Protest, race on a collision course?
Union construction workers warn about disrupting Marathon
A crowd of construction workers and supporters protested a nonunion job site in Copley Square on Monday, with the labor unions who organized the demonstration warning they could potentially disrupt the Boston Marathon in two weeks.
The Greater Boston Building Trades Unions rallied against what they called “exploitive labor practices” and working conditions by the owners and general contractor of the Wesleyan Building, located at 581 Boylston St., which is currently undergoing significant renovations, the labor group said in a news release. The unions did not make any specific allegations of worker exploitation.
At the rally, demonstrators blocked Boylston Street and disrupted traffic. Many protesters held signs that said “Building a stronger Boston,” and “Boston is a union city.”
“The fact of the matter is labor is good for business,” state Senator Lydia Edwards, whose district includes parts of Boston and stretches to include that building, said at the rally. “You want to make money in my district, you better be union.”
Protesters warned that the demonstrations could continue through and beyond the April 15 marathon. The protest at the building, about a block past the finish line, could impact the racecourse and important locations for race operations, the release said.
“For working conditions like these to be occurring anywhere in Boston is deeply troubling,” said Chaton Green, business agent of the Greater Boston Building Trades Unions, in the release. “For them to happening at the same time and same place as the Boston Marathon, an event that reflects so much pride and is an example of what it means to be in Boston — support, solidarity, community, caring for each other — it flies in the face of what this race means
and what fairness and decency mean to Boston.”
Protest organizers said they were sending a letter to the Boston Marathon’s organizer, the Boston Athletic Association, and the marathon’s sponsors, warning of the potential disruptions in Copley Square and pledging to minimize their impact on the race, the release said.
The Boston Athletic Association had already moved the postrace fan fest to City Hall Plaza this year to reduce the impact of the Copley Square construction on race-day crowds. The association did not comment on the protest Monday, but a spokesperson said the group is preparing to welcome the marathon’s 30,000 participants on race day.
Workers rights advocates said the rally came after the building’s new owners and contractor declined to meet with them.
A spokesperson for Chevron Partners, the developer overseeing the transformation of the Wesleyan Building, told the Globe the company is not an employer of any construction workers at the property. The spokesperson added the protest’s organizers have not contacted Chevron Partners about why they’re demonstrating, so the company could not comment.
Derek Matarazzo, a construction worker at the protest, said he’s been out of work for about four months, and blamed jobs being given to non-union workers. Matarazzo said he has a child on the way, a primary reason he needs the wages and wanted to demonstrate.
“All these people that cannot work right now, they could use it,” said Matarazzo, 36, a member of Laborers’ Local 22. “We have families.”
“We basically built this whole city and now we’re getting kicked to the side,” he added.