[markbarbera]

Just posted on thespec.com:

LIUNA says yes to Lister Block deal

June 30, 2008
By Nicole MacIntyre
The Hamilton Spectator

In a shocking last-minute move, the Laborers International Union of North America has signed the city’s $25-million deal to save the Lister Block.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said the developer returned the signed paperwork this morning, just hours before a $7 million grant from the province was set to expire.

“It’s alive. It’s very much alive,” he said today of a deal many thought was dead.

“I think it’s a very positive step. It’s good for city.”

LIUNA and partner Hi-Rise have agreed to council’s demand for a $1 million guarantee that there will be a second phase that generates at least $600,000 in taxes.

Just last week, LIUNA vice-president Joe Mancinelli said he wouldn’t agree to the condition. He criticized council’s “unfair negotiations posture.”

The developers had offered a lower guarantee, but it was rejected by council last Wednesday. After the meeting, LIUNA said it wouldn’t offer any guarantee at all.

"We've compromised enough," Mancinelli said at the time. “They killed the deal.”

He said they planned to look for a private deal.

Though the city’s deal is signed, the developers must still meet several conditions, such as a heritage plan.

Looks like Mr. Mancinelli's tough talk was all bark and no bite. In the end he did suck it up and sign on to the deal. I am sure LIUNA's pension managers were on the phone to him over the weekend, asking him why he was walking away from such a sweet deal when there were no other immediate prospects for a portfolio that has been stagnant for nearly a decade. His leadership on this item has been anything but stellar, and the general membership should have tough questions for him at their next GMM. Is this the beginning of the end for the Mancinelli family's run at LIUNA?