A dispute between union and non-union workers at a hotel construction site on 48th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan got heated yesterday afternoon when fifty members of local unions appeared to protest the contractor's use of non-union labor. The Daily News reports that a non-union worker driving a cement mixer backed into a group of the protestors, lightly injuring a few, although the article has a picture of an amputee sprawled on the street with his prosthetic leg standing nearby.
Dozens of cops swarmed to the scene in order to prevent the dispute from getting more out of hand. In the confusion, one pro-union protestor allegedly was trying to puncture the tires of the cement mixer with an ice pick, but he ran off before the cops could arrest him. The News quotes a woman from Georgia who saw the whole thing and thought the truck incident was unintentional, but was still shocked: "It happened right in the middle of the crosswalk."
Seven union and non-union workers were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration. The union protestors are arguing that the site's contractor is cutting corners by hiring non-union laborers at the expense of safety.
(59 on 59, by edEx at flickr)
