GUEST COMMENTARY: Saving Midwest infrastructure from climate change

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Mary Craighead
Oct 13, 2017

The increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters that have recently come to Texas, Florida, the Gulf Coast, California, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are a harsh reminder our climate is changing.

But these changes are not limited to far-off coastal communities and tropical islands.

In the Midwest, average temperatures are 4.5 degrees higher than they were in the 1980s. Annual “heavy precipitation days” are up 27 percent since the 1950s.

Great Lakes ice coverage is down, and electricity outages and demand for cooling systems are up. Projections expect temperatures to rise and heavy precipitation seasons to get even more severe for the balance of this century.

Each of these changes carries a very real risk – both in terms of direct infrastructure costs and impact on our $2.6 trillion regional economy.

Higher temperatures reduce the lifespan of roads and bridges, can cause railways to buckle and affect aircraft performance. As we’ve seen just in the past few weeks, flooding and more extreme storms can have damaging impacts far beyond the destruction of individual homes and businesses – disrupting freight and commuter routes and threatening above-ground energy transmission capabilities. This latter point is a special risk for the economy of the Midwest, which features mostly above ground transmission lines.

During this especially intense storm season, lawmakers in Washington and state capitals across our region have been discussing ways to maintain, expand or modernize the infrastructure systems at the heart of our economy. Ultimately, their proposals will entail a significant expenditure of public dollars.

But just as taxpayers wouldn’t want us using outdated technology for today’s infrastructure, we shouldn’t be creating facilities according to outdated heat and rainfall trends. To ensure taxpayers get the best bang for the buck, we need policy makers and project planners to incorporate today’s climate realities.

(Read More)

Construction falls lead OSHA’s top safety violations for 2017

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Kim Slowey
Sep 27, 2017

Dive Brief:

  • Fall protection in the construction industry, specifically, led the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s annual list of the most commonly cited workplace safety violations, according to a preliminary ranking reported by the National Safety Council.
  • Four violations on this year’s list are specific to OSHA’s Part 1926 – Safety and Health Regulations for Construction), including inadequate fall protection, lack of guardrails for scaffolding, improper use of ladders and lack of fall-protection training, according to Business and Legal Resources.
  • The list is preliminary and the final version is due out in December, though it is not expected to change in the meantime. The category of Fall Protection – Training Requirements is new to OSHA’s top 10 this year.

Dive Insight:

Fall protection has been of particular concern to OSHA as falls remain the leading cause of accidental death on construction sites. Of the 937 job site deaths reported in 2015, 350 were fall-related.

In an effort to increase job-site safety, OSHA has taken to levying significant fines in the case of certain violations, such as repeat offenses. In August, OSHA fined a Florida roofing contractor more than $1.5 million after repeated fall-protection violations. To reinforce the citation’s severity, the agency also added the company to its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, under which it will be subject to extra monitoring and inspections.

Trench safety is another OSHA concern. Last month, the agency fined South Dakota contractor First Dakota Enterprises $95,000 for conditions that led to a non-fatal collapse. The worker, who was covered by debris as a result of the collapse, survived, but OSHA said the company did not provide the proper protection systems and inspections that could have prevented such an incident.

(Read More)

‘Hire local’ executive order signed for construction projects (NY)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By NICK LIPPA
Sept. 28, 2017

Local officials and business owners came together for the signing of a new executive order that focuses on hiring local labor for large construction projects in Erie County.

The First Source Policy, signed by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz Wednesday, requires construction projects in Erie County over $250,000 and involving at least three workers to employ qualified local residents, with a focus on hiring individuals from high-poverty areas. That includes 16 zip codes residing in Buffalo, Cheektowaga and Lackawanna, to name a few.

Buffalo NAACP President Rev. Mark Blue said this order will set a benchmark for other areas to follow.

“Getting a chance to move out of poverty, to get them into jobs that they’re skilled at and, hopefully, with the training that’s being done by the city and their Northland Project, bring them skills to where they’re employable not just for one job, but for many jobs,” Blue said.

He said the policy will help urban as well as rural residents.

“It’s equally distributing, let me say, wealth to areas that have received, wealth into areas that have been economically disadvantaged for years,” Blue said. “And also it brings hope to those who have not had an opportunity to be employed or even underemployed.”

(Read More)

Senator Lewis: We Need To Do More to Stop Wage Theft

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

It is estimated that nearly $700 million is not paid to about 350,000 mostly low-wage workers each year in Massachusetts.

