Labor Union Puts Casket Outside Edison School; Admin Topples It

EDISON, NJ – The standoff between a local labor union and builder escalated on Friday when the union placed a funeral casket draped with an image of a toe-tagged dead body outside Lincoln Elementary School in Edison.

Officials of LiUNA Local 77 are currently in dispute with Pal-Pro Builders. They are protesting the contractor's refusal to hire local workers for a construction job at the elementary school.

Students and parents caught a glimpse of the casket as they headed to school on Friday morning. Republican Mayoral candidate Keith Hahn captured the images from outside the school.

He also recorded a video of Superintendent Bernard F Bragen toppling the casket over.

"For the safety of the children, as the Superintendent of Schools, I really had no choice but to protect them. I responded immediately to the coffin on school property and knocked it to the ground," Bragen told Patch. "I asked the facility manager to grab anything he could to cover up the coffin and he ran inside the building, quickly returning with canvas drop cloths."

Bragen said he learned about the coffin on school premises at around 7 a.m on Friday morning.

For the next hour and forty-five minutes, the Superintendent said he called the Police, union leadership representatives, and Kevin Duncan, the president of the Middlesex County Construction and Building Trades Council, to address the issue immediately.

"But everyone told me there was nothing that could be done."

Bragen said he was struck with sadness to witness "this horrendous display."

"I feared the irreversible consequences of emotional harm that our children would be subjected to, some as young as 4-years-old who were arriving at school within minutes. They would be eyewitnesses to the giant rat with its exaggerated fangs and outstretched claws facing them and they would be forced to walk within inches of the coffin which had a banner draped in front with pictures depicting the feet of a dead corpse and a skull, as they entered school," he said.

The Superintendent said he was left with no choice but to topple the casket and would do it again if "children and staff need to be protected."

Hahn said it was traumatizing for children to see a casket early morning outside of school.

“This is the second day of school for children. Imagine how traumatizing it can be for them to see a casket,” Hahn told Patch.

“Many parents were reluctant to send their children to school after the pandemic. Yesterday, the school neighborhood was hit hard by Ida. And for these guys to put up a coffin outside is just despicable,” said Hahn.

Schools in Edison reopened Wednesday but were shut on Thursday due to tropical storm Ida.

"I'm a retired law enforcement officer. I'm not anti-labor union. But someone needs to stand up and tell them that what they are doing is wrong," said Hahn

Meanwhile, LiUNA has apologized for the display.

LiUNA said the props — coffin and giant inflatable rat, were down before students arrived.

"How do we know this? Because at 8:21 a.m. a school official actually knocked down the display which was never put back up before its removal," Carl E. Styles, Business Manager of Building Laborers Local 77, said in a statement.

Styles said the union agreed that the use of the coffin outside the school was "inappropriate" and that it has started a review process to ensure they don't "make this mistake again."

"We do not condone the use of any props or messaging that may negatively affect children and apologize for the poor judgment. In this instance, the coffin was down before students arrived and we think that is for the best," Styles said.

"We will work to do better, and we hope Edison Township Public Schools will, too. We need to send a message that Edison Township Public Schools will not reward discriminatory business practices. On this matter, we should ALL be on the same side!”

On Wednesday, the union placed a larger-than-life rodent outside the school. Local 77 alleged that when officials reached out to Pal-Pro to discuss hiring from the local construction workforce, they were told only Macedonian or Serbian workers would be hired.

"We believe workers should not be discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or any other arbitrary standards and we are willing to fight to ensure workers are protected," Styles said.

Read More Here: Inflatable Rat Used In Labor Union Protest Outside Edison School

On Thursday, School Board President Jerry Shi told Patch that the expansion project for the school "went through the legally required open public bidding process," and by law, the school district is required to hire the lowest bidder.

"The Board Attorney reviewed all of the bids and found the Pal Pro Builder's bid was the lowest valid bid and hence the contract was awarded," Shi said.

Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

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