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Local building unions, immigrant labor advocates unite over worker misclassification (LA)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By: Michael Joe, Reporter

February 8, 2019

On a recent Saturday in January at Corpus Christi Church in the 7th Ward, Curiel stood in the afterglow. A workers’ forum aimed at “bringing immigrants out of the shadows” had just concluded. And it was jointly organized by the Southeastern Louisiana Building and Construction Trades Council and three community organizations focused on workers’ rights and economic justice – Step Up Louisiana, the Workplace Justice Project and the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, a grassroots group founded after the storm by immigrants and African Americans.

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Organizers said the goal on Jan. 26 was to educate immigrant workers about their rights and highlight what they say is a common problem that hurts unions and immigrant workers alike: the misclassification of workers as independent contractors – rather than employees – by construction contractors and subcontractors.

When you call an employee an independent contractor – when they are actually an employee – that allows you to not pay workers’ compensation, not pay social security and not pay time and a half for overtime. Not only is the worker being exploited, it’s creating an unfair playing field for the contractors that are actually doing the right thing,” said Chip Fleetwood, marketing manager with the Painters and Allied Trades International Union, District Council 80, in Kenner.

Union contractors are even more disadvantaged when bidding on jobs, because they are also paying for the health and welfare benefits of unionized workers, Fleetwood added.

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Subcontractor Ordered To Pay Back $160k In Stolen Wages (MA)

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The subcontractor for Worcester’s new luxury apartments at 145 Front Street will have to pay almost $160k to 50 employees.

By Samantha Mercado, Patch Staff 

Jan 30, 2019 4:47 pm ET

WORCESTER, MA- A subcontractor has to pay $158,000 in back pay to 50 employees on the 145 Front Street development in Worcester after a determination announced by the U.S. Department of Labor Wednesday.
The subcontractor is P&B Partitions, a New Jersey company hired by the general contractor, Erland Construction, for the luxury apartment building owned by Mack-Cali. The company was found to have skimped on overtime pay, giving employees straight time in cash.

An investigation into the wage theft began in April 2017 when the Worcester Carpenter’s Union filed a complaint. What started as five carpenters, grew to a group of 12 signed complaints, the union said, adding that all of the wage theft victims were people of color, primarily Latino.
David Minasian, Business Manager for Carpenters Local 336, called the determination a loud warning bell for city and state leaders. “The wage theft business model perpetuates itself because it is profitable. We were concerned when Erland was selected to build the project, and worried when we heard they were going to hire P&B Partitions with a history of avoiding wage and hour laws,” Minasian said.

The union held weekly rallies for months to support the workers and raise awareness about wage theft. In April, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board awarded one of the carpenters that stepped forward $15,000 in back wages, after the union said he was unlawfully terminated for trying to improve the working conditions and beginning efforts to organize the carpenters.

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Massachusetts AG’s Office Aims To Clamp Down On Wage Theft (MA)

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By Arun Rath

February 26, 2019

Massachusetts’ ongoing construction boom has brought with it a problem: wage theft – when workers don’t get things like overtime or sick pay, or when they’re not paid at all – on a massive scale.

Last year, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office brought more than $2.7 million in penalties and restitution against local construction companies. Some of that money is going to the more than 1,000 Massachusetts workers who were victims of wage theft last year.

Javier Hernandez was one of them. He spent six months working construction on a new hotel in Porter Square. But he said that every time it was pay day, “They always say, ‘Next week. Next week. Next week.'”
It was the same story when the holidays came.

“I spent Christmas with no money,” Hernandez said. “I have a kid. 10 years old. So, I couldn’t buy a present for him. Because I’m still waiting for the money. And, and that’s so sad.”

Hernandez’ story is a familiar one to Gladys Vega of the Chelsea Collaborative – a Latino-led social services organization that assists a lot of immigrants and refugees. Vega said immigrants are often targets of unscrupulous employers.

