Untitled Document
After more than two years of trying, a minority-owned
firm last week signed a trucking agreement with KBV-Springfield, the
company that is building Springfield’s new 200-megawatt coal-fired
power generator. Starting in 2004, Walter Hale, owner of Econo
Materials and Testing Labs of Illinois Inc., wrote several letters to KBV,
expressing his desire to participate on the half-billion-dollar project.
Hale says he spoke to City Water, Light & Power
officials, trying to make his case. Nothing seemed to work until last month, after Ward 2
Ald. Frank McNeil publicly slammed KBV for the small percentage of
minorities he saw working on the plant. During a visit to the construction
site, McNeil says, he observed a number of tandem dump trucks similar to
the one Hale owns. “With all the dirt the they’re moving out
there, I can’t understand why he hasn’t gotten some work from the
city,” McNeil says. When KBV representatives explained that they can only
use labor-union members, Hale joined a Teamsters Union local, but it still
took more than a month before he received a call.
Hale’s frustration grew. “They put brothers through the wringer,”
he told Illinois Times last month. “Then you go through the wringer, and all
of a sudden you still can’t work.”
City Hall spokesman Ernie Slottag directed questions
regarding subcontracts at the power plant to KBV; a message left for a
company official was not returned. Last Tuesday, March 27, Hale was offered a contract
to carry materials to and from the construction site. Although he’s
relieved, he’ll hold off celebrating until he’s hauling his
first load. The toughest part has been hearing rumors about
KBV’s bringing in workers from other cities to work on the plant,
Hale says: “This is home for me. I’m a product of
District 186 schools. [Ald.] Irv Smith was my high-school principal. My
money has been paying for this project for years and will continue to pay
for it.”
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 4, 2007.
