Nashville leads new report in hazardous conditions, injury rates for construction workers

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

by Kaylin Searles
Tuesday, May 23rd 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) – Metro Council members, construction workers and advocates are trying to make changes in the construction industry after a new report claims that Nashville has the most hazardous conditions and the high injury rates for workers.

“Build a Better South” conducted the survey, questioning 1,400 construction workers from the Nashville area alone. The survey was also conducted in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston and Miami.

According to the report, one in four Nashville workers had been injured at some point in their construction career, the highest of the research cities. Ten percent of workers had been injured just in the last year.

Jackie Cornejo, with Build a Better South, said one of the most concerning points of the report for Nashville is the amount of injuries that go unreported. The study found a 12.7 percent injury rate per 100 workers annually in Tennessee, which is four times higher than the injury/illness rate reported by OSHA for the state.

Construction workers gave testimony echoing this at the news conference Tuesday. Some workers said their wages aren’t high enough to afford a health insurance plan, thus paying for treatment out of pocket or never reporting the injury.

But, about 81 percent of those injuries that were reported last year received no workers’ compensation.

(Read More)

Massachusetts settles with three construction companies that allegedly violated wage laws

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

by Mark Iandolo |
May 23, 2017, 8:52am

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced May 15 that three construction companies in the state will pay more than $600,000 for allegations of failing to pay the proper prevailing wage rate to employees for work performed on public projects.

“Our prevailing wage laws ensure a level playing field for contractors who perform work for public entities, including municipalities, schools, libraries and housing authorities,” Healey said. “When contractors skirt these laws, they not only cheat employees out of their wages, they undermine the competitive business environment of Massachusetts.”

The citations came against Ronan Jarvis, former owner of MC Starr Companies Inc., DANCO Management Inc. and its owner Daniel Tremblay, and R&A Drywall LLC and owner Allan S. Vitale.

Massachusetts state law mandates that contractors and subcontractors pay employees a special minimum wage determined by the state for any work done on public construction projects.

The Jarvis and R&A Drywall cases are being handled by assistant attorney general Erik Bennett and investigator Tom Lam, both of the department’s Fair Labor Division. Assistant attorney general Barbara Dillon DeSouza and inspector Brian Davies, both of the Fair Labor Division, are handling the DANCO case.

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UPDATE: OSHA delays electronic recordkeeping rule deadline

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on
Author Emily Peiffer, Hallie Busta
UPDATE: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday that it will suspend the electronic recordkeeping rule’s filing deadline in order to give employers more time to comply, according to The Washington Post. Although the filing date was originally scheduled for July 1, the agency has not yet opened the online portal for companies to submit their injury and illness logs. OSHA has not announced how long the extension will last.
Dive Brief:
  • The National Association of Home Builders – along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma State Homebuilders Association, the State Chamber of Oklahoma and three poultry associations – filed a lawsuit in January against the U.S. Department of Labor and OSHA in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma relating to OSHA’s final recordkeeping rule.
  • The lawsuit claims that the rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” overreaches and violates businesses’ rights under the First and Fifth amendments to the U.S. Constitution, effectively asking the court to apply strict scrutiny in determining the rule’s constitutionality.
  • OSHA’s announcement of the final rule in May 2016, which put in place new electronic recordkeeping and reporting requirements among companies with more than 20 employees, was met with pushback from construction industry trade groups concerning the exposure of private data.

 

Dive Insight:

The January lawsuit claimed that OSHA doesn’t have the authority to create what it says will be a public database for employers’ injury and illness records, and it argues that the information’s publication won’t impact workplace safety or health. Instead, the lawsuit calls the rule “an imposition on businesses” and says that the publication of “confidential and proprietary information” could be misused, exposing the business “to significant reputational harm.”

(Read More)

Ohio House eyes prevailing wage law for public works projects

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Marc Kovac, staff writer
Published: May 9, 2017 3:50 PM

COLUMBUS – The Ohio House launched hearings Tuesday on legislation that would give local communities discretion on whether to follow the state’s prevailing wage law on public works projects.

Backers of HB 163 and companion legislation in the Ohio Senate say the proposal stops well short of an outright repeal, as has been attempted in the legislature in past sessions.

Instead, Rep. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) said, it would give affected local governing authorities the power opt out of “state-mandated wage” requirements.

…

But Democrats on the Economic Development, Commerce and Labor Committee voiced concern about the bill Tuesday. Rep. Thomas West (D-Canton) questioned whether the bill would lead to fewer jobs, lower wages and more people needing public assistance.

“Is this bill worth losing billions of economic activity…?” he asked.

And Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown) asked whether it would be more appropriate to increase local government funding.

