Contractor Speaks Out About Nooses Found on Jobsites

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor. 

Racist incidents at Amazon facility construction site have thrust the general contractor into the national spotlight.  

General contractor RC Anderson’s Vice President Neil Ascione recently spoke with Construction Dive’s Joe Bousquin about the racially charged incidents that occurred multiple times on the Amazon job site in Windsor, Connecticut. Ascione said the company was hesitant to speak out due to standard nondisclosure agreements but has since received the permission needed to share details on how they are handling the incident.  

In a prepared statement provided to Construction Dive, the company said, "RC Andersen regards the conduct involved here as not only offensive but disgusting. As such, RC Andersen has been working aggressively with Amazon to find out who may have engaged in this conduct in order to remove them from our project, but also to prevent such outrage from ever afflicting this project again." 

Ascione says that following the first incident in April, the company immediately contacted the local police department to report the hate crime. They have since increased security at the jobsite with six security officers present daily and one overnight.  

The RC Anderson team supplied anti-harassment information to the 70 companies working on site and required them to hold toolbox talks to discuss what happened. Ascione told Construction Dive, "We have language in every one of our contracts that says we will not tolerate any discrimination on our jobs, and that if we see anybody commit a hateful act, we reserve the right to remove them from the jobsite." 

Wanting to incentivize anyone who may have seen anything to come forward, the company initially offered a $5,000 reward which quickly rose to $100,000 after Amazon, the property management company and other subcontractors contributed.  

The initial noose was found on April 27 and two days later five more ropes were discovered. The FBI became involved, along with the Connecticut state police. When a seventh noose was found on May 19, the site was shut down to put increased security measures in place, including the installation of more cameras. An eighth noose showed up on May 26, shutting the site down a second time. This shutdown prompted Amazon’s Kelly Nantel, director of national media relations, to issue a statement that they will be reviewing RC Anderson to ensure they are “maintaining the standards expected at an Amazon project.” 

Business Insider reported that The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held a press briefing outside the site where Connecticut NAACP President Scot X. Esdaile said, "We have a serious problem in America, and it hasn't gone away. It's deplorable. It's sickening. It's a sick mindset that Black people have to fight against." 

RC Anderson hired their own attorney, who specializes in hate crimes, to lead their internal investigation and assist authorities in identifying the guilty party. Out of concern for workers’ mental health, RC Anderson let subcontractors know they could reassign workers and Amazon has made counseling available to workers at the site.  

The Associated General Contractors of America has developed a toolkit for contractors to use that details how to have racism discussions with your teams. Download it here.   

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