Employee: “Find a Common Ground So We Can Feed Our Families”

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GRAND BAHAMA, BAHAMAS – On Thursday, Bahama Rock workers walked off the job and protested outside the company’s Freeport site, holding signs highlighting what they say is the company’s contribution to Grand Bahama.

The demonstration comes just days before Bahama Rock plans to cease production on September 18th, a move that could see 69 hourly workers laid off.

The company wants to expand its mining operations onto the 515-acre former Bahamas Cement Company property, but that proposal has faced pushback.

Environmentalists say the project could result in the loss of some of Grand Bahama’s last intact Pinelands.

The environmental impact assessment estimates that clearing for the project could affect more than 132 thousand protected trees and shrubs.

Preserving Paradise Representative Allen Johnson has also raised concerns about what the group says are discrepancies in the environmental assessment.

Allen Johnson – Environmentalist, Preserving Paradise

“We’re concerned about the damage that will happen to the nurseries around this island, such as the mangroves and the salt marshes. We’re concerned about the coral reefs. We’re concerned about the birds, the birds that are there. We have threatened species as well as species that’s on the protected list.”

Residents have also raised concerns about blasting, dust and noise, as well as reported damage to homes and businesses in the Eight Mile Rock community.

However, for these workers, their livelihoods are on the line, warning that losing local limestone production could also drive up the cost of construction.

Steven Burrows – Employee

“Construction starts here. Every home built, every hotel, whatever use, wants to comes from limestone. It basically starts here.”

“Bahama Rock is very important to this community, and the residents also need to realize that, because it has to be a compromise.”

The workers say without a local source of aggregate, construction materials could become more expensive, adding to the cost of building homes and other developments.

Another worker says Grand Bahamians might better understand the proposal if they knew more about the safety measures being put in place.

Ravardo Cooper Jr. – Employee

“They’re uneducated about how safe Bahama Rock is and how seriously we take safety. Bahama Rock isn’t just going to put bombs in the ground and blow up the place. We’re going to survey. We’re going to take all the precautions needed to make sure that not only our workers are safe, but the people that live in residences.”