Amtrak & Federal Recovery Act Funds Bypass Connecticut Companies & Workers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 22, 2010 -- (Hartford, Connecticut) – After months of discussions with Amtrak and transportation officials as well as Connecticut congressional members, the Connecticut Laborers’ District Council along with the New London-Norwich Building & Construction Trades Council received news last week that Amtrak selected a Maine based construction company to replace the Niantic River Bridge, East Lyme, CT rather than the community workforce initiative proposed by state labor leaders consisting of Connecticut companies.

In its Jan. 13, 2010 press release, Amtrak stated the $104.7 million contract project has been awarded to Cianbro Corporation, Pittsfield, Maine (www.cianbro.com), for the replacement of the 102-year old movable bridgeover the Niantic River in East Lyme, CT. The three year project is set to begin in April, 2010. It is being funded by $47.1 million from Amtrak’s annual capital program and $57.6 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project involves construction of a new two-track bridge south of its present alignment. Additional work includes expanding the navigation channel beneath the bridge used by water traffic, realigning the east and west track approaches to the bridge, and relocating the Niantic Bay Overlook, including beach restoration. The existing bridge will remain in operation until the new bridge is built and the river will remain open to water traffic throughout construction”.

“For over six months now, we have talked or communicated with almost every official involved with the decision making process to help bring this needed recovery and reinvestment money to the state so Connecticut companies and Connecticut workers can be hired. Letters were sent to President Obama and Vice-President Biden, we met with Amtrak officials in Washington, D.C. while U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney campaigned vigorously,” explained Charles LeConche, business manager, Connecticut Laborers’ District Council. This is a real setback to the Connecticut economy and for all Connecticut companies, workers and their families. I guess its politics as usual as our federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act tax dollars fly away and into the pockets of companies and workers located in other states. Today, Amtrak may have won a battle, but with the help of our delegation we’ll win the war,” said LeConche.

In a joint letter dated July 9, 2009, U.S. Senator Dodd and U.S. Congressman Courtney wrote Amtrak and federal transportation officials requesting attention to the Norwich-New London Building & Construction Trades proposal. “As you know, the Niantic River Bridge project is worth approximately $105 million and represents the single largest Amtrak project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As such, it presents a tremendous opportunity to put the people of Connecticut back to work on a project of great importance in their own community.

“As president of the New London-Norwich Building and Construction Trades Council representing nearly 17,000 workers, I was in communication with transportation officials and made sure Biden and Obama staffers were informed about the situation. I do not understand Amtrak’s decision in light of President Obama’s Feb. 2009 executive order encouraging the use of community workforce agreements that are federally funded and have a value over $25 million. These agreements have a history of ensuring not only timely and quality construction, but also provide local workers who are state residents employment opportunities that may in fact go to out of state workers which would not benefit our local economy. This is a real economic tragedy for our state economy and the loss of hundreds of jobs for our workers,” said Keith Brothers, president, New London-Norwich Building and Construction Trades Council.

According to Feb. 2003 news reports, a Maine labor union sued the U.S. attorney general, secretary of labor and the commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to stop foreign laborers from working on a Cianbro project in Portland Harbor. Cianbro was eventually given permission to bring in 70 foreign workers by the U.S. Department of Labor on February 5, 2003. "The determination that there are no Americans willing to take these jobs is simply wrong," commented attorney Patrick McTeague. "Cianbro simply doesn't want to hire Maine people who belong to unions. They'd rather bring in foreigners who'd work for lesser wages and wouldn't be aware of their rights as American citizens”.

Stated on its Web site, Cianbro Corporation is the heavy industrial, civil construction, and construction management subsidiary of the Cianbro Companies. Headquartered in Pittsfield, Maine, Cianbro Corporation provides pre-construction, construction, and maintenance services. Past area projects by Cianbro included the replacement of the Thames River railroad bridge and construction of the Tomlinson Bridge in New Haven, CT. Cianbro’s southern New England region contact is Tim Vigue, tvigue@cianbro.com, phone (860) 761-6248. Most recently, Cianbro President & CEO Peter Vigue was considering a run as a Republican nominee in the Maine Governor’s race. In 2002, a Maine campaign watchdog agency fined former Republican gubernatorial candidate Peter Cianchette $12,000 for failing to report $68,609 in in-kind contributions from his family's construction company, Cianbro Corporation, to his 2002 campaign. Maine’s Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices found reports filed by the Cianchette campaign failed to comply with campaign finance reporting laws. The matter was brought to the commission's attention by a former supervisor for Cianbro Corporation, the construction company founded by the Cianchette family.

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, 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.

More information can be found online at http://WWW.CTLPL.COM

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