Group Says Ballpark Jobs Should Go to Residents

More than 50 nonunionized workers rallied against the new Nationals ballpark this morning, angry that more District residents did not receive construction jobs. The group honked horns and shouted to passing cars outside RFK Stadium, where a city task force monitoring employment for the new ballpark was meeting.

The agreement for the new ballpark in Southeast Washington called for at least half the journeymen workforce and all the new apprentices to be District residents, but the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission in an October report said the project was short of those goals. The report said 32 percent of the journeymen and 91 percent of the apprentices have been from the city. Protesters complained that because the ballpark contract requires union workers, a large number of minorities were left out of the hiring.

"Community residents were supposed get opportunities in D.C. That was a lie," said Bobby Green, chairman of the National Capitol Area Minority Contractors and Business Association, which sponsored the rally. The group also protested what it said was the racially motivated firing in late October of six African American electricians. The electricians have a union grievance pending.