Raids flush out more crooked contractors in Connecticut
Posted by NERCC on March 27, 2013 at 10:41 AM

A series of sweeps of construction sites in Connecticut this year has resulted in 27 "Stop Work" orders against contractors for misclassification of workers as "independent contractors." The results continue a disturbing trend in the state's construction industry. In the past year, the Connecticut Department of Labor reports that inspection and review of 108 construction projects and 299 contractors has resulted in 199 "Stop Work" work orders, an alarming rate of cheating.

"Some employers will misclassify workers as independent contractors with the intent of avoiding their obligations under federal and state employment law covering such matters as workers' compensation, unemployment taxes and payroll reporting," said state Labor Commissioner Sharon Palmer. "Unfortunately, when an employer fails to pay for the proper coverage for injuries suffered on the job, and a worker gets hurt, the state's taxpayers ultimately foot the bill."

Avoiding tax obligations gives cheating employers a significant advantage in competitive bidding and negotiated pricing within the construction industry and creates a funding gap for state and federal governments, among other problems.

Media coverage here.

Carpenters highlight thefts at Botany Bay
Posted by NERCC on March 01, 2013 at 09:01 AM

NERCC staff recently spoke to a group of five workers employed at the Botany Bay development in Worcester who were owed more than $25,000 in wages and began making noise about it. Regular bannering was done at the site and last week a rally drew members of Local 107, representatives of the MetroWest Worker's Center, religious leaders and Worcester City Councilor Sarai Rivera.

The event led to pieces in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette and Vocero Hispano, which highlighted the wage theft and the unwillingness of the project developer to do anything but turn a blind eye. The bad publicity may force his hand, though, as regular events are gaining attention and the support of the community.
 

State, Feds raid Stamford mega-sites
Posted by NERCC on January 29, 2013 at 10:41 AM

The Connecticut Department of Labor was joined by the US Department of Labor, OSHA and local and state police in raids of at least four construction sites in Stamford last week in an unprecedented effort to crack down on payroll fraud. The Stamford Advocate covered the raids and published a column by Angela Carella calling for developers to clean up their businesses.

The raids targeted three sites being built by Building and Land Technology and another by Greenfield Partners. The sites have all previously been the target of numerous public complaints as well as demonstrations by union carpenters and other trades workers. The Harbor Point project being built by BL&T has also been the site of numerious enforcement actions. More than 34 "Stop Work" orders had been issued at the project prior to last week's raids.

Investigators talked to more than 200 workers, according to media reports, and will sort out possible violations in the coming weeks after reviewing those interviews.
 

Contractor: Being union is beneficial to all
Posted by NERCC on January 11, 2013 at 09:01 AM

David Rampone, President of Hart Engineering, a signatory contractor based in Cumberland, Rhode Island isn't shy about being a union contractor. Last year he volunteered to be one of the latest union contractors to do a radio ad on behalf of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. Now, he's published an opinion piece in the Providence Journal explaining why his business is better with a union partnership. Click through to read it.

The following opinion piece appeared in the January 10 print edition of the Providence Journal-Bulletin.

The benefits of employing unionists

DAVID RAMPONE

Regarding Charles Chieppo’s Dec. 20 column, “Unions are 1 percenters in Mass.,” in which he portrayed the construction industry inaccurately:

As the chief executive of a major Rhode lsland construction firm that does work all over New England, I’ll set the record straight. I am the president of Hart Engineering Corp., a general and process mechanical contractor founded over 70 years ago and based in Cumberland.

While I have read several opinion pieces by “public-relations experts” articulating the “evils” of the unionized construction industry, it needs to be pointed out that these experts have no actual experience in the construction industry and draw their conclusions based purely on anecdotal information provided by those who wish to see the unionized construction industry fail.

For the record, the National Labor Relations Act lets construction companies decide for themselves whether to be affiliated with the industry’s trade unions. It is the only industry that has such a provision. Since its inception, our firm has made the business-driven decision to be affiliated with several trade unions — a decision that has been beneficial to both our company and employees.

