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News From The Connecticut Laborers' District Council
After Months Of Warnings From The Connecticut Laborers' District Council About Worksite Violations & Out-Of- State Contractors, Connecticut & Federal Officials Raid Storrs Center Construction Site & Find 18 Undocumented
Workers
For immediate release: Nov. 10, 2011
For more information: Ron Dresner
r...@dennispr.com
860.523.7500 m 860.305.7728
(Hartford, CT) � The Connecticut Laborers' District Council announced today that Connecticut and federal officials recently raided the Storrs Center construction project in Mansfield, CT and found 18 undocumented workers from Monroe
Interiors, Inc., Monroe, NY, lacking any legal immigration or social security information at the job site.
"I would like to commend Connecticut and federal officials for identifying and acting upon a dangerous construction site. They probably averted some kind of construction site injury or death. The presence of undocumented workers means
there are untrained workers onsite who fail to follow area standards," explained Charles LeConche, business manager, Connecticut Laborers' District Council. "Back in June 2011 at the project's groundbreaking ceremony, we warned Governor
Malloy, our federal and local elected officials and the public about the potential problems with this project. We held our own protest with over 100 workers during the event about the presence of out-of-state contractors and workers."
The actual raid at the Storrs Center development project was conducted on Monday, October 17, 2011. The Connecticut Laborers' District Council waited to release this information in respect for any ongoing investigations by Connecticut and
federal authorities.
The groundbreaking ceremony of the new "Storrs Center" mixed-use project, adjacent to the University of Connecticut campus, was held in June 2011 at 1266 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT. The Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Storrs Center master
developer Storrs Center Alliance, (an affiliate of Leyland Alliance LLC, www.leylandalliance.com, of Tuxedo, New York) and co-developer Education Realty Trust, Inc., www.edrtrust.com, based in Memphis, Tennessee are the project's
principals. Storrs Center will include retail, restaurant, office and residential development within a planned community of pedestrian walkways.
Community members, Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Town of Mansfield and University of Connecticut leaders, Storrs Center developers Leyland Alliance, Education Realty Trust, and officials from local and state government attended the
commencement of construction on Storrs Center and the public/private partnership. Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney, CT Secretary of State Denise Merrill, State Representative Gregory Haddad, Town of Mansfield
Mayor Elizabeth Paterson, University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst, University of Connecticut President Emeritus Philip Austin, and Mansfield Downtown Partnership Board President Philip Lodewick attended as well. Details about
Storrs Center can be found online at www.storrscenter.com.
According to James Duffy, executive director, Labor Management Foundation For Fair Contracting Of Connecticut, the state watchdog group monitoring construction and labor projects, "the Storrs Center construction site has been marked with
problems almost right from the very start. In July 2011, field inspectors from our foundation noticed possible worksite violations and notified Connecticut officials immediately".
The New York State Corporation and Business Entity Database states that Monroe Interior, Inc., was established in November 2008 and recently dissolved on October 26, 2011. The registered business entity's contact information listed is
Abraham Freid, P.O. Box 107, Monroe, NY 10949.
The Connecticut Laborers' District Council represents approximately 7,500 members employed in the construction industry, public sector and other building and trade fields throughout the state. The Laborers' International Union of North
America, founded in 1903 largely by immigrant workers, includes more than 800,000 members who work in construction and hazardous materials remediation, as well as in healthcare, the U.S. Postal Service and other public service sectors of
the economy. For more information, call 860.296.8697 or visit www.CTLPL.com.
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To arrange an interview with Charles LeConche from the Connecticut Laborers' about this news story or any related labor or political issues, contact Ron Dresner at r...@dennispr.com or call 860.523.7500.
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