Picketers flanked the entrance of the McAllister Academic Village construction site to protest working conditions early Wednesday morning.
"We are here because we don't have justice in this company," said Felipe Hernandez, 26, one of 19 protestors.
Great Western Erectors, one of the companies subcontracted to work on the Academic Village, does not provide workers with drinking water on the job site, health care, pensions or competitive wages, Hernandez said.
He said he worked for Great Western Erectors for six months before deciding to leave in protest of the working conditions.
Joining the picketers was Ed Hermes, USG's government relations director. Hermes said he participated to learn more about the issue for USG.
"[USG] wanted to make sure none of student tuition and taxes were going toward unfair working conditions," Hermes said.
But union organizers are targeting the company unfairly, said Howard Parsons, Phoenix area manager for Great Western.
Parsons said the individuals picketing the site were paid union organizers. None of the former workers he knew to be union workers had worked for Great Western Erectors for longer than two months, he added.
Employees receive generous wages, more than $16 an hour, and have full health coverage for themselves and their families, Parsons said.
As for the safety concerns, ASU audited the site and found no violations, said Terri Shafer, spokeswoman for the University.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also did an audit and found no safety issues, Shafer added.
Parsons said he could not comment on work site conditions because of a pending court case.
A complaint was filed against Great Western with the National Labor Relations Board that the company has intimidated union workers, he said.
Protestors said Great Western officials have yelled at them at other demonstrations.
"[A superintendent] came to the worksite and showed us a gun," said Miguel Castaneda, 24, a former Great Western employee.
Castaneda said he worked for the company for six months.
"They use a lot of bad words," he added. "A lot of the people doesn't [sic] understand English."
Parsons said the allegations aren't true.
"They're doing their best to get support for their cause by getting public opinion on their side from ASU," Parsons said.
Joining a union would not benefit Great Western workers, Parsons added.
"It would mean a pay cut for most of my employees," he said. "And worse health care."
Some workers receive strike benefits from the Ironworkers local union 846, said Nghia Nguyen, a spokesman for the national American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, which is supporting the union's efforts.
Nguyen, who joined the protestors on campus, said the pay that the labor union's strike benefits are not comparable to full-time pay.
"It's absolutely a hardship on them," he said.
Reach the reporter at emilia.arnold@asu.edu.
