Union workers win $76M from Midtown construction firm that used alter-ego company to skirt collective bargaining (NY)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Ginger Adams Otis
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, September 21, 2017, 2:41 PM

A Midtown construction company accused of creating a bogus business to avoid union wages and union benefit payments has to cough up $76 million to the workers it cheated.
In a decision with potentially far-reaching consequences for city developers, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Colleen McMahon found that Navillus Tile fraudulently invented an alter-ego company to try and get around collectively bargained agreements it had with several major city construction unions.

The company also had one of its legitimate offshoot businesses act as a Navillus stand-in on a job it wanted to do non-union, the ruling found.

The collusion also involved real estate giant Related, one of the city’s most prolific developers.

It knowingly engaged with one of the alter-ego companies on its Upper East Side luxury development on 92nd St., Judge McMahon’s ruling said.

In her scathing, 95-page ruling delivered late Thursday after a three-year court battle, McMahon said that Navillus’ founder, Donal O’Sullivan had “perjured himself” more than once and noted that another company principal was “obviously lying” in some testimony.

…

The $76 million in back wages and contributions to health, pension and general welfare funds will be split between the Metal Lathers Local 46, Cement and Concrete Workers District Council, Cement Masons Local 780, the District Council of Carpenters and Teamsters Local 282.

They came together in 2014 to launch the complicated lawsuit against Navillus Tile, which had signed collective-bargaining agreements with all of them for a variety of jobs on construction sites.

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Bonney Lake contractor fined for underpaying workers on public school projects (WA)

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by KOMO Staff
Tuesday, October 10th 2017

OLYMPIA, Wash. – A Bonney Lake contractor was fined $218,000 and ordered to pay out $210,000 in back wages after an investigation found it shorted employees for work on 10 public school construction projects, the state Department of Labor & Industries reports.

The company, I&C Northwest of Bonney Lake, and owner Jim Lingnaw, were cited for the unpaid regular wages and overtime, and for false reporting. The company owes also faces a prohibition from bidding on any public works projects.

The back pay was owed to nine who worked for I&C Northwest on the public school projects.

Jim Christensen, prevailing wage program manager for L&I, said the citations are based on the contractor’s continued violations of state law after the agency educated the firm on requirements for public contracts. The agency warned Lingnaw in January 2016 about receiving fines and disbarment after L&I uncovered the same violations on five other projects.

Investigations involving the company go back to at least 2014, said L&I spokesman Matthew Erlich.

“This case represents examples of repeated violations of the law,” said Christensen, who has more than a decade of experience handling prevailing wage issues. “Our investigation showed I&C falsified pay documents and shorted the workers on each project. This goes beyond a simple, honest mistake.”

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Sen. Wirch’s bill takes aim at ‘wage theft’ (WI)

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RICARDO TORRES
Tuesday, October 26, 2017

MADISON – Whether it’s not being paid for overtime, forcing employees to work off the clock or violating minimum wage laws, wage theft is an issue for employees across the country and some new legislation in Madison is looking to reduce the problem.

State Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Somers, testified at a public hearing on Thursday in support of Senate Bill 371, which he hopes will have a positive impact for workers, if passed.

“The changes I am proposing are reasonable solutions that will address some of the legal loopholes that have allowed this practice to grow, level the playing field for the many business owners who play within the rules and take care of their employees,” Wirch said.

The proposed law would penalize employers who violate their workers rights starting with a $500 fine for the first violation, $750 for the second violation and $1,000 for every violation after that.

Wirch said he’s hoping to have bipartisan support for the bill and that it will be voted on before the end of the session

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Understanding Low-Wage Work in West Virginia

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A Look at the People, Industries, Places, and Policies Affected by Low-Wage Work in West Virginia

September 8, 2017
Media Contact: Caitlin Cook

[Charleston, WV] – Poverty is a persistent problem in West Virginia, where tens of thousands of West Virginians live in poverty because their jobs do not pay a living wage. Read the full report.

This 10th annual State of Working West Virginia focuses on low-wage work, including demographics of those who do the work; the industries that employ them; geographic factors; the role of public programs supporting low-wage workers; and policy recommendations to improve economic well-being.