By Bob Holmes (Patch Staff)
Updated Oct 6, 2017 2:12 pm ET

An Op-Ed Column from Senator Jason Lewis and Representative Paul Brodeur:

Earlier this year, at the start of the new legislative session, we were pleased to be appointed by the Senate President and House Speaker, respectively, to co-Chair the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. Together, we have since immersed ourselves in a wide range of labor and employment issues in the Commonwealth. We have held committee hearings on proposed legislation, met with many different stakeholders to hear their concerns and feedback, and conducted research on policies and best practices around the country.

One particular issue that may surprise many people is the serious problem of wage theft. Wage theft is a collective term for any denial of wages or benefits that are rightfully owed to an employee. The most common wage theft violations in Massachusetts are non-payment of wages, failure to keep true and accurate records, failure to pay the proper overtime rate, child labor violations, failure to pay minimum wage or tips, and failure to pay prevailing wage. Other violations include failure to submit accurate payroll records, earned sick time violations, and improper classification of employees as independent contractors.

Just how pervasive is wage theft? It is estimated that nearly $700 million is not paid to about 350,000 mostly low-wage workers each year in Massachusetts. In addition to the harm this inflicts on struggling working families, it also cheats the state out of greater economic activity, jobs, and tax revenue.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is the state’s primary enforcer of laws relating to wages. Enforcement is carried out by attorneys and investigators in the AGO’s Fair Labor Division (FLD). In Fiscal Year 2017, the FLD received 16,684 calls and 5,604 complaints, and opened 607 cases related to wage theft. The FLD ordered employers to pay more than $6 million in restitution and more than $2.6 million in penalties. This is more than double the restitution ($2.6 million) and about triple the penalties ($900,000) from Fiscal Year 2016. The FLD also cited or settled 27 earned sick time cases, totaling $160,000 in restitution and penalties. And, the FLD issued 47 citations to 46 employers and assessed more than $270,000 in penalties for child labor law violations.

(Read More)

San Jose: Public projects valued at $6 million will require project labor agreements

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By RAMONA GIWARGIS
PUBLISHED: October 24, 2017 at 1:09 pm | UPDATED: October 25, 2017 at 4:54 am
SAN JOSE — City lawmakers on Tuesday adopted a policy that requires contractors to hire at least some union workers on public projects valued at $6 million or more, including new libraries, fire stations and airport improvements.

The City Council adopted “project labor agreements” requirement on a 6-5 vote. The agreements require a contractor to hire some workers from a local union hall and pay state-mandated prevailing wages — what a majority of workers in a county’s largest city earn. Contractors also must provide fringe benefits and hire a number of apprentices from disadvantaged groups. Contractors will be allowed to hire 35 “core” workers from their own workforce with the rest hired through a union hall.

Private construction projects, those funded by federal dollars and city-funded affordable housing projects will be excluded. Santa Clara County, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Cleveland and New York have all passed similar labor agreements.

Backers said the agreements will help ensure every worker has a fair chance of getting work and support families struggling to survive in Silicon Valley’s technology-driven economy. Critics said the move will stifle competition and inflate construction costs, meaning taxpayers get fewer public improvements for their tax dollars.

(Read More)

State of Alaska Holds Employer Accountable for Fatal Wall Collapse

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

10/18/17
WorkersCompensation.com

Anchorage, AK (WorkersCompensation.com) – Contractor Mark Welty, d/b/a North Country Services, has withdrawn his contest of $280,000 in fines assessed by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The department cited him for hazards leading to the workplace death of his employee, Nicholson Tinker. Mr. Welty unlawfully claimed that Mr. Tinker as an “independent contractor” rather than an employee, and willfully exposed Mr. Tinker to unsafe working conditions. The citations and fines will stand as originally imposed by Alaska Occupational Safety and Health (AKOSH).

“Nothing can bring back Nicholson Tinker. I hope this fine sends a clear message. When employers like Mark Welty endanger their workers and unlawfully classify them as independent contractors, our department will seek the strongest penalties possible,” said Alaska Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas.