Currently we employ more than100 union tradesmen and women on dozens of jobs, large and small, throughout New England. These employees receive a fair wage, full health-care benefits and pension contributions — a package that lets them provide their families with a respectable standard of living. And in light of the negative attention cast on public-sector unions in these times, note that unionized construction workers are not guaranteed employment. In fact, Rhode Island unionized construction workers average about 1,500 hours worked a year. They do not receive vacation time, sick days or holiday pay, nor do they receive any benefits if they do not work the required number of hours a year — usually between 1,200 and 1,400, depending on the trade union involved.

Beyond my own company, the performance of Rhode Island’s trade unions and union contractors speaks for itself. There are more than 200 local contractors with union agreements in the Rhode Island area, and there have been more than 50 all-union project labor agreements (PLAs) worth billions of dollars completed in this area, including most of the state’s highest-profile projects. Most of these PLAs have been in the private sector.

These agreements symbolize the marketplace at work. Owners, construction managers and contractors enter into these agreements for one reason only: It is in their best interest to do so. And why? The trade unions in partnership with their contractors invest millions of dollars annually recruiting, training and retraining their workers to provide the safest, most skilled workforce in our industry. In today’s world, owners want their projects completed safely, on time, under budget and to the highest level of quality possible. That is why owners from small firms to Fortune 500 companies enter into project labor agreements.

While there are far fewer PLAs in the public sector than in the private sector, they are becoming more prevalent. However, before any public entity in Rhode Island can implement a PLA, it must complete an independent “objective and reasoned” study that recommends their use.

The trade unions’ record of providing contractors and owners with a safe and productive workforce is unmatched in our industry. Those who oppose them assert that using nonunionized workers would provide the owner with great savings. Unfortunately, those savings are usually the result of substandard wages, failure to provide health-care benefits to employees, or misclassifying employees to pay them a lower wage.

For 70 years we have provided our clients with the safest, most capable and productive work force in the industry, and our employees with a fair wage and benefits for them and their families. We are proud of what we have been able to achieve with our union partners.

David Rampone is president of Hart Engineering Corp., in Cumberland.  

Misclassification crackdown, publicity
Posted by NERCC on December 07, 2012 at 11:12 AM

Misclassification has been a serious problem in the construction industry for years, and something against which the Carpenters union has led the fight locally, regionally and nationally. Union efforts resulted first in greater understanding and awareness among elected officials and now regularly lead to enforcement and publicity on the issue that is either directly a result of union action or an indirect result of efforts initiated by the union.

Two items broke this week that reinforce that point. In Worcester, Telegram and Gazette columnist Clive McFarlane wrote about efforts by NERCC Organizer Manny Gines to chase down employers who cheat by misclassifying workers as independent contractors or cheat them out of their wages.

McFarlane's column ties into an announcement earlier in the week by the Executive Office of Labor in Massachusetts that more they had found more than 2,300 workers misclassified by just three employers. Though the three companies were not involved in the construction industry, the eye-popping $11 million in unreported wages and millions of dollars the state should have received for unemployment insurance payments generated new stories that put the issue in front of the general public.

Worcester passes new REO
Posted by NERCC on June 22, 2012 at 09:36 AM

The Worcester City Council this week voted to move forward with a newly proposed Responsible Employer Ordinance for public construction in the city by a 9-1 vote. The result comes after an anti-union contractor association and corporate-backed "research" group threatened long, expensive litigation if the ordinance was passed.

The City of Worcester has had a Responsible Employer Ordinance in place since 2005, but the City Manager had suspended portions of it recently out of concern that the entire ordinance would be eliminated on legal challenge. Councilors worked with various groups to re-write portions of the ordinance--most significantly to retain the language requiring contractors to participate in apprentice training programs--to put it on safer legal ground.

