BY JESSICA PARKS
Demonstrators gathered
outside Sunset Park’s Industry
City on June 18 to protest
the hub’s alleged “ruthless”
treatment of essential workers
— including threatening
a whistleblower who spoke up
about unsafe working conditions,
according to one rallygoer.
“This treatment is a demonstration
of the way Industry
City operates,” said Jeremy
Kaplan, a Sunset Park resident.
“They have billions of
dollars, why are they trying to
fi re an employee in the middle
of a pandemic?”
Robert Stevens, a security
guard at the Sunset Park business
complex, claims he confronted
management in early
March for failing to implement
proper safety measures
and to notify employees that
some co-workers and patrons
had tested positive for the
novel coronavirus.
“I brought to the attention
of a few offi cials from management
COURIER L 20 IFE, JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2020
in emails concerns
about COVID-19 when we initially
had the state of emergency,”
said Stevens, who
added that he received a response
from one manager saying
he “wouldn’t suggest licking
the fl oor of the subway to
get 14 days sick pay.”
After no protective measures
were implemented, Stevens
said he fi led a complaint
against the employer — which,
he says, led management to
slap him with his fi rst-ever
demerit on his disciplinary
record on the very same day
that the state’s Department of
Labor confi rmed receiving his
complaint.
“I’ve had a very pristine record
of service, no blemishes,”
Stevens said. “Suddenly that
same day, management was
issuing disciplinary action
against me.”
Following the initial demerit,
Stevens said he was routinely
written up by his supervisors
for eating on duty and
using his cell phone, which
he said is required for his job,
and had never been enforced
previously — eventually leading
to two suspensions.
Organizers with Protect
Sunset Park, a neighborhood
activist group, scheduled
the protest to coincide with a
planned management meeting
to discuss Stevens’ possible
termination.
After rallying outside of the
waterfront complex on Second
Sunset Park community members marched into Industry City offi ces on
June 18 to protest what they called poor working conditions at the complex
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Paul Frangipane
Avenue, protesters moved indoors
in search of the alleged
meeting, but were unable to
fi nd its location and turned
back in search of the offi ce of
Industry City’s CEO Andrew
Kimball.
In a statement, the manufacturing
hub denied Stevens’
claims of retaliation, calling
the “false allegations” an “unneeded
distraction” as management
works to safely transition
into phase two of the
city’s reopening.
“There is absolutely no
truth to any claim made by
anyone that suggests an employee
of Industry City or, as
in this case an employee of a
contractor, was suspended or
terminated based on any retaliatory
practice,” the statement
read.
FIRED UP!
Protesters rally for fair treatment of
Industry City’s essential workers