Re: FW: AFL-CIO Announces $750 Million Investment of Workers' Capital To Boost New York City Economic Recovery

[Mbindnerdc@aol.com]

I believe the Union is making an investment that, under the Third Way, would 
have been a citizen investment in a Community Investment Corporation.  It would 
be refreshing if they would also use some of this money to set up ESOP plans in 
the firms where their workers toil - although it would seem that by providing 
money from the building trades to do contruction they may be doing just that.

Norm, since I am invoking a Third Way option perhaps you have some comment.

Michael Binder

In a message dated Fri, 1 Feb 2002  4:23:31 AM Eastern Standard Time, "Vic 
Thorpe" <just.solutions@pandora.be> writes:

> With just a little push...  Perhaps the leagues of labor could yet be
> persuaded that worker investment in industrial reconstruction for their own
> sakes might be a worthwhile strategy?
> 
> Vic Thorpe
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce-workers-capital-l-13251@forum.icftu.org
> [mailto:bounce-workers-capital-l-13251@forum.icftu.org]On Behalf Of Jon
> Robinson
> Sent: 23 January 2002 15:15
> To: Forum on Workers' Capital (ICFTU/ITS/TUAC)
> Subject: AFL-CIO Announces $750 Million Investment of Workers' Capital
> To Boost New York City Economic Recovery
> 
> 
> Dear Friends,
> Union pension funds in the US plan to invest $750 million of workers'
> capital in housing and commercial real estate to help boost New York
> City's economic recovery, according to the announcement by AFL-CIO
> President John Sweeney and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, below. This
> substantial investment by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT),
> including $120 million committed by three of the city's pension funds -
> for City Employees, Teachers, and Police - represents a major commitment
> of labor pension capital to finance housing and commercial development
> in the City and to provide homeownership opportunities for working
> families.
> We don't often hear about this aspect of the AFL-CIO Investment Program,
> which includes the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) and the
> AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (BIT) with combined assets of $4
> billion, and which invest Taft Hartley and public employee pension funds
> nationwide in housing and urban development projects, using 100% union
> labor, to produce competitive returns for their participants.
> For details of the AFL-CIO New York City Community Investment
> Initiative, see below. To find out more about the HIT and BIT investment
> programmes visit: http://www.aflcio-hit.com and
> http://www.merctrust.com/bit respectively.
> ----------------------------------------
> Jon Robinson - ICFTU
> Tel +44 (0) 207 467 1224
> Fax +44 (0) 207 1317
> mailto:jrobinson@tuc.org.uk
> ----------------------------------------
> 
> Story Filed: Thursday, January 17, 2002 12:30 PM EST
> NEW YORK, Jan 17, 2002 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- AFL-CIO President John
> Sweeney joined New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City
> labor leaders at the new offices of the Central Labor Council near Union
> Square to announce labor's $750 million housing and community investment
> initiative for New York City.
> Flanked by Central Labor Council President Brian McLaughlin, Building
> and Construction Trades President Ed Malloy, State AFL-CIO President
> Denis Hughes, AFL-CIO Housing and Building Investment Trust Chairman
> Richard Ravitch and representatives from a broad coalition of business,
> labor, political, finance and non-profit groups, Sweeney outlined an
> ambitious investment commitment of labor pension capital to finance
> housing and commercial development in the City and to provide
> homeownership opportunities for working families.
> "Labor is committed to New York," declared Sweeney. "After the
> devastation of September 11th, we want to do something tangible for the
> economic recovery by putting workers' pension dollars to work for this
> great city."
> "I am delighted that Labor is stepping up with this significant
> investment in New York City," said Mayor Bloomberg. "In the fiscal
> crisis of the 1970s, labor's pension fund investment helped New York
> through some of its darkest hours. Today, with the City facing financial
> hardship once again, our friends in the House of Labor have come
> through."
> "This investment is a double win for New York City. Not only does it
> provide much needed post-September 11th investment, but also will build
> much needed affordable housing," he concluded.
> "Labor is the backbone of this great city," said Brian McLaughlin.
> "Union pension dollars can have a real and lasting impact on New York
> City's economic recovery efforts."
> Sweeney said that the AFL-CIO Investment Program-which includes the
> AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT), AFL-CIO Building Investment
> Trust (BIT), and the new AFL-CIO Urban Development Fund-will allocate
> $750 million to finance housing and commercial real estate development
> in the City's five boroughs and will finance affordable mortgages
> through the HIT HOME program for union workers and municipal employees
> in partnership with Countrywide Home Loans. Andrew S. Bielanski,
> Countrywide's Managing Director of Marketing, joined President Sweeney
> for the announcement.
> Sweeney also announced the opening of the AFL-CIO Investment Program
> office, adjacent to the Central Labor Council's new facilities at 31
> West 15th Street, to coordinate its expanded investment activities in
> the City.
> The New York City Retirement System is actively supporting the New York
> City Community Investment Initiative. Three of its pension funds-serving
> the New York City Employees, Teachers, and Police-have committed $120
> million for investment into the HIT.
> Both the HIT and BIT have been active investors in New York City for
> many years. The HIT has invested over $330 million to finance 12
> projects providing over 5,000 units of housing, including Citylights at
> Queens Landing, Amalgamated Warbasse Co-op in Brooklyn, Daly Avenue in
> the Bronx and West End Towers in Manhattan. The renovation of the
> Workman's Circle Health Center in the Bronx is nearing completion.
> The BIT, which has financed over $190 million in the City, recently
> provided $58 million in financing for the development of One Jamaica
> Center in Queens and is financing a 259 unit project near the Lincoln
> Tunnel at 475 9th Ave.  The Trusts have significant investments in
> Northern New Jersey as well, financing $600 million in the Hoboken and
> Jersey City waterfront communities and other areas of Northern New
> Jersey.
> Among the Trusts' New York City based investors are 1199 Health Care
> Employees Pension Fund, Electrical Industry Pension Trust Funds, UNITE
> National Pension Fund, and SEIU Local 32B-J Pension Fund.
> The AFL-CIO New York City Community Investment Initiative will focus on
> critical housing and economic development needs:
> 
> * Multifamily housing - $250 million in mortgage loans for the
> production or substantial rehabilitation of rental housing in New York
> City, with an emphasis on the outer boroughs and Manhattan north of 96th
> Street. In addition, special emphasis will be given to the production of
> housing for special needs groups including the homeless.
> 
> * Commercial and economic development - $250 million for commercial real
> estate opportunities critical to New York's economic recovery. BIT and a
> new fund, the AFL-CIO Urban Development Fund (UDF), will work in
> conjunction with other labor-related investment funds to meet this
> investment target.
> 
> * Homeownership opportunities for working families - $250 million to
> finance mortgages for union and municipal employees through the HIT HOME
> mortgage program.  Partners with HIT in this innovative mortgage program
> are Countrywide Home Loans and Fannie Mae. Countrywide Home Loans is the
> nation's largest independent residential mortgage lender and servicer.
> 
> AFL-CIO HIT website: http://www.aflcio-hit.com
> AFL-CIO BIT website: http://www.merctrust.com/bit
> SOURCE AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust  http://www.aflcio-hit.com
> 
> 
> 
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