Labor beef puts 3 men in hospital
A LABOR PROTEST at a Queens work site turned bloody Thursday, after a nonunion worker slashed three union demonstrators, police said.
The violent scene unfolded outside the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the National Tennis Center, where a crew with Iron Workers Local 197 was staging a pop-up protest against nonunion work, cops said.
The union brought inflatable rats to the site to protest subcontractor U.S. Crane and Rigging’s hiring of nonunion workers to install precast panels at the tennis stadium, said union executive board member Carole Raftrey.
At about 3:20 p.m., a 64-yearold nonunion worker pulled out a pocket knife and attacked three union members, all men, cops said.
One victim, 35, was slashed in his groin, and the blade nicked an artery, a police source said.
A 46-year-old man was sliced in the finger, left arm and stomach, while a 49-year-old man was cut on the right side of his stomach. He refused medical attention, while medics took the others to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was also taken to the hospital. Charges against him were pending Thursday night.
Raftrey wouldn’t comment on the attack, saying she wasn’t there to witness it.
The subcontractor did not return messages seeking comment Thursday night. tion procedures as apparently are underway for (Rosa Maria),” he wrote. “Mother and daughter then could be successfully reunited in their home country.”
ACLU lawyer Michael Tan said he’s hopeful the emergency hearing will “get back on calendar quickly.”
“It’s ridiculous this administration has targeted this family. Law enforcement has limited resources and must make decisions all the time on where to best apply those resources. There’s no reason to target a 10-year-old girl, much less her mom,” Tan told The News. “It’s mind-boggling. I’ve never seen such an outrageous case.”
Rosa Maria was a baby when her parents illegally brought her to the U.S. from Mexico in 2007.
She was en route to emergency gallbladder surgery at Driscoll on Oct. 24 — accompanied by a 34-year-old cousin who is U.S. citizen — when she was stopped at an immigration checkpoint.
Border Patrol followed Rosa Maria to the hospital, camped out during her surgery and arrested her when she was discharged, her lawyers said.