Shame on Columbia University

Stop Undermining! Stop Exploiting! Stop Cheating!

Shame on COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY for putting money into the pockets of contractors who undermine, exploit, and cheat hardworking New Yorkers!  Scroll down and find out how YOU can HELP!

We have a lot of questions and we want answers!

  1. Why COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY with yearly tuition and fees of over $61,000 paying construction workers building its new dormitory on West 125th Street BELOW New York City area standards in wage and health benefits?
  2. Why is COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY going to build its new dorms on West 125th Street with Trident General Contracting, a company that was sued in Federal court last year for racial discrimination against African-American employees and retaliatory firing of those employees when they complained about race discrimination? (Michael Stewart and Sean Thomas v. Trident General Contracting, LLC et al., S.D.N.Y. 19-cv-5406)
  3. Why does COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, which prides itself on providing a top-notch education, REFUSE to use New York State-approved apprenticeship education and training programs for the construction workers building its dorm?
  4. Why is COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY intending again to use Mamais Contracting Corp., a company that was SUED under Federal and New York State law for underpaying construction workers and failing to pay overtime on a Columbia job? The lawsuit was settled with Mamais agreeing to pay $850,000 to cheated construction workers. (Geovany Serrano et al. v. Mamais Contracting Corp. et al., S.D.N.Y. 12-cv-6374)

Stop Undermining! Stop Exploiting! Stop Cheating!

If any of this bothers you, please contact the following people and voice your concerns: Hany Ayoub, Columbia Assoc. VP, Project Management & Construction, 212-854-3992
Marcelo Velez, Columbia VP, Manhattanville Development, 212-854-3992 or MV94@columbia.edu