The protesters gather every day at 6 a.m. on the sidewalks of Route 9 near Keefe Health Center. Wearing signs proclaiming that Monaco "does not conform to community standards," they aim to raise awareness of what they consider to be Monaco's unfair treatment of employees.
"We're informing the public and the school that Monaco does not comply to community standards regarding wage, health benefits and pension," said Ron Marvin, spokesperson for Local 1 of The Bricklayers' and Allied Craft Workers' Union, which sponsored the protest.
"We've got reports that [Monaco] is paying some people as little as $10 an hour, $15 an hour and no benefits. No health care, no retirement," Marvin said.
The College disagrees with the protesters' assessment of Monaco's treatment of employees. "We have no reason to believe that Monaco's employment practices are questionable," said Director of Facilities Planning and Management Jim Brassord. "They employ many long-term masons that could readily join the union and work for other employers if they were so inclined."
According to Brassord, the picket targets not the College but Monaco itself. "The mason's union picket action is against a specific subcontractor and not against the College," Brassord said. "Since there is no evidence of inappropriate conduct by the subcontractor, the College has no plans to intervene."
In addition, Marvin said that the protesters oppose Monaco's wages and benefits policy because it allows the non-unionized contractor to outbid companies that do pay more.
"The prevailing wages are set on a collective bargain agreement for each craft," said Marvin. "Obviously it's hard for contractors to compete with someone who doesn't conform to the standards."
Brassord defended the College's method of hiring subcontractors. "Over the past decade, the College's merit-based procurement process, where pre-qualified union and non-union based subcontractors are given equal opportunity to bid, has resulted in positive relations with the unions," he said. "The College firmly believes that its procurement practices for construction projects are fair and equitable to union and non-union tradesmen alike." Brassord added that the College also "respect[s] the union's right to conduct an informational picket."
The group, which has not yet met with any representatives of the College, said that members of their union, who receive training in West Springfield and Fort Ritchie, Md., are far more skilled than the typical Monaco employee.
According to Marvin, seven or eight of Monaco's craftsmen have defected to unionized contractors over the last few years.
"We've taken in a number of [Monaco's] employees who were disgruntled because of [the low] wages and lack of benefits," said Marvin.
Protester Greg Facteau left Monaco two years ago to join a unionized contractor. He had worked off and on for Monaco for seven years.
"I don't want to have to work for Monaco until I die, you know?" Facteau said. "Treats his guys like shit, not organized. Tries to screw people on hours-every guy on his job is short on hours every week."
The protesters alleged that Monaco uses dangerous practices including dry cutting, which releases deadly dust into the air.
Facteau told of another worker who quit his job with Monaco last Friday. "He just walked off," Facteau said. "He said, 'Hey, I need something to retire on. I got nothing here, [and] I'm getting old.' So he quit."
But despite being motivated by strong feelings and personal experiences, the protesters were cooperative, parting their ranks several times to allow Physical Plant vans in and out of the drive next to Keefe Health Center.
According to Marvin, the group, which has included as many as 22 protesters on a given day, will keep protesting for the next few weeks.
Monaco Restorations, which is based out of Southbridge, Mass., was unavailable for comment.