By John Eckberg
Enquirer staff writer

Protesters and an inflatable rodent of unusual size greeted students attending their first morning of classes Tuesday at the National College of Business & Technology, 6871 Steger Dr., in Bond Hill.

The protest was not linked to the school or to school operations, but was directed at Cincinnati developer and property manager Duke Realty Corp.

"We want Duke to work with responsible contractors in the Cincinnati area," said Matt Ryan, lead organization for the Service Employees International Union Local 3, a member of the Community Coalition for Responsible Contracting.

"That building was built by Duke Construction, and they subcontracted out a lot of work to contractors who have a history of violations of various labor and wage-and-hour laws."

Duke Realty officials denied the group's claims.

"We do not discriminate on a basis of union versus non-union. All our work is competitively bid by qualified and competent contractors," said Donna Hovey, vice president of public and media relations for Duke Realty Corp., based in Indianapolis.

National College's Cincinnati campus, meanwhile, opened with 54 students and an administrative staff of 15. The college maintains 17 other branch campuses in Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

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E-mail jeckberg@enquirer.com