Powerful Philly union accused of using drones to intimidate enemies

Hotel developer Mihir Wankawala clicked on the link a friend had sent him and watched in shock: Drone-shot video shows dozens of union protesters, the view rising to peer in the windows of the historic hotel property Wankawala was carefully refurbishing. The whole video, which the unions posted to YouTube, is ominously set to Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me." "I guess they were trying to show their power," says Wankawala, who says he sought bids from union and non-union contractors and discovered that using solely organized labor would increase his costs by around 30 percent. This is my first project [in Philadelphia]. I think they were trying to send a message that you have to use union labor to get your project done." Such scare tactics are nothing new; for decades, Philadelphia's construction unions have used violence, vandalism, harassment and intimidation to dominate the construction industry.