James Leon Altemose (August 21, 1939 – April 11, 2008) was an American developer and contractor, active in the
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Tow ...
area in the late 20th century. Altemose is known for disputes over his use of non-union employees on a construction project to build Valley Forge Plaza, which eventually became part of the
Valley Forge Convention Center.
[Teague, Matthew. February 2008 ''Philadelphia Magazine'',]
The Last Union Town
.[Rubin, Debra K. 17 April 2008, '']Engineering News-Record
''Engineering News-Record'' (widely known as ''ENR'') is an American weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide. It is widely regarded as one of the construction industry's most authorita ...
'',
Open Shop Crusader Leon Altemose Dies at Age 69
.
Dispute over construction of Valley Forge Plaza
Altemose owned a construction company he started in 1961 and believed that employees should have the right to choose if they wanted to belong to a
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
.
Altemose won an $18-million construction contract in 1972 for a 24-acre hotel, office and retail complex to be built in the suburbs of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. Altemose wanted to employ at least a portion of trade employees as non-union. This led to disputes and protests by union supporters.
A thousand construction workers arrived at the construction site at dawn on June 5, 1972 in cars and buses chartered by Roofers Local Union No. 30. More than $300,000 of property damaged occurred, including firebombing of equipment and construction trailers. Fire trucks were not allowed to respond because of the chaos at the site. The destruction would continue until midday when the state police arrived in riot gear. On August 17, 1972, Altemose was assaulted by two dozen men in downtown Philadelphia. The protests were estimated to have cost Altemose more than $2 million. They would delay, but not halt, the completion of construction as the hotel would eventually open in September 1973.
Bankruptcy
Altemose obtained private financing after five years of effort and built the Valley Forge Convention Center. He planned to operate it without a public subsidy, a rare occurrence in the United States. It opened in 1985, and by 1988 Altemose had concluded that the convention center could not survive under private ownership. His development company would file for bankruptcy in March 1989 and he would file for
personal bankruptcy Personal bankruptcy law allows, in certain jurisdictions, an individual to be declared bankrupt. Virtually every country with a modern legal system features some form of debt relief for individuals. Personal bankruptcy is distinguished from corporat ...
in May 1990.
Awards
Altemose received the
Award of Excellence in 1973 from ''Engineering News-Record'' for his work for the right of contractors to work
open shop
An open shop is a place of employment at which one is not required to join or financially support a union ( closed shop) as a condition of hiring or continued employment.
Open shop vs closed shop
The major difference between an open and closed ...
.
The cover of the February 15, 1973 ''ENR'' magazine announcing the award showed Altemose and his armed bodyguard.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altemose, J. Leon
American real estate businesspeople
2008 deaths
1939 births