ESPN and its $100-million digital center under construction at its Bristol headquarters are in the spotlight once again after a protest this morning by about 100 Connecticut union construction workers. Among concerns for the protest organizer, the Connecticut Laborers' District Council, are that ESPN allegedly is using non-union contractors for the majority of work and that it is using out-of-state contractors.
The district council has held protests at the 193,000-sq-ft project site since October, alleging that the general manager on the project, Associated Construction Company, Hartford, and site contractor, Mizzy Construction, Plainville, Conn., are non-union shops that undermine area and safety standards and fail to pay workers a living wage.