by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Two Jacksonville ministers have questioned the ethical makeup of the work force at the new baseball park.
Pastor George Harvey Jr. of Mt. Charity Missionary Baptist Church and Pastor Perry Robinson of Mt. Canaan Missionary Baptist Church sent a memo to Better Jacksonville Plan officials last week advising them that a tour of the new ball park site revealed possible discriminatory practices.
In an attempt to either refute or confirm reports of questionable hiring practices at the ball park, both Harvey and Robinson were given a tour of the site. According to the two pastors, there are approximately 70 construction workers at the site and, while there is a racial mix of workers, there are pay discrepancies and possible illegal aliens working on the $34 million ball park.
“Our resultant findings confirm the serious reports of inequity and injustice at the ball park work site,” they wrote in the memo.
Sam Mousa, the City’s chief administrative officer said he has seen the memo and has already requested an investigation into the allegations.
“I’m forwarding it [a copy of the memo] to my project and program managers,” said Mousa. “They will review and investigate the situation and correct any problems as necessary and report back to me.”
According to Harvey and Robinson, of the 70 workers at the site the day they visited, only seven were black, 25 were white and 35 were Mexican. They also claim that no one on site could verify whether the Mexican workers were illegal immigrants or in possession of green cards. Other concerns included lower wages and higher workloads for black workers, a lack of leadership positions for blacks and possible harassment.
Mousa said if any of the allegations proved true, measures would be taken immediately to correct those discrepancies. Mousa, not wanting to discuss hypotheticals, wouldn’t speculate on any potential penalties to contractors or effects the allegations could have on the baseball park and its progress. He did say, however, that these issues would be addressed with the new arena, library and county courthouse.
“If these allegations are true, we will make sure they do not occur at the courthouse, library or any other vertical project,” said Mousa.
Neither Harvey nor Robinson could be reached for comment.
The allegations by Harvey and Robinson are an ironic twist in the $2.2 billion Better Jacksonville Plan. Earlier this year, the Utility Contractors Association filed suit in federal court against the City of Jacksonville alleging that the Better Jacksonville Plan is unfairly awarding small and minority contractors too much of the $1.5 billion worth of road and infrastructure work within the Plan. The UCA is predominantly white and the suit is scheduled to be heard in May 2003.
Mousa said he will personally handle the matter once the investigation is complete.
“I’m not going to play hypothetical, but if it is determined that these charges are true, I’ll be more than happy to make the necessary corrections,” said Mousa.