The report reveals the shifting role of low-wage work in the state’s economy, now its main source of job growth, and a path no longer confined to young workers entering the workforce. The complete picture of West Virginia’s economy shows growth in low-wage industries, while non-low wage industries decline, and wages stagnate for both.
“Low-wage work has a profound impact on West Virginia’s economy, from the capabilities of workers to provide for their families, to their health and well-being, all the way to the state budget,” said Sean O’Leary, Interim Executive Director for the West Virginia on Center on Budget and Policy. “As low-wage jobs become more prevalent in the state’s economy, we must consider public policies that support these workers and their families, recognizing their importance to the state.”

Key Findings

  • Twenty-three percent of the state’s workforce is employed in low-wage jobs.
  • Forty-four percent of West Virginia’s workers with less than a high school diploma earn low wages, while the rate of low-wage workers who possess a high school degree or some college is 28 percent.

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(Full PDF of Report)

Will West Virginians get the highways jobs?

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By Brad McElhinny in News
October 05, 2017 at 3:35PM

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Gov. Jim Justice says he wants a $1.6 billion road bond to stimulate West Virginia’s economy and create thousands of jobs.

As he’s been asked about the jobs during his tour of the state in support of the road projects, Justice has acknowledged he can’t guarantee all the jobs will be filled by West Virginians. But he always says he hopes as many as possible will go to state residents.

“We’re going to try to hire as many West Virginians as we possibly can to do the jobs. Hopefully we’ll end up hiring every job to be a West Virginian. But reality is, that won’t happen,” Justice said this week in Moorefield.

“I’ll tell you this, those contractors that are hiring people that aren’t from West Virginia, we will urge them to hire people who are from West Virginia. And on top of that, we’ll make sure that every dadgum tax dollar is collected. Every tax dollar.”

West Virginia voters go to the polls Saturday to approve or reject the road bond amendment. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. The Secretary of State’s office reported 37,434 voters participated in the early period that ended Wednesday.

…

The West Virginia Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation is a supporter of the road bond, but would like greater assurances of employing all West Virginians possible.

“The devil’s in the details,” said Steve White, director of the Affiliated Construction Trades. “He’s been able to push forward a major road building plan that we’ve needed for years.”

White would like to minimize the role of hope. He would like more specifics aimed at ensuring West Virginia contractors and construction workers have every opportunity to compete for the possible infrastructure jobs ahead.

(Read More)

Trump Administration Drops Local Hire Program That Would Have Employed Hundreds of Thousands of Americans

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SOURCE: JOBS TO MOVE AMERICA
AUG 25, 2017

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced, that effective on August 25, it will no longer support local hire programs in cities that receive federal grants.

The DOT announced this week that it is withdrawing a proposed revision of a rule that – since 1988 – has prohibited the use of geographic preferences in the expenditure of federal grant funds. This change will go into effect on August 25.

The proposed rule and accompanying local hire pilot program, originally drafted by the Obama administration in 2015, has allowed cities receiving federal grant funds to apply local hire policies to federally funded construction projects, so long as that language did not violate federal law. With this week’s announcement, the Trump DOT is officially signalling that it will no longer pursue that rule change.

Madeline Janis, executive director of Jobs to Move America, said: “This administration’s withdrawal of support for local job creation directly contradicts President Trump’s stated commitment to creating good jobs for people in this country. Many Americans continue to suffer from poverty and inequality and desperately need the opportunities that are created by our federal infrastructure and transportation investments. Why not give local communities the opportunity to benefit from taxpayer investment?”

“Local hire has allowed municipalities to use their own money to help employ people directly from their communities. It has been strategic for our elected leaders to say that they’re not going to raise our tax dollars for investments in capital projects without ensuring that persons facing significant barriers to employment get expanded access to good jobs and training opportunities,” said Erik Miller, executive director of Playa Vista Job Opportunities and Business Services.

(Read More)

One key to affordable housing crisis? Pay construction workers a living wage.