The Merit Construction Alliance, which represents nonunion contractors, has been using the Worcester Regional Research Bureau to back its opposition to standards for public construction in the city. According to GoLocalWorcester.com, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau is "privately funded by a host of corporate sponsors." Their top sponsors consist mostly of banks, law firms and insurance companies. When a City Councilor asked for clarification on who the group was and what function it serves, the head of the organization claimed she was somehow being "attacked" and blamed unions. In arguing that the newly drafted REO wouldn't stand up to legal scrutiny, the group's own work seemed to be less than convincing.

Union carpenters were very active in pushing for passage of the revised REO, participating in rallies, attending hearings and lining up support from Council members. Supporters also got a boost from Susan Mailman, the president of Coghlin Electrical Contractors, who wrote a convincing opinion piece in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette detailing why opposition to the REO was built on false assumptions.
 

Rego uncovers potential mess at FRHA
Posted by NERCC on May 30, 2012 at 11:39 AM

Local 1305 member Dan Rego, who is a NERCC Organizer and Fall River City Councilor, is shaking things up in the Southeastern Massachusetts city. A few weeks ago, he raised concerns over issues with work being done by the Fall River Housing Authority. Since then, the sparks have started flying.

Rego spoke at a Housing Authority meeting and reported on conversations he had with workers on several FRHA projects in the city, some of which were receiving federal funding. Several workers had reported being misclassified as independent contractors, not being paid the legally mandated prevailing wage or not being paid at all. Rego told the Board that he had referred all of the allegations and evidence to proper state authorities.

 The Housing Authority went into immediate executive session, during which they appointed their own independent investigator. The story quickly hit the Fall River Herald News. The paper then followed up with a vicious attack on Rego, questioning not only his motives, but actions by Rego and the union in the past to protect industry standards. This in a city where legal violations on public construction projects are not unheard of.

This week, Rego spoke out in his own defense in the paper, reminding readers that his knowledge of and experience in the construction industry are a benefit to the city and its residents.

Please take a moment to read Rego's "Letter to the Editor" and consider weighing in with a respectful comment on the Herald News site.

 

CT DOL issues 13 "Stop Work" orders
Posted by NERCC on May 17, 2012 at 11:30 AM

The Connecticut Department of Labor issued “Stop Work” orders against 13 construction companies in recent weeks for misclassifying workers as “independent contractors.” The orders were issued in multiple communities where contractors were found to have misclassified workers for the purpose of avoiding their obligations to carry workers’ compensation and paying federal and state unemployment taxes, including unemployment.

One of the "Stop Work" orders was issued against NLP Contractors at the New London Plaza. Union carpenters have been protesting at the site, where renovations are being done and where North Carolina-based SandovalConstruction has already been issued a "Stop Work " order. (earlier post)

The Hartford Courant, New London Day, Republican American,  Danbury Patch and Greenwich Patch reported on the story. Sites where contractors issued "Stop Work" orders were issued were located in Danbury, Greenwich, New London, Preston, Naugatuck and Simsbury.

“Stop Work” orders result in the halting of all activity at a cited company’s worksite, as well as a $300 civil penalty for each day the company does not carry workers’ compensation coverage as required by law.

According to a release on the "Stop Work" orders by the Department of Labor: “in the past 12 months the agency has inspected 167 construction projects and reviewed the records of 688 contractors. A total of 281 “Stop Work” orders have been issued during this time, with 116 identified as being issued to out‐of‐state contractors. Since October 2007, a total of 735 “Stop Work” orders have been issued with $285,000 collected in civil penalties for the misclassification of workers. Additionally, referrals have been made to the Department of Revenue Services and the Labor Department’s Tax Division audit unit for further investigation.”
 

This blog post was updated form a previous post on 5/16 to include links to additional media coverage and information about the New London Plaza site.

Rego targets possible problems in FRHA
Posted by NERCC on May 15, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Dan Rego, a union carpenter and organizer who successfully ran for City Council in Fall River, is starting to shake things up in the Southeastern Massachusetts City. At a Monday night hearing for the Fall River Housing Authority, Rego raised questions about the agency's awarding of construction contracts and the payment and treatment of workers.

