’s leadership didn’t seem concerned – but just eight hours later, they called back asking us to hold off, saying they would be meeting with our contractor in two days.

We’re glad to report that Sousa was ultimately awarded the painting contract. This win will create thousands of work hours for our commercial painters in the coming months, starting in November. Sunrise and TJ McCartney are already handling the glazing and drywall finishing work on the project.

Clarendon Hill Campaign

When we launched the Clarendon Hill redevelopment campaign in September of 2024, our goal was to expose the unethical practices of the general contractor and their subcontractors. These companies were exploiting workers—and a broken immigration system—to complete offsite modular construction in Littleton, MA. Even though our signatory contractor, Universal Drywall, had been awarded the drywall finishing for the base building in Somerville, we did not expect this campaign to generate any work hours for our members.

For 10 months, we spent countless hours talking with workers, making hundreds of phone calls, building trust, assisting many in filing wage theft complaints, visiting job sites, and working closely with the Fair Labor Division of the Attorney General’s Office. Then, in early July of 2025, our drywall finishing contractor called asking for 12 tapers to repair all 168 units on the project. In addition, the general contractor, Dellbrook, hired DC 35 commercial painting signatory ML McDonald to repaint half of the units in the project, and thousands of hours were generated for our members.

North Shore

In Salem, over 200 union members rallied in protest of the School Building Committee’s decision to bypass a PLA for the city’s new high school project. We’re especially grateful to the delegates and rank-and-file members who showed up. Their presence was recognized and appreciated by fellow Building Trades members and the local community. This action aimed to send a clear message, not only to Salem but to other cities, that we will not stand by and accept the denial of opportunities for good careers, on-time and on-budget projects, and safe job sites.

Work has also begun at the Leefort Terrace Redevelopment in Salem, where DC 35 signatory ML McDonald is handling the painting of this 124-unit project. This success stems from an investment BM/ST Chris Brennan made in October 2023 in a search tool called BLDUP. Using this tool, we identified the project during its planning phase, informed our contractors about the bidding opportunity, and ML McDonald won the contract. They are now working under a non-union General Contractor, Callahan, and generating thousands of hours for our members.

In Peabody, recognizing the city’s high union density, we held an educational meeting for our members to discuss the social and economic benefits of using a PLA for their upcoming high school project. The turnout was excellent, with more than 100 members from all Building Trades participating. This was just the first step in a larger plan, which includes meeting with City Council members, the School Building Committee, and eventually the Mayor.

Under the guidance of the Director of Government Affairs, John Drinkwater, we focused on the City Councilor-at-Large race in Peabody, and successfully supported incumbent Jon Turco, a fellow union brother from Teamsters Local 25. For the first time in his political career, Jon topped the ticket. He recognized DC 35’s support throughout the campaign and on election day, acknowledging the strong message we sent about Labor’s strength in the city. Thank you again to everyone who attended and continues to support these efforts.

Construction has begun on Peabody’s new Public Safety Building. As members of the North Shore Building Trades and as a Peabody resident, we worked with City Councilor At-Large Jon Turco and Local 6 Insulators’ Business Manager Jeff Saliba to help craft a Responsible Contractor Ordinance (RCO) last year. This ordinance limited some of the “bad actors” in the industry from bidding, creating a more level playing field. We’re pleased to report that the drywall finishing and painting were awarded to DC 35 signatories US Drywall and Select Paint, respectively, and our members are currently working on the project.

Cambridge, Allston, and Brighton

Here are 14 major projects where our members will be working in the coming calendar year in Cambridge, Allston, and Brighton:

121 Broadway, Cambridge: 439 luxury residential units
75 Broadway, Cambridge (Biogen): 16-story lab/office tower
585 Third St, Cambridge (Takeda): 16-story lab/office fit-out
290 Binney St, Cambridge (Astra-Zeneca): 16-story lab/office fit-out
Sheraton Commander, Cambridge: 136 guestrooms (2nd phase of renovations)
Royal Sonesta, Cambridge : 400 guestrooms (Full renovation)
The Strider Hotel, 180 Guest St, Brighton: 175 guestrooms (New building)
Harvard Pritzker Hall
Harvard Eliot House
Harvard Chase Hall
Harvard McCulloch Hall
Harvard Business School Residences
Harvard American Repertoire Theater
Harvard ERC One Milestone fit-out

We also have two major projects lined up for 2026: the second building of the Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment in Charlestown (a 9-story building with 265 units), and work at Logan Airport’s Terminal B in East Boston, where DC 35 signatory Soep Painting will mobilize its crew in the spring.

Giving It Back To Our Communities

Our members recently painted the exterior of ROCA’s building in Chelsea. ROCA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting high-risk young adults who face violence, poverty, and involvement with the justice system. Sherwin-Williams generously donated all paint and supplies, while Equipment Share, a signatory of Local 4 Operating Engineers, donated the lift. This organization has suffered major funding cuts from the current federal administration. Projects like this demonstrate our solidarity during tough times and showcase our commitment to community engagement. They also help build support for future projects in the areas we serve, potentially generating work hours for our members.

In all we do, we always remember the Members!