The old building that housed the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in lower Manhattan was crowded by skyscrapers. The interior was dark and cramped and devoid of natural light.
“The space we were in wasn’t meeting the needs of the children, each of whom has multiple chronic illnesses,” says Pat Tursi, CEO of the center. The Manhattan facility was designed based on more of a custodial care model—and when the center had to find a new space, it found a new opportunity.
The center found space on a former golf course in Yonkers, N.Y., and the new facility was built quickly and efficiently with union labor. More than 800 jobs—166 of them full-time—were created during the construction of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified facility. And in February 2012, it opened its doors to the more than 100 children who are center residents.
“The word that seems to come up when we talk to the parents and families about the new space—and I know this will make the architects cringe—is that this is Disney World to them, and I think that fits,” Tursi says. “Not in that it physically resembles an amusement park, but there is magic captured in this building.”
Much of the pixie dust was provided by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT), which stepped in with investments from various union pension funds.
“Investors in the HIT can be proud of the impact this investment will have on New York’s children and their families,” says HIT Chairman John Sweeney. “We are pleased to be able to help finance this very special project, which exemplifies socially responsible investing at its best. ”
The Seton Center is just one example of a much bigger pattern of union pension funds investing in communities and creating jobs.
“We’ve invested $1.3 billion of workers’ pension capital in job-generating projects across the country that generate competitive returns while creating jobs for union construction workers,” says HIT Director of Communications Ann Kay. “These projects are helping with community development projects that often have been long delayed by the recession.”
HIT alone has helped create more than 16,000 good union construction jobs on nearly 60 projects in the past four years and AFL-CIO’s member unions have pledged to invest $10 billion in pension funds in infrastructure projects, including a $200 million project to retrofit buildings with green technology. California teachers have invested another $1 billion of their retirement funds in updating the state’s infrastructure.
The Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York pledged $1 billion toward rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy, including improvements to transportation, power, water, communications and housing in New York City and other damaged areas.
This pledge comes as part of a commitment from unions and the Clinton Global Initiative to create jobs in the United States, modernize inefficient buildings and create a sustainable future for places like New York City.
"Together the work will benefit our future not only in terms of more efficient buildings and reducing the threat of climate change, but also in the lives of teachers, construction workers and in lowering energy costs for people all over America," says President Bill Clinton.