The Fall River Herald News reported on Rego's questions in today's paper. The Housing Authority cut off Rego's statement and went into Executive Session, ultimately voting to begin an independet investigation of the allegations, according to the paper. Rego has already discussed improprieties he has found on FRHA sites with Fall River Mayor William Flanagan as well as the offices of Attorney General Martha Coakley,  Inspector General Gregory Sullivan and State Auditor Suzanne Bump.

Rego told the Housing Authority that he has found issues with projects that are valued at less than $10,000, which are done with very little oversight.

Northeast Interiors ordered to pay $30k+ for violations
Posted by NERCC on May 14, 2012 at 02:14 PM

Braintree, Massachusetts-based Northeast Interiors has been ordered by the state to pay $20,000 in fines and make restitution of almost $16,000 to twelve employees. The company cheated workers on three projects in Arlington, Swampscott and Salem.

Civil citations were issued against Northeast Interiors and owner Kevin Fish for failure to pay prevailing wages for work performed ($5,000), failure to submit true and accurate certified payroll records ($7,500) and failure to keep true and accurate payroll records ($7,500). Violations occured when the company was doing work at Arlington Menotomy Manner, Swampscott Thomson Building and Salem Rainbow Terrace.

The case was handled by the Fair Labor Division of the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley. Workers who feel their employer has paid them less than what they are owed, in violation of previaling wage laws or other wage and hour laws (ie, overtime) may contact the New England Regional Council of Carpenters for assitance or may file a complaint directly with the Attorney General's Office using this page.

Carpenters demonstrate against Sandoval
Posted by NERCC on April 12, 2012 at 12:17 PM

Carpenters in Connecticut have been protesting at the new London Plaza Hotel (formerly the Radisson Hotel) against Sandoval Construction of North Carolina. The company does not meet area standards for wages and benefits. It was also issued a Stop Work Order by the Connecticut Department of Labor last week for not having proper workers' compensation coverage.

The New London Patch posted a story, photos and video of the event.

 

NERCC calls for harsher penalties for those not buying workers' comp
Posted by NERCC on April 12, 2012 at 08:34 AM

The New England Regional Council of Carpenters and other industry groups are calling on the Massachusetts legislature to make it a felony for employers to fail to purchase workers compensation insurance for their employees. Senate Bill 915, sponsored by Senator Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) and Majority Whip Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy) also has the backing of Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Operating without workers' compesnation insurance is currently a misdemeanor, punishable by upt oa year in prison or a find of up to $1,500. The new law would make the felongy punishapble by up to five years in state prison, two-and-a-half years in jail or a fine of up to $10,000.

NERCC Political Director Steve Joyce said that although union carpenters are always covered by workers' compensation insurance, they are still hurt by those who cheat.

"In an industry where work most often goes to whoever submits the lowest price, any contractor who does not purchase workers' compensation coverage has a competitive advantage right from the start over contractors who follow the law and have coverage," he said. "That negatively impacts any carpenter that works for a legitmate contractor. We're not looking to hurt all employers, we value the role they play in creating jobs. We just want everyone to comply with the law when they do it."

Even the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), a group that lobbies for businesses, support the bill. In a story by the State House News Service, John Regan, AIM's Executive Vice President described the current situation as unfair to too many.

"Their faliure to have that insurance in place means that if workers working for them get injured, the rest of the employer commnity pays the bill" and that making failure to have coverage a felony "reflects the seriousness of the issue, and conveys how important it is that coverage be in place."

According to the SHNS story, the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents has reported more than 1,000 cses costing the worekrs compensation fund $26 million in the last five years becuase their employer didn't have worers' compensation coverage. In recent years the department has routinely issued Stop Work Orders against more than 3,000 employer found to be operating without workers' compensation coverage.

