ABC Member Project in Philadelphia Target of Union Vandals

A Philadelphia jobsite of longtime ABC member E. Allen Reeves, Inc., of Abington, Pa., was the target of vandalism during the Christmas holiday. Philadelphia police detectives say arsonists caused an estimated $500,000 in damages at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, a new Quaker meeting house.

Vandals reportedly set fire to the cab of the mobile building crane rendering it unworkable and used an acetylene torch to shear off the steel bolts on several columns. Other columns were hacked halfway through at the base. 

Police say they are ‘absolutely sure’ the attack was the result of a dispute between members of a Philadelphia construction union and the E. Allen Reeves Co., the project's merit shop contractor. E. Allen Reeves is a member of the ABC Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey Chapters.

Construction on the $3.5 million Quaker meetinghouse began in late August and was scheduled to be completed by May 2013. No arrests in the vandalism have been made.