Arena jobs promised for minorities
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 TRIBUNE-REVIEW
By Jeremy Boren
The city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority on Tuesday promised to hire minorities to help build Pittsburgh's planned $290 million hockey arena and sided with a human rights group that wants the Pirates not to sell sports merchandise made in sweatshops.
Tim Stevens, executive director of the Black Political Empowerment Project, told SEA board members that he believes minorities historically have been left out of union construction jobs -- including the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where the authority has met since it opened in 2003.
"This must cease," Stevens said. "We need to take a serious, honest look at minority and women participation in construction jobs and in providing goods and services."
SEA Executive Director Mary Conturo agreed.
"That's an issue we continue to focus on," she said, adding that the SEA employs a "diversity coordinator" to ensure minorities and minority-owned companies are included in contracts. "We will continue to make it a priority."
Another concern for the authority was voiced by Chairman John Chalovich, who asked Conturo on April 19 to send a letter to the Pirates recommending that the team uphold foreign workers' rights and avoid selling team jerseys and other apparel made through sweatshop labor.
Kenneth Miller, head of the Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance, applauded the SEA's recommendation yesterday, saying it draws a "connection between people who wear Pirates apparel and the people who sew it."
At the urging of the alliance, Chalovich asked the Pirates if employees of The Haddad Apparel Group in Bangladesh worked in sweatshops. He requested copies of the workers' pay stubs to prove they were being paid a fair wage.
Pirates officials did not return messages seeking comment yesterday.
But the team said there's little it can do to fight the use of sweatshop labor, which it doesn't view as a problem, according to a Feb. 26 letter to Chalovich from Larry Silverman, the Pirates' vice president and general counsel.
Silverman wrote that Haddad is a licensee of Major League Baseball. He noted there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the company.
"We are satisfied that based on the detailed investigation MLB has previously performed on this sweatshop issue ... if such conduct were occurring, MLB would use its best efforts to bring such conduct to a halt," Silverman wrote.
A message left at New York City-based Haddad was not returned.
At least one of Pittsburgh's other major league teams ensures that manufacturers don't use sweatshops to produce merchandise.
The National Hockey League handles the manufacturing and sale of most Penguins jerseys and other apparel -- as it does for all 31 league teams.
But the Penguins control who makes game-day giveaways such as bobblehead dolls, said Tom McMillan, a team spokesman.
The Penguins have a contract with private company Pro Image Sports, which follows industry standards and performs on-site inspections to make sure manufacturers aren't using sweatshop labor, McMillan said.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.