NYTimes gets only part of Stamford story
Posted by NERCC on February 24, 2012 at 09:26 AM

"Stamford Plan Hits a Speedbump" is the headline of a piece in the national version of the New York Times today. And while the reporter seems to go out of her way to heap praise on the Harbor Point project being developed by Carl Kuehner's Building and Land Technology (BLT), the headline and the substance of the article probably make Kuehner wish the article had never been published. It's become a familiar feeling for him lately.

The Times article is about a dispute between Keuhner's BLT and Stamford's Downtown Special Services District (DSSD), which acts as a guide and clearinghouse for downtown development. The group participated in a grueling process to develop guidelines that B&LT is attempting to ignore with a planned 124-room hotel. The DSSD is digging in its heels and getting strong support from within Stamford, because, despite the Times focus on this single issue, Kuehner and Harbor Point have come under fire repeatedly in recent months for behavior that indicates a consistent, disdainful attitutde toward standards, rules and anyone that attempts to defend them.

The Harbor Point site has been the subject of repeated demonstrations by union carpenters calling attention to the presence of subcontractors on site who do not pay area standard wages and benefits for carpenters on all of their projects.

Local residents became upset and demanded answers from B&LT and Stamford City officials when a previously existing boathouse was demolished in defiance of an agreement to maintain a full service boatyard at the site. Mayor Michael Pavia seemed curiously ignorant of the situation until asked by reporters. The Zoning Board later ordered BLT to stop demolition work.

Not long after, an article in the Stamford Advocate headlined "Developer Shows Signs of Disregarding Rules" detailed a number of instances where the Kuehner and BLT acted as if they were entitled to do just about whatever they wanted at Harbor Point, including trying to restrict the public from using public playgrounds and parking spaces, illegally blocking streets and building without permits.

In recent weeks, union claims about improper treatment of workers were borne out when the Department of Labor issued Stop Work Orders against 8 subcontractors working at Harbor Point for violating wage, hour or insurance laws. Three of the companies were charged with returning to work in defiance of previous Stop Work Orders without permission from the DOL.

The issue is not new to BLT or the construction industry. Subcontractors on other BLT projects had been the subject of at least eight Stop Work Orders for misclassifying workers and other violations. One subcontractor, Heritage Drywall, was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in owed wages and penalties on a BLT project. A reporter permitted to do a "ride along" with the DOL on the Harbor Point visit put it in a greater context of an industry spiraling out of control and costing honest businesses and taxpayers more than they know.

Despite the current "speed bumps," the Harbor Point project and a companion hotel will undoubtedly be completed in some fashion and will benefit the City. But Stamford and its residents might suggest a few flashing yellow or red lights for those dealing with Kuehner and BLT in the future.

 

Stop work orders issued at Harbor Point, media depicts industry mess
Posted by NERCC on February 17, 2012 at 10:55 AM

The Connecticut Department of Labor's Wages & Workplace Standards Division, has issued "Stop Work Orders" against eight contractors working on the Harbor Point project in Stamford, continuing a string of bad practices and bad press for the city and the project's developer, Carl Kuehner's Building and Land Technology (BLT).

The Stamford Advocate has run a significant story on the orders, as well as an excellent piece detailing the Department of Labor's efforts to confront extensive problems in the construction industry. Both are well worth reading and sharing.

Avilik Inc., Flagg World, M&M Construction, Pillar Construction, T.F. Andrews, Brothers Contracting, Continental Tile and Kitchen Classics were the companies cited for various violations of wage, hour, insurance or tax laws by the Department of Labor's Stop Fraud Unit. None of the companies are based in Connecticut. Some are only as close as New York, some have come from as far away as Maryland, according to the Advocate.

Three of those companies--Brothers Contracting, Continental Tile and Kitchen Classics--are being charged with violating a previous stop work order by going back to work without clearence by the DOL.

The project has come under intense criticism in Stamford, where citizens feel the developer and oher companies based in Harbor Point has been given too much control with little or no oversight. Union carpenters have started an online petition calling for Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia to step in and give residents more of a voice. Please read and consider signing the petition here.

