(The following story by Karin Crompton appeared on The Day website on May 4, 2010.)
EAST LYME, Conn. — Less than a mile from Amtrak’s $105 million job site and its promise of three years’ worth of jobs, dozens of people marched Tuesday morning to protest against being left out.
About 80 people representing a variety of trade unions around the state paraded in front of Amtrak’s temporary satellite offices on Hope Street in downtown Niantic Tuesday morning.
Wearing signs declaring, “We want jobs,” the workers marched in an oval in front of a large, inflatable fat cat – named Joe Boardman, referring to Amtrak’s CEO – with its fist clenched around the neck of a bug-eyed, choking construction worker.
In January, Amtrak awarded a $104.7 million contract to Cianbro/Middlesex VII for replacement of the 102-year-old movable bridge over the Niantic River. Cianbro Corp. is based in Pittsfield, Maine, and also worked on the replacement of the Thames River railroad bridge in Groton.
The project includes tearing up and replacing part of the Niantic Bay Boardwalk.
The union representatives say Cianbro has a history of snubbing local and union workers, including on the Thames River bridge project.
Acknowledging that it is too late to change direction on the overall award, the president of the Norwich-New London Building & Construction Trade Council said Tuesday that the marchers are seeking to be included in upcoming contracts related to the bridge replacement project.
“We’re hoping that, on a $100-million price tag, there’s some opportunity for us there,” said Keith Brothers, whose organization represents 17,000 workers and 16 building trade unions.
Brothers said Amtrak “turned their back on us” and on the Obama administration, which had encouraged the hiring of local workers at prevailing wages in stimulus projects.
“Our biggest concern is, what’s left?” Brothers said. “What can we ensure for our people? What are the subcontracts that are out there that Amtrak’s going to award to local contractors? Take the union out of it – we’re looking to put local people to work. At least do that for us.”
Many of the workers marching on Tuesday are out of work, according to Brothers. That includes Ron Johnson of Griswold, a heavy equipment operator who said he is “laid off at the moment.”
Although the federal stimulus project was originally promoted as a way to stimulate the flagging economy primarily by putting people to work, Johnson said he hasn’t yet seen that happen.
“You’re starting to see some (jobs), but it hasn’t trickled down very good for us,” he said. “It hasn’t been a lot. … The money went for a lot of other things other than creating jobs.”
Tom Cassidy of Danbury, a business agent for Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777, echoed a point that Brothers had made: that the stimulus package called for projects that paid prevailing wages.
“The thing is, this is a prevailing rate job, and we’re prevailing rate,” Cassidy said. “So why wouldn’t these people use Connecticut labor?”
But Amtrak, as well as a representative with Middlesex, said the project will include plenty of Connecticut workers earning good wages.
Bob Mabardy, president of the northeast region for Middlesex, said there are about 30 people currently on the job, a majority of whom are local.
According to Mabardy, those workers are Merit Shop, which is non-union, but he added that upcoming work will include unions.
“We are hiring and have hired union subcontractors, union vendors, and … whoever does quality work and submits a competitive price, we’re using them regardless of whether they are Merit Shop or union.”
Of the protestors, Mabardy said, “They have the opportunity to bid.”
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said via e-mail Tuesday that, as of early April, the Niantic bridge project has distributed about $12.1 million to union subcontractors and vendors and about $10.7 million to Merit shop subcontractors and vendors.
Of the total between the two, Cole said, approximately $8.4 million has gone to Connecticut businesses.
Cole added that Amtrak is using union contractors on other projects in Connecticut, including the Miamicock River Bridge project in East Lyme, Thames River Bridge painting project, and the East and West Bridge replacement.