Framingham is slated to receive a $5.2 million state grant to bolster economic development.

"We are delighted and thrilled," Framingham Town Manager Julian Suso said about the grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Not everyone agrees.

Members of various labor unions are angry that Genzyme Corp. appears to be benefiting from the taxpayer funds. As the biotechnology giant has been expanding its operations in Framingham, union workers have protested the projects, saying the Cambridge- based company hires contractors who violate state laws and standards by not paying prevailing wages or providing health insurance.

With the state's finances in such peril, said Michael Monahan, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103, "This kind of corporate welfare just isn't right."

Genzyme Corp. spokesman John Lacey disputes the union's claims, saying that Genzyme only hires contractors who comply with the state's labor laws.

Lacey said that the state grant will boost the entire region by improving opportunities for economic development.

The just-awarded funds are part of the state's sweeping $1 billion Life Sciences Act, an initiative enacted this summer to stimulate growth in the life sciences industry.

On Friday, Framingham got the first of a two-part grant. The $5.2 million award will be used to build a pump station and associated pipework in a rapidly developing technology park near the Southboro line.

The sprawling park, which used to hold warehouses, is becoming a regional hub for research and development.

To facilitate that transition, the second, $7.7 million grant from the state will be used to connect the new pump station to the community's central pipes, Framingham Public Works Deputy Director Tom Holder said.

The significant improvements to the town's water and sewer lines have been timed to coincide with Genzyme's expansion into Framingham.

Genzyme - which makes treatments for rare disorders, as well as Parkinson's disease and diabetes - has established a significant presence in Framingham over the years.

The company has completed a $125 million science center, purchased a $16 million, 100,000-square-foot building, and started construction on a $250 million biomanufacturing facility.

But labor unions have also made their presence known at Genzyme's Framingham projects.

In September, more than 100 union pipefitters, electricians and plumbers picketed outside the science building as Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer celebrated the facility's grand opening.

Gov. Deval Patrick and U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Malden) were invited but backed out of the event, apparently uncomfortable with having to choose sides by their attendance.

The state's burgeoning biotechnology industry has been increasingly hiring out contractors who used out-of-state workers, who will work for wages that are below Masssachusetts prevailing wages, Monahan said.

Even as these companies accept state grants to bolster their businesses, "they are violating the state's prevailing wage requirements," Monahan said.

Lacey disagreed. He said that Genzyme scrutinizes its contractors to make sure they pay competitive wages and provide state-mandated health care.

"We want to be sure we hire ethical contractors," Lacey said.

- cmcconville@bostonherald.com

CAPTION: DISPUTE: Local unions are unhappy about a $5.2 million state grant to the Town of Framingham that will benefit Genzyme's operations, including those at its recently completed science center, above. At issue are charges that Genzyme has used construction workers from out of state who are not being paid the Massachusetts prevailing wage. STAFF PHOTO BY PATRICK WHITTEMORE

Originally published by By CHRISTINE McCONVILLE.

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