Chinese Workers Build MLK Memorial: Investigation

It’s an old debate: Should planners of symbolic projects rely on local workers or stretch funds by hiring immigrant labor? The latest project under scrutiny is construction of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington, DC. Debt crisis in Greece delayed granite delivery, and critics slammed the Chinese sculptor’s original design. The foundation organizing the $120 million project did promise to use local stone masons, but apparently reneged. Union bricklayers met with the Chinese stone masons working on the project, and found the group well-fed in comfortable living quarters, but surprised to learn that the Chinese workers anticipate no payment until they return to China. They had no quarrel with the unknown sum and readiness to work, as reported by a translator, for “national honor.” The memorial honors the American civil-rights leader, who spoke out for the rights of minorities, union workers and the poor. Supporting America’s unemployed versus unpaid immigrant workers would likely be a dilemma for King, too. – YaleGlobal