Sophie Sonnenfeld Photo
John Cunningham, David Jarvis, and Bart Pacekonis.
Seven members of the carpenters union held a banner protest this week outside the offices of a local construction company, Whiting Turner Contracting Company at 195 Church St.
Rally organizer Ernest Pagan charged that the company hires law-breaking subcontractors and committed tax fraud.
“We’re out here to represent the working people.” He said the union has tried to speak with the Whiting Turner company, but they have seen to progress. “They keep saying, ‘We’re going to do this, we’re going to do that,’ and they just don’t.”
The union members cited Connecticut Department of Labor investigations of the company. And they claimed that the Whiting Turner company has “misrepresented workers as independent contractors and materially understated or concealed payroll on Whiting Turner jobs before.”
“We have had a history with Whiting Turner in general on their prevailing wage and subcontractors,” including citations for breaking the rules, said state labor department spokesman Paul Oates.
Monday’s protest was the first public action to raise the issue.
Ernest Pagan.
Pagan said the company functions like “a big machine. So that’s why we’re trying to hold them accountable so they do right by the community.”
“This is not a union issue; this is a community issue,” he said. “Good career opportunities can change people’s lives.”
The protesters are members of Carpenters Local 24, which represents 3,400 members statewide. “Whiting Turner signs are everywhere in Connecticut. They hold a lot of power in the community,” Pagan said.
Miguel Fuentes and Manny Gines.
The pamphlets encourage the public to call Whiting Turner Project Manager Chris McFadden and demand change. Coincidentally, McFadden walked by the rally to enter the building and ducked away to avoid speaking with the group. Pagan said he hopes that through future conversations with the company, Whiting Turner will “abide by community and area standards, hold law breaking contractors accountable, and hire within the community.”
Whiting Turner Contracting Company has 30 offices across the country. Its website states: “We recognize the value in community involvement and the benefits of strong local subcontractor relationships. We pride ourselves on familiarity with our local communities and our ability to give our clients the attention of a small business with the resources of a national corporation.”
The company has worked on projects including the Victoria Soto School in Stratford, the Front Street District Garage in Hartford, and have done renovations on Yale’s science and technology spaces since 1995.
The company told the Independent it has no comment on the protest.