“We probably get 10 to 15 people a week with individual cases of not getting paid, of wage theft,” Vega said. “So, I mean, it’s huge.”

In Hernandez’ case, the collaborative was able to work with partners like the local Carpenter’s Union to get the company to pay up. But when the companies don’t cooperate, it’s the job of law enforcement. And Healey has had a busy year busting wage thieves.”We went after a local construction company that wasn’t paying its workers overtime or hourly wages or the prevailing wage that they were supposed to be paying them doing public construction projects,” Healey said. “We cited them over half a million dollars.”

The AG’s office issued citations to 66 construction companies working in the state last year. Those companies face a combined $1.23 million in fines, in addition to providing back pay to more than 1,000 workers.

Healey said many of the investigations are prompted by tips from workers. But a lot of workers are immigrants or undocumented and are afraid to complain.

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In Major Wage Theft Case, Ipswich Construction Company Cited $580,000 for Violating State Wage Laws (MA)

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Office of Attorney General Maura Healey – 2/28/2019

BOSTON – An Ipswich construction company and its owners have been cited $580,611 in restitution and penalties for violations of state wage and hour laws, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

The AG’s Office has issued six citations against ERA Equipment LLC and its owners, Kristen and Angelo Ciardiello, for a range of wage theft violations including failing to pay overtime and the prevailing wage. 

“Our investigation showed that this construction company stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from its workers,” said AG Healey. “Wage theft is a serious offense in Massachusetts and we will continue to take action when needed.”

The AG’s Office began its investigation in September 2017 after receiving a report alleging the company was not paying the proper prevailing wage. The investigation revealed that none of the company’s 13 employees received overtime pay when working more than forty hours in a week. Four employees were also not paid the appropriate prevailing wage rate while working on projects in the towns of Littleton, Scituate, and Wellesley, sometimes receiving less than half the prevailing wage rate required by law.

The investigation also revealed that the company failed to include some employees in the company’s payroll records, inaccurately reported the employees’ hours of work to avoid paying them overtime and kept inadequate and inconsistent payroll records.

The AG’s Office previously brought enforcement action against ERA and the Ciardiellos for nonpayment of wages, prevailing wage, and payroll records violations, including issuing citations that Angelo Ciardiello and his company, ERA Disposal LLC d/b/a ERA Equipment LLC, paid in 2015 for failing to pay five employees for one day of snow removal work.

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Testimony at MN Capitol underscores need for stronger wage theft laws (MN)

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By Howard Kling, Workday Minnesota – February 12, 2019

MINNEAPOLIS/SAINT PAUL – Workers and business owners highlighted the need for stronger wage theft laws during a press conference and legislative hearing at the Minnesota Capitol on February 6. The hearing before the Minnesota House Labor Committee was the first stop for HF6, a bipartisan bill that would set rules and penalties for employers who avoid paying, or fail to pay, wages earned by their employees.

“I am here today to demand an end to this practice of wage theft,” said Humberto Miceli, a member of Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL). With the help of CTUL, Miceli was able to recover wages stolen by an employer, but in the end he received only 10% of what he was owed. “It is real people who suffer the consequences the way things are right now,” added Miceli.

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Based on complaints filed with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (MNDLI), an estimated 39,000 Minnesota workers are not paid what is owed to them in earned wages each year. In 2015, the last year data was compiled, the Department recovered $1.3 million in back wages for Minnesota workers. MNDLI, as well as labor and community organizations, maintain the scope of the problem is much larger since most workers don’t report wage theft violations, many out of fear of retaliation from their employer.

“There are no repercussions for some of the worst offenses that we see in the construction industry and I am here today hoping legislators support HF6,” said Arturo Hernandez, a journeyman carpenter with Carpenters Local 68. “If I stole money from my boss at work, I would go to prison.”