Carpenters to support unpaid workers in Durham
Posted by NERCC on February 01, 2012 at 10:24 AM

Union carpenters will join with church, student and community groups to hold a news conference today at 3pm at the Community Church of Durham (NH) at 17 Main Street to release information about serious violations of state and federal law--including non-payment of wages--at the "Cottages of Durham." The "Cottages of Durham" is a new student housing development for students of the University of New Hampshire. It is being developed by Capstone Development/The Cottages of Durham.

Please read this and consider visiting the Cottages of Durham Facebook page and politely ask them to do right by these workers.

Construction workers at the Cottages of Durham describe multiple and flagrant violations of state and federal labor law.

These workers say that they worked long hours for many weeks without pay. When they complained about nonpayment of their wages, they were terminated and evicted from their housing.

Union carpenters stand in solidarity with these exploited workers and demand that Cottages of Durham/Capstone Development promptly pay these workers what they are owed in wages and overtime.

State investigating use of shelter workers at Boston Marriott
Posted by NERCC on January 20, 2012 at 01:11 PM

A prominent article in the Boston Globe today revealed that state investigators are looking into the use and treatment of out-of-state shelter workers in the renovation of rooms at the Boston Copley Marriott. Union carpenters, painters and other union members have been demonstrating twice a week for months at the site against Baystate Interiors, Inc. of Woburn for undermining area standard for carpenters' wages and benefits.

Baystate is renovating several floors of rooms at the pricey downtown hotel owned by Host Hotels and using a California-based company named Installations Plus. Installations is using workers from a missionary shelter in Philadelphia to do work at the Marriott and allegedly violating wage and hour laws to do it.

The workers come from a drug and alcohol rehabilitation shelter in Philadelphia run by Victory Outreach International, an evangelical group based in the San Diego area.

“Our concern is that Host Hotels is trying to take advantage of the recession by bringing in out-of-state laborers to do work that has traditionally been done by local union tradespeople,’’ said Mark Erlich, president of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.

The investigation is not the first trouble enforcement authorities have found on the site. The subcontractors working on the project--including Installations Plus--have been issued "Stop Work Orders" and paid fines for not having proper workers' compensation insurance.

Click here to view a NERCC-produced video about the demonstrations at the Boston Copley Marriott.

Pulte subs ordered to pay more than $500k
Posted by NERCC on January 18, 2012 at 02:43 PM

Multiple enforcement agencies in Massachusetts today announced that five subcontractors employed by Pulte on sites in Eastern Massachusetts have been ordered to pay workers more than $400,000 in owed wages and make payments totaling $141,000 to cover unpaid taxes.

The order is the result of investigations that began after workers complained to Representatives of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters that they had been unpaid for extended periods of time. Workers went on strike at several Pulte locations and filed complaints with the state.

"The investigation fined five separate subcontractors, but the real culprit is Pulte Homes, a multi-billion dollar national homebuilder," said Mark Erlich, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. "Those subs are interchangeable and were just doing Pulte's bidding. Cheating is Pulte's business model and, unfortunately, that approach is far too common in the residential construction industry."

Subcontractors that were part of the order include:
--AM Construction Services and its President, Adimar Demoura, age 32 of Framingham, allegedly failed to pay four workers a total of $15,331.50 for framing work done on private residential projects in Braintree and Plymouth. They were also fined $22,500 in penalties.
--Five Stars Construction and its President, Alexandre Miranda, age 40 of Trumbull, Connecticut, allegedly failed to pay two workers a total of $30,700 for framing work done on a private condominium project in Natick. They were also fined $30,000 in penalties.
--Nunes Brothers Construction and its President, Tiago Aguiar M. Nunes, age 28 of Brooklyn, New York, allegedly failed to pay 23 workers a total of $99,086.75 for framing work done on private condominium and single-family homes projects in Braintree, Plymouth, Natick, and Northbridge. They were also fined $112,500 in penalties.
--Seven Seas Group and its President, Jackson Croscup, age 55 of Fall River, allegedly failed to pay five workers a total of $10,333 for framing work done on a private condominium project in Natick. They were also fined $20,075 in penalties.
--Two Brothers Construction and its President, Wellington DeLima Borges, age 41 of East Natick, allegedly failed to pay six workers a total of $34,751.50 for framing work done on a private home development project in Plymouth. They were also fined $34,500 in penalties.

