In an attempt to ruffle ASU President Michael Crow's feathers, a small handful of striking construction workers held signs and banners and yelled slogans Monday in front of the Fulton Center, claiming illegal mistreatment on ASU work sites.
A dozen former Great Western Erectors employees lined the corners of College Avenue and University Drive in protest of their previous employers whom the workers accuse of negligence, while blaming Crow for not taking action to pursue an investigation.
A total of 17 former GWE workers went on strike in fall 2005 during the construction of Hassayampa Academic Village, claiming their employers were not providing them with adequate medical services and access to necessities such as water.
The current protest is in response to similar treatment they say is occurring with GWE employees working on the ASU SkySong project in Scottsdale, said Emmanuel Gallardo, president of the ASU Social Justice Coalition.
In both cases, the workers were treated in an "overall abusive manner," said Gallardo, a secondary education senior.
"We've been pushing this issue for a long time here," he said of the group's vigilance. "It's an ongoing battle that students are helping push."
Protestors on hand Monday flanked the streets with large signs and banners — one of which was draped over the ASU bridge on University Drive for a short period of time before ASU Police made the protestors take it down.
The protest was conducted legally, said ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina, but police needed to take certain safety precautions.
"If [the protesters] would have had this on a sign, that would have been fine," Hardina said. "But the city was concerned with the banner hanging over and falling into traffic, causing problems."
Even though protesters continue to voice their opinions on the ASU campus, GWE has done nothing wrong and is not affected by a lack of employees, said Howard Parsons, general manager for GWE.
"Could you imagine working in 120-degree heat without water? You'd be dead," Parsons said. "If we had done that, [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] would have closed us down, and we've been in business for over 20 years without a problem [with OSHA]."
Parsons said he thinks protesters are actually trying to start a union at the company, which currently doesn't have one.
Even though Parsons said he wouldn't look any further into the issue, ASU is examining the matter.
The University has hired a private investigator to look into the recent allegations, said Sharon Keeler, an ASU spokeswoman.
However, the current issues that have been brought up with SkySong mirror the allegations the University investigated in 2005, which were "found to be groundless," Keeler said.
"It's not like we're ignoring these allegations," she said. "ASU is committed to every construction jo b-site being one that's safe and where every worker is treated with respect."
Reach the reporter at daniel.oconnor@asu.edu.