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House members introduce bill to raise NC’s minimum wage, improve worker rights and incomes (NC)

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By Rob Schofield – February 12, 2019

… State Representatives Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) and Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe)  introduced some long overdue legislation yesterday to dramatically improve the treatment of workers in North Carolina. House Bill 46- the “Economic Security Act of 2019” – would make the following changes to state law:

  • it would increase the state minimum wage to $15 per hour over five years;
  • it would add North Carolina to the list of states that guarantee pay equity bay barring employers from paying employees of one gender less than employees of another gender for the same work;
  • it would require employers to provide workers with paid sick days and family medical leave (with some exemptions for small employers);
  • it would increase the tipped minimum wage;
  • it would enact new protections against “wage theft” by employers;
  • it would enact new “ban the box” protections to bar employers from inquiring into the criminal history of job applicants on initial application forms;
  • it would repeal the state’s ban on collective bargaining by public employees;
  • it would reinstate the state earned income tax credit and state child care tax credit.

Needless to say, the measure faces an uphill battle in the GOP-led General Assembly, but if there was ever a bill around which North Carolina working families could and should rally in 2019 and beyond, this is it.

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Construction industry, unions duel over state prevailing wage bill (NH)

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NH Senate measure targets all state public works projects

BY BOB SANDERS – Published: February 13, 2019

A measure under consideration in the NH Senate would require contractors on state public works projects to pay the prevailing wage to workers, but it’s not the wages – it’s the benefits and paperwork that concerned several New Hampshire contractors speaking at a hearing Tuesday before the NH Senate Commerce Committee.

Several trade union representatives at the hearing countered that Senate Bill 271 is really not aimed at local contractors, but those outside New Hampshire, drawn here because it is the only New England state without prevailing wage requirements. (Some 24 states don’t have such laws, although the closest one to New Hampshire without one is in Virginia)

“At the end of the day, tax dollars of Granite Staters should go to local workers and local companies,” said Sen. Dan Feltes, D-Concord, the bill’s prime sponsor.

Feltes cited a 2016 study about the benefits of a prevailing wage: At least $300 million in economic activity resulting in some 1,700 jobs and tax revenues of 7.3 percent.

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But union representatives said that the lack of a prevailing wage makes New Hampshire a magnet for out-of-state contractors that do pay both lower wages and benefits, often using undocumented immigrant labor, “and it undercuts our local contractors,” said Denis R. Beaudoin, business manager of IBEW Local 490, the electricians’ union. The construction industry has only replaced 2,000 of the 9,000 jobs it lost during the recession, he said, adding: “How can we justify the work going out of state?”
And while contractors testified that they offer health benefits, they don’t match other union benefits, like an apprentice program, said David Pelletier, business manager of UA Local 131, the plumbers and pipefitters union.

“Unions do provide more benefits than open shops,” acknowledged Abbott. One business did back the prevailing wage bill: American Income Life, a Londonderry insurance firm.

Kris Thieme, an agent from the company, countered contractors’ claim that a prevailing wage would drive up construction costs. He said soft costs, like engineering and architecture, were a bigger factor than labor. Besides, he said, if workers don’t have good benefits or wages, they would be more likely to receive state subsidies for healthcare, which would be passed on to taxpayers.

SB 271 would only apply to state projects, not municipal or school construction jobs, but the NH Municipal Association was concerned that the language wasn’t clear enough on that matter, since many local projects involved state funding.


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Toms River Wants To Hire More Locally (NJ)

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By Chris Lundy – January 31, 2019

TOMS RIVER – The Township Council passed a project labor agreement that would ensure that a majority of future contractors on large jobs would be local.

The point of a project labor agreement is to set some rules for a project before it even gets to the draft stage. The resolution authorizing them said that these agreements “lead to less disputes, delays,” as well as “fair and agreed to employment terms and more efficient project management.”

The resolution does not lay out all of the details of the agreement, but business administrator Don Guardian said that it will be similar to the one drafted by the school district in advance of the referendum to rebuild the schools, in that it would require 88 percent of workers to be local.

