By HEIDI SINGER

July 7, 2006 -- Striking crane operators reached a tentative deal with their bosses yesterday and construction work on the Freedom Tower and other major public projects could start up as early as this morning.

The four-year deal would give heavy-equipment operators smaller raises than the 30 percent over five years that had been on the table last week, said a source familiar with negotiations.

In return, contractors softened their demands that workers submit to retraining for extra responsibilities.

"From what I know, it looks like both sides got what they needed," said the source.

Locals 14 and 15 of the International Union of Operating Engineers went on strike a week ago after talks broke down with the General Contractors Association of Greater New York.

The workers, who drive backhoes and operate drilling equipment and other big machinery on large, mostly public projects, earn up to $82 an hour. But contractors say technological advances are leaving some with little to do other than push a few buttons, and they want to retrain workers to do other jobs.

By HEIDI SINGER

July 6, 2006 -- City Hall is stepping in to help end the crane operators' strike - which has halted construction of the Freedom Tower at Ground Zero.

Stalled talks will resume this morning between contractors and the union representing more than 3,000 heavy-machinery operators.

"The mayor reached out to both sides and invited them to use Gracie Mansion for their discussions," said spokesman Stu Loeser, adding they took him up on the offer.

Their strike has forced more than 1,000 construction projects across the city to grind to a halt.

Almost all of them are publicly financed projects, according to the contractors.

Blasting work on the Freedom Tower foundation has been on hold since midnight Friday, when the contract between operating engineers and the General Contractors' Association of Greater New York expired.

"All major heavy-construction projects are shut down," said Chris Ward of the contractors' association. "Things ended badly on Friday."

The workers, who run cranes, backhoes, compressors and other pieces of heavy equipment, earn $73 to $82 an hour, including benefits.

They're among the highest paid blue-collar workers in the city.

They rejected an offer that would have given them 6 percent raises annually over five years, with a guarantee of no layoffs.

But in return, they would have to become more productive by training to take on extra duties - and eliminate what critics insist are do-nothing jobs on construction sites.

Up to one-third of workers on big job sites have little to do, because their jobs have been taken over by technology, Ward said.

Some construction unions have trimmed featherbedding jobs out of their contracts, but many others are balking at such concessions, said a leader of another building-trade union, who asked not to be identified.

"It's about the heads of the unions and their little fiefdoms," the union boss said.

"They want to get re-elected but, in the long run, it's bad for their unions because they get squeezed out" of major projects.

James Callahan, president of the striking union, Local 15 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

But in a written statement last week, he accused contractors of farming out work to lower-paid workers in other unions.

Callahan's union has been keeping a low profile during the strike.

Picketing is sporadic, said Ward, and Callahan has issued few public statements.

"It's hard to talk to the public when you're making $80 an hour - that's probably the highest paid blue-collar job in the city," said the rival union leader.

Other projects affected by the strike are City Water Tunnel No. 3, a water filtration plant in The Bronx and the new Goldman Sachs building downtown.

The union has offered to negotiate interim agreements with individual contracts to keep the Freedom Tower and other important projects going. But so far the contractors have refused to break ranks.

heidi.singer@nypost.com

By HEIDI SINGER

July 2, 2006 -- Work stopped on the foundation of the long-delayed Freedom Tower yesterday after a labor dispute sent crane operators into an apparent strike.

Spokesmen for the union representing heavy-equipment operators refused to confirm or deny that they called a strike after talks with contractors broke down Thursday and the deadline for negotiations expired at midnight Friday.

But contractors said they canceled work yesterday in anticipation of a strike, and workers didn't show up at about 100 public construction sites around the city.

Workers were scheduled to show up at the World Trade Center site yesterday, but nobody appeared, said Richard Kielar, spokesman for Tishman Construction, which is managing the project.

"I don't think anyone has assessed a dollar amount yet, but every day they don't work is a day lost on the project," he said.

The International Union of Operating Engineers is negotiating with the General Contractors Association of Greater New York over wages and the role of heavy-equipment operators, whose jobs are being overtaken by technology.

Operating engineers, who handle big equipment like cranes, drilling rigs and backhoes, make up to $82 an hour and rejected an offer of 6 percent annual increases over five years and retraining for some workers, said Chris Ward of the contractors association.

More than 3,000 workers and at least 1,000 public projects - like City Water Tunnel No. 3 - could be impacted.

Union president James Callahan said Friday he had signed temporary agreements with some contractors, including at the trade center site, to allow work to continue.

The company currently working on the Freedom Tower's foundation, LaQuilla Construction, initially talked to the union about staying on the job but ultimately decided not to break ranks with other contractors, said Kielar.

Talks are expected to pick up Wednesday - the same day negotiators in an impending school bus-driver strike will return to the table.

When special-needs kids return to school tomorrow, drivers will be on the job, even though their contract expired at midnight yesterday, said Steve Mangione of Local 1181 of the ATU. With Post Wire Services

heidi.singer@nypost.com

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