On September 30, 2016, Mr. Tinker and his coworker were demolishing wooden stairs and walkways attached to a 60-foot retaining wall at an Anchorage residence. As demolition neared completion, the sole remaining structural support was removed, causing a 29-foot section of the five-foot tall cinderblock wall to collapse on Mr. Tinker, who died from his injuries. This fatality would not have happened if North Country Services owner Mark Welty had taken basic steps to protect the safety of Mr. Tinker and other employees. Instead, Mr. Welty accepted the violations as willful, meaning he acted with plain indifference towards the health and safety of his employees. The violations addressed several critical failures during the planning phase of the job, including lack of proper structural assessment before demolition, inadequate or lack of bracing and shoring for the wall and retained earth, and a total lack of safety training for employees.

(Read More)

Prevailing wage called “imperative” to housing bills

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Oct. 10, 2017

State Building and Construction Trades Council President Robbie Hunter established a context in support of the prevailing wage in a Sacramento Bee story this week when he discussed how decent pay buys a highly skilled and trained work force that in the end cuts down on construction costs.

“Build it once, build it right,” the newspaper quoted Hunter as saying.

The Bee’s Oct. 8 story focused on the prevailing wage component included in five of the bills that were part of a housing package that was signed into law on Sept. 29 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Three of the bills included an expedited approval process for contractors to get their projects built, including one piece of legislation, Senate Bill 35, which bypasses delays imposed by city councils and by a redundant environmental review process.

“Therefore,” Hunter said in a later statement, “it was imperative to have prevailing wage rates and a skilled workforce to assure that workers are paid a fair wage.”

As Hunter said in the video that accompanies the story, “If there is not a fair wage paid to the workers who are building a project, the very workers will be the ones who need the affordable housing.”

(Read More)

bill-would-allow-cities-counties-to-opt-out-of-prevailing-wage

Wage Theft Charged At Farnam Court (CT)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

by ALLAN APPEL | Oct 6, 2017 8:35 am

A “fat cat” in a plush three-piece suit dangled and strangled a working guy in a yellow construction helmet on Grand Avenue the other day.

The cat and worker were 15-foot-tall cartoon characters full of compressed air and bobbing in the breeze. But the display was no joke no joke. The blow-up figures were deployed Thursday afternoon by members and supporters of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters (NERCC) in support of Terail Slaughter, a non-union carpenter who had been employed helping to build the tower buildings of the Housing Authority of New Haven’s Farnam Court Townhouses rebuilding project.

About a dozen carpenters and their supporters were on the corner of Grand Avenue and Hamilton Street for two purposes, according to lead organizer Ernest Pagan: to support a wage theft complaint, and to encourage other workers to step forward and make similar complaints when necessary.

The Complaint

Slaughter has lodged an $18,000 wage theft complaint against Palmucci Rivera Construction Concepts (PRCC), a carpentry subcontractor managed by Haynes Construction. The Seymour-based company is a general contractor on the $42 million redevelopment project of the 75-year-old troubled housing complex.

The complaint, which was filed with the state Department of Labor in mid-summer, documents that Slaughter, a nine-year veteran carpenter who had also been a starting guard at Wilbur Cross, was paid $14 an hour. The “prevailing wage” – that is, the nationally mandated wage for a carpenter in Connecticut working on a publicly funded project, is $56 an hour.

Slaughter began work in January 2016. In April he met Pagan, who had come to fact-find and organize. Pagan urged Slaughter to ask for a more appropriate salary. Slaughter eventually took the advice, and PRCC, without acknowledging wrongdoing, raised his hourly wage to $46.

That, however, is the prevailing wage for a laborer, not for a carpenter. This alerted Pagan that, in addition to theft of wages directly, PRCC’s move was misclassifying Slaughter into a lower-paying category than he deserved.

(Read More)

Schaumburg company pays $1 million in fraud case (IL)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Barbara Vitello
updated: 10/4/2017 4:55 PM

A Schaumburg construction company will repay the state $1 million for falsifying payroll records on public works projects, Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Wednesday.
According to Madigan, the contract A. Lamp Concrete Contractors Inc. had with the state required the company “pay workers on public works projects prevailing wages” and provide documentation to the state proving the wages were paid.

However, between 2008 and 2014, A. Lamp submitted false payroll records that underreported the number of hours certain employees worked, which created the appearance the company paid higher wages than it actually paid.

“Our state’s prevailing wage laws are in place to protect both workers and law-abiding contractors,” Madigan said in a prepared statement. “Skirting laws and putting Illinois workers at a disadvantage will not be tolerated.”

Authorities charged former A. Lamp Vice President and co-owner Joseph Lampignano with directing workers to submit false payroll records. Lampignano pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced in January to 10 months in federal prison, according to Madigan’s office.

(View Article)