He said that the $5 million figure was chosen “since smaller projects may not require the expertise and professionalism that prevailing wage brings to the table.”


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Attorney General James Announces Guilty Pleas of Valley Stream Construction Contractors for Failing to Pay Workers (NY)

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Vickram and Gayatri Mangru, Owners Of Vick Construction and AVM Construction Corp., Pleaded Guilty to Failure To Pay Prevailing Wages On Construction Work at Several New York City Public Schools.

BY LONG ISLAND NEWS & PR PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 12 2019

New York, NY – February 12, 2019 – Attorney General Letitia James today announced the guilty pleas of Vickram Mangru, his wife Gayatri Mangru, and AVM Construction Corp., of Valley Stream, NY, for failing to pay proper prevailing wages to workers and falsifying business records related to a publicly-funded New York City construction project. The defendants were charged with failing to pay three workers their required prevailing and overtime wages, as well as supplemental benefits from December 2012 through February 2015. The defendants unlawfully falsified payroll records to conceal their crimes, and thereby stole more than $280,000 from three workers. In October 2017, a Bronx County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging the defendants with two counts of Failure to Pay Prevailing Wages and Benefits and two counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.

“Intentionally underpaying workers is both highly illegal and immoral,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “Not only did the defendants take advantage of innocent workers trying to earn a living, they also took advantage of New York City by falsifying records to the Department of Education. This office will never hesitate to investigate any employer who tries to cheat our workers or our government.” 

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In addition, all defendants will be barred from bidding on or being awarded any public works contract in the State of New York for a period of five (5) years.    

“An honest days work deserves an honest days pay and when employers cheat workers from the wages they rightfully earned, regardless of their status,  it’s labor abuse at its worst,” said New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer. “Despite being debarred, this unscrupulous contractor attempted to use his wife’s name to open a company and take advantage of immigrant workers by withholding their prevailing wages yet again – now he is facing the consequences of his actions. I would like to thank the Attorney General for working side by side with my office to prosecute this contractor and bring justice to the workers who are owed their fair share.” 


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Wage theft is criminal and should be prosecuted, Tompkins DA says (NY)

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FEBRUARY 6, 2019BY DEVON MAGLIOZZI

ITHACA, N.Y. – Employers fail to pay tens of thousands of dollars owed to Tompkins workers each year, according to a panel of experts and advocates organized by the Tompkins County Workers’ Center and the Worker Institute at Cornell’s ILR School.

Part of the reason the problem is so widespread is that penalties for carrying out wage theft are civil. Employers who fail to pay minimum wage, deny overtime pay, or misclassify workers to lower compensation might decide the risk is worth taking if the main penalty on the table is repayment of wages owed or a fine, panelists at Tuesday’s “How to Fight Wage Theft” event said. But through partnerships between labor organizations, state agencies and prosecutors, enforcement may start to look tougher in New York.

Asked whether wage theft is criminal, Matthew Van Houten, Tompkins County district attorney, answered unequivocally. “Yes – it is criminal, it should be criminalized, it should be prosecuted.”

Speaking on Tuesday’s panel, Van Houten said in over 20 years of work as an attorney in Tompkins County he has never seen a case of wage theft prosecuted in a criminal courtroom. But that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. The Workers’ Center recently said it handles between 80 and 100 cases of wage theft every year, and that only scratches the surface of what is happening in the community.

Typically, when a worker is not paid the wages they are owed their complaint is processed through agencies including the Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board, often with advocacy centers like the Tompkins County Workers’ Center serving as intermediaries.

Civil enforcement can be a powerful tool for protecting workers’ rights. According to Milan Bhatt, assistant deputy commissioner for worker protection for the NYS DOL, his agency has recovered more than $35 million in unpaid wages each of the past four years across the state. Bhatt said the sums recovered by the DOL, though, are a fraction of total wages owed to workers.


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