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November 15, 2011
Promise of union jobs a lie by Atlantic Yards, suit by construction workers charge
Seven construction workers to sue Bruce Ratner
NY Daily News
by John Marzulli & Erin Durkin
But they had Bruce Ratner's word!
They say they were promised good paying union jobs on Brooklyn’s largest construction site.
But what they got from what a new lawsuit charges was a sham training program were offers to work in maintenance, a health club and McDonald’s.
Seven construction workers will sue developer Bruce Ratner Tuesday, accusing him of falsely promising them the moon to win political and community approval of his controversial Atlantic Yards project.
He not only failed to deliver the jobs but also stiffed them for work they performed in the training program, they allege.
“I believed I was going to be employed, that jobs were going to come into my community,” said electrician Kathleen Noriega, 58, of Crown Heights.
“It was all lies,” said Noriega, one of the plaintiffs filing suit Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The suit contends Ratner claimed plans for a new sports arena for the Nets and 16 residential and commercial skyscrapers would create 17,000 union construction jobs and 8,000 permanent jobs.
Noriega said she was a vocal supporter of the project’s training program, which offered construction workers membership in building trade unions. Many of the organizations that signed on to train the workers, like Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development, were bankrolled by Ratner, according to the suit.
BUILD President James Caldwell, who is named as a defendant in the suit, defended the program, saying most of the 36 participants have been placed in maintenance jobs at other Ratner properties.
Caldwell denied anyone was guaranteed construction work.
“Just like Forest City Ratner made adjustments, (in the size of the project) we had to make adjustments,” Caldwell said.
...“It’s galling that people living in the community were conned into enthusiastically supporting this project based on the promise of jobs,” said lawyer Matthew Brinckerhoff who is representing the plaintiffs, along with South Brooklyn Legal Services.
“They were promised union membership with union jobs, instead they got McDonald’s,” Brinckerhoff said.
NoLandGrab: Mr. Caldwell means they had to adjust their lies. Shame.
Posted by eric at November 15, 2011 6:24 AM