Ron Tutor responds to Steve Lopez
If you read Steve Lopez' column "Watching a hole fill up with money" last week, you'll be interested in this rebuttal from Tutor-Saliba president Ron Tutor, whose company is doing the contracting work described in that column:
Gentlemen:
Of course, I spoke to Mr. Lopez and read his article in the Los Angeles Times. If I was rude to your reporter, it was unfortunate; however, the sarcastic and negative tone of his questions and his obvious attitude was so unacceptable that I found myself angry that I could be approached in such a negative context. And yes as I spoke to Mr. Lopez, I do not believe that our company has ever received fair treatment from the Los Angeles Times and the majority of its reporters despite our literally billions of dollars of public works built for this city and state.
Lopez asks, “If the city is so nervous, why did it hand this job to Tutor-Saliba?” The absurdity of that remark is that the city never hands anything to anyone. We were the low bidder after the city tried for months to find competition from all over the country. Tutor-Saliba was the only company that finally tendered a bid and after long negotiations agreed on a revised price to build this project. To somehow create something negative out of that is just the typical outrage that’s put forth in the press. We did not construct the circumstances of the bid, we only responded as a company based in Los Angeles that has performed work for the city for some 40 years.
And yes one of the reasons that Tutor-Saliba was the only bidder was because, in fact, construction companies in the state of California as well as the entire United States have been struggling, going out of business on a basis such that the ability to get competitive bids in public works contracting is diminishing to dramatic levels. The city engineer himself could confirm this. Numerous other major projects have received only one bid; and because they had no other alternatives, the owners have awarded on that basis.
And finally Mr. Lopez’s innuendo concerning my $25,000 contribution to relax term limits, as if that were something wrong, is just another example of the cynicism of the media. The clear inference that this contribution might generate favor is inappropriate and a continuing example of the attitude expressed by this reporter reflecting negatively upon both our company and the city council he mentions.
I would end this letter with the hope that “some day” Tutor-Saliba Corporation and the construction industry will receive fair and reasonable reporting and the facts will be portrayed as they really are rather than on the basis of what makes for a “better story.”
Very truly yours,
TUTOR-SALIBA CORPORATION
Ronald N. Tutor
President
I've been doing business with Tutor-Saliba since 2003 and i can truly say it has been a very good experience for my business and for me as a person. Ron is a man of his word and a VERY fair person! "Give e'm hell, Chief"
JP
Posted by: JP | June 03, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Whenever the media gets invovled. It seem they do not get all the facts before they print an article. They are hungry, greedy, and ready to make a name for themselves. Without all the facts. they are useless.
Posted by: Tyrone | February 15, 2009 at 08:45 AM
Keep in mind NONE of you know Ron Tutor.
Posted by: someone | December 22, 2008 at 10:45 AM
I only know of Ron Tutor as a customer in our small business. A lot of what can be told about a person is how they treat employees of other business's. All of my employees speak very highly of him which is good enough for me -
Posted by: Bob Bergstrom | November 15, 2008 at 11:31 AM
For "jEANNINE bISIGNANO" to call Ron Tutor an outstanding human makes it quite apparent she has never had chance to meet Ron Tutor.
I too have worked on a Tutor-Saliba project and when I reflect back on that experince "privilege" is the last word that comes to mind!
Maybe "jEANNINE bISIGNANO" is Ron Tutor's alter ego.
Posted by: Jay | November 10, 2008 at 10:15 PM
I had the privilege of working for and with Tutor-Saliba on the LA Metro Rail Project in downtown Los Angeles. On several occasions I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Tutor and I can say, unequivocally, that he is first and foremost a gentleman, runs an honorable company (actually 2 companies; Tutor-Saliba and Perini of which I also worked with) and does outstanding work given the myriad of challenges we were faced with on the Metro Rail Project.
I know from personal experience that doing public works projects often places a contractor with a less-than-benevolent owner. That the project referenced in Mr. Lopez's went over on costs is a result of many facets probably starting with a faulty estimate PRIOR to the project being released to the street for bid or a change in scope during construction. Not knowing the details of this particular project I wouldn't hazard a guess but me thinks that it was a combination of many factors.
When a city puts out a bid on a public works job, there needs to be a scope and estimate in order to secure funds either via tax-based revenues or bond(s). The inherent problem is that the budgeting and estimating is done many months if not years in advance of the bid. With the rising costs of construction materials, regulations and the like pricing can escalate dramatically
Other factors mentioned in the Lopez article point towards unforeseen issues such as the large piece(es) of concrete unearthed. Clearly these type items warrant a change order as they were not identified, marked or recorded in the construction documents. That said most contractors are limited on what they can charge on a change order in an effort to keep the unplanned budgetary 'busts' in check.
Finally, and as referenced in the Lopez article, there are the owner changes. As time and technology move forward at an alarming pace there are frequently efforts by the owner(s) to build-in newer technologies in an effort to avoid being obsolete when the doors finally swing open. "Future proofing" a project is an ongoing task balancing budget and needs. The flippant comment made by Lopez "the thought never crossed my mind" speaks volumes of Lopez's ignorance of how bidding and contracting work. If it were a given that you can go in with a low-ball number and change order yourself to financial salvation is pure lunacy. No one takes those kinds of risks as there is just no hedge on anything. Although infrequent there have been many projects which I have been intimately involved had virtually no changes in scope or budget. Rolling the dice on a $200MM+ project if fool hearty at best.
If Lopez is truly concerned with the construction process and award of public projects (it was readily apparent to me sifting through his rhetoric and cynicism) then I encourage Lopez to stop staring out of the window, pull on some work boots, don a hard hat and go out into the building world and change it for the rest of us that do it for the betterment of the town, city, county or state.
Until then, please continue gazing out of your window and see if anyone is running any red lights or robbing liquor stores.... surely that will serve the great City of Los Angeles in a most impactful manner.
Posted by: Stephen Davis | August 08, 2008 at 04:14 PM
Jeannine Bisignano is an awesome actress too. She just needs to start using the spell check. :)
Posted by: Mark | January 09, 2008 at 03:12 PM
Ron Tutor is an outstanding human being with A great sense OF personal and profeshionally integrity.A King among Kinks,his word is good as gold.
HE IS THE BEST AT WHAT HE DOES PERIOD.THERE ARE ALRAYS GOING TO BE CRITICISM WHEN YOU ARE SMART DEDICATED........AND ALWAYS READTY TO MAKE CHANGES TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY.TUTOR ROCKS
Posted by: jEANNINE bISIGNANO | September 11, 2007 at 02:14 AM