by CASEY LABRACK

Dozens of protestors gathered outside RFK Stadium this morning in reaction to the recent firing of five black construction workers from the project for a new Washington, D.C., stadium.

The protestors, mostly black and hispanic construction workers and contractors, said the firings were racist.

Norval O. Scott, one of the fired workers, contended that a white contractor had verbally abused him on the job saying, “Monkeys could do it better.”

“You can’t compare black people to monkeys,” said Scott, a supervisor with City General, an electrical contractor. “That’s extremely racially motivated.”

Robert Green III, president of the National Capitol Area Minority Contractors and Business Association, said that city leaders and the construction unions are to blame for failing to protect black workers.

“We want councilmember Kwame Brown, we want councilmember Harry Thomas jr., and all the councilmembers put in office by the unions … to understand that blacks are not called ‘monkeys’ in Washington, D.C.,” said Green.

At the announcement of a labor plan for the new stadium’s construction in 2005, then-Mayor Anthony Williams said the project labor agreement “guarantees a percentage of the work on the new ballpark will go to minority contractors.”

Holding signs reading “Broken Promises,” the protestors said that the city has failed to uphold the agreement in spirit, claiming that white contractors are still allowed to force out black contractors.

“I have no respect for [electrical worker’s union] Local 26,” said Scott.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 26 had no comment on Scott’s firing.

“Black versus white — that’s the hostile environment that was created on the job,” said Scott, who claims that working conditions and breaks often favored white contractors.

The office of at-large councilmember Kwame R. Brown said it had been made aware of allegations of discrimination in the construction of the new ballpark, and has notified the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission to begin an investigation.

“If discrimination for any reason is found to have occurred, I believe appropriate action should be taken and those responsible should be held accountable,” Brown said.

Speaking at the protest, Green linked the fortunes of the black construction workers to the health of the D.C. community.

“We’ve got $611 million of government money, taxpayers’ money, and it’s not trickling down to the community residents,” said Green.