Today is the day.
Ala Moana Center owner, General Growth Properties Inc., has been eager to open the mall’s new Ewa wing to capitalize on Black Friday, the frenetic post-Thanksgiving shopping day that marks the start of the retail holiday season.
But in the race to meet the deadline, our local community should consider whether profits are wrongfully being put before the safety and well-being of the people who are building and shopping in its stores.
Some contractors hired to finish storefronts for General Growth’s tenants are allegedly cutting corners by paying workers in cash and allowing unsafe working conditions to exist.
Failure to follow state law harms Hawaii workers and their families; hurts law-abiding contractors who follow the rules; deprives the state of tax revenue; and weakens Hawaii’s economy.
Holiday revenues and shareholder profits should never take priority over peoples’ lives.
General Growth Properties, an S&P 500 company, responded to the Oct. 26 multi-government agency inspection of the Ewa wing and complaints of cash payments to employees, possible tax violations and non-payment of unemployment insurance contributions, potential unlicensed activity and licensing discrepancies and safety issues, by shifting blame to tenants. Francis Cofran, the center’s general manager, said, “this is an issue between the state investigators and some tenants.”
As the landlord and developer of the $573 million expansion project, it’s General Growth’s responsibility to ensure all contractors on its property strictly follow state law and the company’s own policies.
Its 146-page “Tenant Design & Technical Criteria Manual” outlines explicit rules for construction.
Here are a few:
>> The use of unlicensed contractors and subcontractors is strictly prohibited.
>> The tenant’s contractor/subcontractors must be approved by landlord.
>> The tenant’s contractor(s) will not be permitted to commence any work until all required insurance has been obtained and certificates have been received by landlord.
Failure to fairly compensate workers, many of whom could never afford to shop in the luxury stores they’re building, offends our communal sense of fairness and goodwill.
As a mainland real estate investment trust (REIT), General Growth’s investors enjoy a generous tax break in Hawaii. But that doesn’t mean General Growth should take any breaks from its obligations to be a responsible corporate citizen that acts with integrity in Hawaii.
To be sure, some of Hawaii’s most experienced, local, law-abiding contractors are doing most of the work at Ala Moana Center. But we shouldn’t let local workers be victimized by other unscrupulous contractors taking shortcuts to profit while passing the risks onto unprotected employees, unsuspecting shoppers and, ultimately, taxpayers.
General Growth should enforce its own rules and ensure that contractors on its property comply with state and county laws, especially those that protect worker and public safety.
General Growth should thoroughly inspect tenant spaces, particularly the retail spaces under investigation, and bar any violators from working on their properties so this doesn’t recur.
General Growth owes that to Hawaii, to Ala Moana Center shoppers and to the workers who are being rushed to open the doors in time for Black Friday.
General Growth Properties, an S&P 500 company, responded to the Oct. 26 multi-government agency inspection of the Ewa wing and complaints of cash payments to employees, possible tax violations and non-payment of unemployment insurance contributions, potential unlicensed activity and licensing discrepancies and safety issues, by shifting blame to tenants. Francis Cofran, the center’s general manager, said, “this is an issue between the state investigators and some tenants.”