Investigating the complaints were Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office (AGO), the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), and the Joint Enforcement Task Force on the Underground Economy and Employee Misclassification (JTF). The JTF was established by Governor Deval Patrick through Executive Order #499 in March 2008 to coordinate multiple state agencies’ efforts to stamp out fraudulent employment activities by enforcing the state’s labor, licensing, and tax laws.

“All workers in the Commonwealth deserve to be paid for the wages they have earned, including their overtime,” said Attorney General Coakley. “We will continue to work together and take appropriate action to stop these unlawful business practices, level the playing field for companies and protect workers.”

“The Commonwealth is committed to insuring that all businesses carry both workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance coverage,” said Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Joanne F. Goldstein. “We will not tolerate employers or developers who proceed without this coverage, which puts employees at risk and employers who play by the rules at a competitive disadvantage. The Joint Task Force will continue to take all necessary action to protect legitimate employers, employees and the taxpayers of the Commonwealth.”

New Year's resolution in New Hampshire
Posted by NERCC on January 09, 2012 at 08:27 AM

The Nashua Telegraph yesterday published a piece by Mark Mackenzie, President of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO calling for a New Year's resolution to help workers in 2012. The piece was a good summary of what workers want and deserve, but aren't gettingin today's America. Click through to read the piece and consider sharing it with others.

California to attack underground economy
Posted by NERCC on January 03, 2012 at 08:01 AM

Fed up with billions of dollars in lost tax revenue and a business community that is increasingly upset by being put at a competitive disadvantage, California is vowing to make a major push to crackdown on businesses that misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid paying unemployment insurance, workers compensation coverage and other required feeds. The Los Angeles Times reports.

MA Attorney General bid protest decision
Posted by NERCC on December 29, 2011 at 10:01 AM

Union carpenters turned out for a selectman’s meeting in Ware, MA in opposition of the town’s decision to move forward with the hiring of PDS Engineering & Construction, Inc.. The Town of Ware accepted the bid of PDS for the general contract for its Fire Department, despite the omission of information in bid documents.

The New England Carpenters Labor Management Program filed the bid protest arguing that PDS made material omissions of four lawsuits from its Update Statement. The Update Statement covers matters between the contractor's last DCAM application for certification and the date of the bid. Bidders are instructed that they "must report all requested information not previously reported on that [most recent] application for Prime/General Certificate of Eligibility."

The AG’s office found that that PDS should have disclosed an ongoing personal injury lawsuit on its Update Statement. Normally such a decision would have required automatic rejection of PDS. However, based on the Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Fordyce v. Hanover, 457 Mass. 248 (2010), this finding the AG’s office determined that the Town of Ware has the discretion to accept the bid of PDS, despite the omission of information in their original bid.

From masslive.com:

Ware- A Springfield carpenters’ union opposes the town’s decision to award the general contract for a new fire station to PDS Engineering & Construction Inc., the lowest bidder, because the Connecticut company did not reveal in bid documents that it was involved in seven lawsuits.

The New England Regional Council of Carpenters Local 108 filed a bid protest with the state Attorney General’s office, which issued a report saying PDS notified the town of three ongoing suits but failed to mention four others, including one from a woman who claims she was injured by an improperly installed precast wheel stop.

Read the full story here. 

