Black workers who say they were demeaned and fired because of their race are suing the Sound Transit contractor responsible for digging the twin tunnels between Montlake and Broadway for the U-Link light rail extension beneath Capitol Hill.
A group of African American laborers who worked on the Sound Transit Link Light Rail project at Husky Stadium are suing, seeking class action status in federal court.
The men, four of whom appeared at a press conference in Seattle, say they were demeaned and fired because of their race.
Leonard Rollins says he was looking forward to several years of work when he was hired by contractor Traylor Brothers, operating Traylor/Frontier-Kemper Joint Venture for the Sound Transit project, back in June of 2011. But his hopes were soon dashed.
“I’ve worked plenty of jobs and I can’t believe what I saw,” he said.
The Traylor/Frontier-Kemper joint venture won the tunnel boring gig when the contractors delivered a bid some $86 million below what Sound Transit had forecast the tunneling to cost. With a splash of champagne, boring from the Montlake end of things started in May 2011. By May 2012, boring on the tunnels between UW and Capitol Hill and from Capitol Hill to downtown wrapped up as the last giant digging machine reached the edge of the transit tunnel beneath the Paramount Theater. CHS toured the ahead of schedule and under budget light rail project this summer. The nearly three-mile-long set of twin tunnels plus Capitol Hill Station and UW Station are slated to begin service by early 2016.
KPLU reports that the Traylor/Frontier-Kemper group “categorically denies all charges of racism” and said the workers were fired because of lack of skills.
KIRO reports that the men had filed complaints with the union and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A Sound Transit investigation found black workers were more likely to be dismissed than white workers at the UW project.
The class action suit asks for punitive and compensatory damages for lost wages.