Union groups also do not support the change – according to the Ohio State Building & Construction Trades Council, Ohio’s prevailing wage law “protects and preserves local area wages on federal and state construction projects. It guarantees that workers are paid fairly.”

Matt Szollosi, executive director of the Affiliated Construction Trades of Ohio, who attended Tuesday’s hearing, said his group is “adamantly opposed” to the legislation.

“Based on data that we have from a recent study that was commissioned and completed by professors at Kent State University, Bowling Green State University and Colorado State University, a severe weakening or repeal of prevailing wage would result in construction workers’ incomes being reduced by 16 percent and would push a significant percentage of construction workers below poverty level and onto public assistance,” he said.

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Video: Indiana GOP Leader Admits Repealing Prevailing Wage ‘Hasn’t Saved a Penny’

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on
With Senate Committee Set to Vote on Repeal Bill, April 24 Video Debunks Prevailing Wage Supporters’ Claims about Savings
PRESS RELEASE · MAY 2, 2017
MEDIA CONTACT | MIKE BROWNE
DEPUTY DIRECTOR

MADISON, Wis. – With the Republican-controlled Senate Labor Regulatory Reform Committee poised Wednesday morning to vote for a misguided repeal of prevailing wage laws for public works projects, video has surfaced from a forum April 24 in Milwaukee where Republican Indiana House Assistant Majority Leader Ed Soliday angrily reveals that similar legislation passed in Indiana which went into effect in 2015 “hasn’t saved a penny.”

“We got rid of prevailing wage and so far it hasn’t saved a penny,” Soliday says during the question and answer session last week hosted by the Wisconsin Transportation Development Association in Milwaukee. “Probably the people most upset with us repealing [prevailing] wage were the locals. Because the locals, quite frankly, like to pay local contractors and they like local contractors to go to the dentist in their own town.”

One comprehensive analysis showed repealing Wisconsin’s prevailing wage laws will result in a projected $500 million in construction value being completed by out-of-state contractors on an annual basis and a yearly total of over $1.2 billion being lost due to reduced economic activity. A second analysis revealed 885 public construction jobs left Indiana after repeal of prevailing wage and 770 jobs popped up across the border in Kentucky.

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said he “wasn’t surprised the Wisconsin Republicans are using lies and deception to level yet another attack on Wisconsin workers.” Ross said the list of Republican co-authors on the bill was “a who’s who of Wisconsin’s anti-worker extremists.”

(Read More)

(See a Copy of Video Here)

Op-Ed If residential builders pay prevailing wages it would help – not hurt – California’s housing crisis

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By Alex Lantsberg
May 19, 2017, 4:00 AM

California has a housing crisis. Supply has not kept pace with demand. Rents and home prices are soaring and many working families are being priced out of the market altogether.

The state Legislature is considering myriad ideas for reform. One that has generated a lot of push-back from the building industry is incorporating prevailing wage standards into more residential projects.

“Prevailing wage” refers to what’s generally paid to skilled craft workers in different regions. Based on local employer surveys, it includes hourly pay, benefits and training costs for dozens of different construction occupations. It sometimes, but not always, reflects union rates. Typically required on publicly funded construction projects, prevailing wages encourage contractors to compete based on workers’ skill, experience and productivity, as well as on innovative project management – not merely on who can pay their workers the least. Decades of peer-reviewed research have linked prevailing wages with higher-quality craftsmanship, more local hiring and lower poverty rates among construction workers.

Peer-reviewed research has linked prevailing wages with higher-quality craftsmanship, more local hiring and lower poverty rates among construction workers.
Some builders and developers falsely claim that paying prevailing wages would lead to higher housing prices and make the state’s affordability crisis worse. They’re wrong; they want to maintain a status quo that allows them to line their pockets at the expense of workers and taxpayers.

(Read More)

A.G. Schneiderman Announces Arrest Of Public Works Contractor Charged With Wage Theft Of Nearly $700K

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Defendant Allegedly Failed To Pay $691,040 In Prevailing Wages And Benefits To Ten Workers Performing Construction On Bronx Public Schools.

BY LONG ISLAND NEWS & PR – PUBLISHED: MAY 03 2017

New York, NY – May 3, 2017 – Today, Attorney General Eric T. Schneideman and New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer announced the arrest of contractor Vickram Mangru on charges that he underpaid wages and benefits to workers on a publicly-funded New York City construction project. The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into widespread allegations of prevailing wage theft at New York City public works projects.