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

BY KEVIN DUNCAN
Special to The Bee
AUGUST 21, 2017 1:00 PM

WASHINGTON

No amount of project streamlining can solve California’s housing affordability problem by itself.

To lower prices, California needs to build a lot more housing. But to do that, it needs enough workers with the skills to do so safely and correctly. Prevailing wage standards, which function as a local minimum wage for skilled construction work, can help address these critical needs and improve the industry’s competitiveness in increasingly tight labor markets.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, the number of builders reporting “some or serious” labor shortages grew from 21 percent in 2012 to 56 percent in 2016. More workers are choosing not to work in construction because it is no longer the gateway to the middle class.

A recent study by Smart Cities Prevail showed that inflation-adjusted wages for California’s blue-collar construction workers have declined 25 percent since 1990. In some communities, more than half of these workers must rely on housing subsidies, and nearly 40 percent don’t have health insurance. The study also reveals that what were once middle-class incomes are being redistributed into the pockets of developers and builders, whose profits have grown 50 percent faster than either labor or material costs since 1992.

Sadly, there are even more disturbing racial disparities. According to a UCLA analysis, the share of immigrants in California’s construction workforce has grown from 13 percent to 43 percent since 1980. On average, Latinos are being paid just 68 cents for every $1 of their white counterparts. These trends have tracked a growing pattern of illegal wage theft by unscrupulous contractors. The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric makes it less likely that workers will speak out against employers who cheat.

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19th Annual NAFC Conference – Nashville, TN, Sept. 25 – 26, 2017

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NAFC will be holding its 2017 Annual Conference in Music City U.S.A., Nashville, Tennessee. The Conference will be held at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel, in the heart of the city. NAFC’s National Conference is attended by several hundred participants from across the nation, including representatives from labor organizations, fair contractors, fair contracting compliance organizations as well as researchers, academics, attorneys and officials from federal, state and local governments. A schedule of events and registration forms are available at the below link to NAFC’s Conference page. Stay tuned for further details.

Registration is Currently Sold Out

(View NAFC Conference Page)

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
September 02, 2017

President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:

Cheryl Marie Stanton of South Carolina to be Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.

Ms. Stanton currently serves as the Executive Director for the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, a position to which she was appointed in 2013 by then-Governor Nikki R. Haley. Prior to that role, Ms. Stanton worked as a labor and employment attorney in both the public and private sectors. In the public sector, she served as Associate White House Counsel for President George W. Bush. In that role, Stanton was the administration’s principal liaison to the U.S. Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ms. Stanton also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She received her J.D. from the Law School at the University of Chicago and her B.A. from Williams College. In 2016, then-Governor Nikki R. Haley awarded Ms. Stanton the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor in the State of South Carolina.

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Blackstone’s Infrastructure Business Adopts Responsible Contractor Policy to Promote Fair Wages and Benefits for Workers on Infrastructure Projects

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Press Releases
SEP 05, 2017

New York, September 5, 2017 – Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that its dedicated infrastructure business has adopted a Responsible Contractor Policy that includes an agreement to cooperate with the North America’s Building Trades Unions (“NABTU”) to include “responsible contractors” in the bidding and selection process for its investments. Through this policy, Blackstone will promote fair benefits, wages, working conditions, and training opportunities for construction workers on projects for Blackstone’s dedicated infrastructure business.

In May, Blackstone announced the launch of its dedicated infrastructure investment vehicle with an anchor $20 billion commitment by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Blackstone anticipates that, over time, the program will have $40 billion in total equity commitments in a permanent capital vehicle, including $20 billion to be raised from other investors. Overall, through the equity in this vehicle and additional debt financing, Blackstone expects to invest in more than $100 billion of infrastructure projects, principally in the United States.

Sean Klimczak, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Blackstone’s Infrastructure business, said: “Rebuilding our country’s aging infrastructure will create badly needed jobs with good wages and benefits for construction workers throughout the United States. At Blackstone, we have a strong track record of responsible engagement with workers, their labor union representatives, and the communities in which we invest. We are proud to partner with the NABTU in this effort because we believe a fairly compensated and well-trained workforce is critical to producing high-quality infrastructure projects that help drive local economic growth.”

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