The Connecticut Laborers' District Council announced today that there will be a protest outside of ESPN headquarters in Bristol by state construction workers, Friday.
The workers will hold the assembly from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., protesting what they allege is a "lack of commitment to hiring local construction contractors that pay workers a living wage and that do not undermine area standards" at the sports media headquarters.
"During these difficult economic times, employers in general continue to take too much advantage workers. ESPN voluntarily has chosen to hire construction contractors to build its new digital studio that have violated federal safety regulations, undermined area standards and avoided in paying its workers a living wage," explained Charles LeConche, business manager, Connecticut Laborers' District Council in a statement.
In August, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced that the state would invest $25 million in a new digital center for ESPN. The 193,000 square-foot building would cost about $100 million.
For the project, Hartford-based Associated Construction was hired as project manager, noted ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys. Associated Construction hires thru a competitive bid process.
"Both union and non-union contractors have and will continue to do work on our projects," Soltys said. "Through this work, we are providing hundreds of Connecticut jobs."
Soltys added that there have been numerous construction jobs in ESPN's 32-year history, which have also resulted in "hundreds" of local jobs.
While most of the headquarters is in Bristol, part of the campus is in Southington.
Source: MyRecordJournal.com