Contracted to perform work on several New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) public schools in the Bronx between December 2012 and April 2014, Mangru – while doing business as Vick Construction out of Valley Stream, New York -was charged with allegedly cheating six workers out of $301,683 in wages. Vick Construction and Mangru had previously been debarred and banned for a five-year period from performing public work projects by the New York City Comptroller’s Office for failing to pay proper prevailing wages to workers. On December 31, 2013, Mangru entered into a settlement agreement, admitting he underpaid workers by $34,347 in prevailing wages and supplements.

Undeterred, Mangru allegedly continued to operate in several public schools and continued to pay well below proper prevailing wage rates, forming AVM Construction in January 2014. AVM Construction was purportedly owned by Mangru’s son Ravi Mangru and his wife Gayatri Mangru, who both claimed to be the company’s president. However, according to workers, Mangru ran the day to day operations of AVM Construction, including directly supervising the work and paying employees.

Between April 2014 and February 2015, Mangru is alleged to have continued working on multiple NYCDOE school projects in the Bronx. An investigation determined that Mangru, now operating under the umbrella of AVM Construction, allegedly failed to pay proper prevailing wages to ten workers on those school projects by an additional $389,357 during the ten-month period.

In total, Mangru allegedly failed to pay $691,040 in prevailing wages and benefits to ten workers, from December 2012 to February 2015.

(Read More)

Prevailing wage repeal fails, contractors pleased

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

May 14th, 2017
by Philip Joens

Contractors around Jefferson City felt relieved Friday night after the General Assembly failed to approve a bill that would’ve repealed Missouri’s prevailing wage law.

Currently, construction workers are paid a state-set minimum wage on state and local construction projects in Missouri because of a state law created in 1959. House Bill 1o4 proposed to repeal that law. It was passed the House in March and had the support of Gov. Eric Greitens before it stalled in the Senate. While local contractors feel relieved, they also know the bill may come up again in next year’s session.

“We have been very concerned about losing prevailing wage,” said Greg Schrock, a local electrician and president of the Jefferson City union International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 257. “It could make or break us.”

Meyer Electric Vice President Craig Linhardt said he hopes this will give assembly members time to reflect on the issue.

“Hopefully this will give the legislature and the people of the State of Missouri time to reflect on the long term ramifications of how this law affects the working families of Missouri,” Linhardt said.

Each year, all contractors, both union and non-union, turn in the hours they work to the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Wages differ by skill set and county. Because local unions collectively bargain wages in each county, all union contractors are lumped into the same pool.

(Read More)

Open Letter from City Leaders Calls for Prevailing Wages in State Housing Reforms

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Thu, 18 May 2017, 17:53:20 EDT | Source: Smart Cities Prevail

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 18, 2017 – In an open letter that ran as a full page ad in today’s Sacramento Bee, elected leaders from six of California’s eight largest cities called on California Governor Jerry Brown and the State Legislature to include prevailing wage standards in state housing reforms. The ad was paid for by Smart Cities Prevail (SCP).

The state Legislature is considering myriad ideas for reform. One that has generated a lot of push-back from the building industry is incorporating prevailing wage standards into more residential projects.

Smart Cities Prevail (SCP) is a non-profit research organization that focuses on wage policies and contracting standards in the construction industry. The ad was signed by a group of local elected officials from the cities of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento.

The ad references ongoing efforts to streamline more housing development – with several proposals under consideration to combat California’s persistent housing affordability crisis again this year.

“Real housing reform needs to do more than simply streamline more development,” the leaders write. “We need to promote investment in the people who are doing the building, and struggling to pay the rent in our communities.”

(Read More)

Like everything, construction projects are better with (Davis) Bacon

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By: Bridgetower Media Newswires
May 12, 2017 11:52 am

Today there is a new and more compelling reason to keep Davis-Bacon and prevailing-wage laws.

The unexpected result of Davis-Bacon and prevailing-wage laws is that they are empowering careers for the American disadvantaged worker. With advances in technology and with laws requiring government agencies to collect wage and worker data, local communities are taking advantage of this information to ensure their worker-hiring programs are successful. The results have been transformative.

Government agencies can now not only track wages; they can also keep track of how many people from various groups are being hired. Members of some of these groups have historically not been seen in large numbers in the construction industry. Meanwhile, inner cities are struggling economically and unemployment is running rampant in minority segments of our society.

Cities and public agencies are responding by attaching hiring goals to public-works projects. These call on contractors to hire local, underrepresented and economically disadvantaged workers.

Prevailing wages and Davis-Bacon laws have enabled these workforce programs to gain visibility and transparency through the requirement of certified payroll reporting. These reports have proved to be an invaluable means of tracking workforce goals, since information about workers’ sex, ethnicity and zip codes must also be submitted.

(Read More)