 

Troubling state of affairs in Stamford
Posted by NERCC on December 16, 2011 at 10:29 AM

John Cunningham, Business Manager for Carpenters Local 210, has written an opinion piece, published in the Stamford Advocate today highlighting some very dangerous trends in the area's construction industry. A young trades worker was killed when he was blown off a roof in a very preventable accident. He and his brothers were owed more than $6,000 in wages, according to reports. Stop Work Orders issued against contractors who don't carry workers' compensation insurance for their crews or who misclassify workers to avoid payroll taxes and their share of other "safety net" programs are becoming more and more common. Major projects being done by major developers are involved.

The last few months should serve as something of a wake-up call for everyone from workers to elected officials and everyone in between. It is especially necessary that general contractors, construction managers and developers begin to pay more attention to what is actually happening on their sites.

Union carpenters have also begun to make more noise in the streets, demonstrating and asking people to pay a more attention to these very serious issues. The industry needs basic standards for how work is done and how workers are treated. Contractors who only focus on getting jobs, investors interested in only profits and elected officials interested in only ribbon cuttings and job creation statistics can not be relied on to follow through. Union carpenters intend to lead the fight.

Carpenters continue mass demonstrations at Marriott Copley
Posted by NERCC on December 16, 2011 at 10:07 AM

December 16, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mark Erlich

Carpenters continue mass demonstrations at Marriott Copley
Members of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, Painters District Council #35 and other Boston Building Trades unions will be demonstrating at the Marriott Copley Place this Saturday, December 17 from 11am-1pm to call attention to substandard conditions for construction workers renovating 1100 hotel rooms. Demonstrations featuring as many as 200 members have been held two to three times a week for the last month and will continue indefinitely.
 

Host Hotels, the owner of the downtown hotel, hired Baystate Services, Inc as a general contractor. Baystate and its subcontractors pay substandard wages, and minimal or no benefits. In addition, many of the subcontractors illegally misclassify their employees as "independent contractors", a violation of state and federal tax and insurance laws. Three subcontractors on the site, RB Wallcovering, of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, Jayson Connor, a Marshfield, MA flooring contractor and Installation Plus, a Corona, CA contractor were issued Stop Work Orders (attached) by the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents within the last five weeks for failure to properly cover employees with workers’ compensation insurance.
 

“Host Hotels is part of an unfortunate trend to drive standards down and jeopardize middle-class careers in construction," says Mark Erlich, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. "Host is taking advantage of the recession to bring in low-waged out-of-state workers and hiring contractors that participate in the growing underground economy.”
 

“If guests used the same logic as Host Hotels—that price was the only issue for making a decision—would any of them stay at the Copley Marriott?" asks Jeffrey Sullivan, Business Manager of Painters District Council 35. "Guests pay up to $400 a night while these trades workers make as little as $12 an hour. With room occupancy in Boston back to pre-recession levels, Host has no excuse for these kinds of choices."
 

Video of past demonstrations can be viewed in the nercc.org video gallery under the “Workers Rights” heading. 

Immigration crackdown a boon to...prisoners?
Posted by NERCC on December 06, 2011 at 11:45 AM

If you think a crackdown on illegal immigrants will help Americans by opening up job opportunities, you may be right. But it's not going to help most unemployed Americans. What it might do is reveal some of the real reasons immigration reform has been stalled: employers really like very cheap, very vulnerable workers. Have you heard what’s going on in Alabama, where immigrant farm workers have fled after a tough new immigration law was passed? Here’s a hint: it isn’t lower unemployment and higher wages.

The AP reports.

IRS, US DOL to cooperate with state enforcement on misclassification
Posted by NERCC on September 20, 2011 at 12:01 PM

The United States Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service yesterday signed Memorandums of Understanding with seven states to increase compliance with laws governing how workers should be classified and paid. Massachusetts and Connecticut were among the states participating. The efforts will focus on both education of employees and increased efficiency of enforcement through information-sharing between state and federal agencies, according to a DOL press release.

Wage theft and the misclassification of workers at so-called independent contractors has been a growing problem in the construction industry and others. Employers use the tactic to avoid proper payment of payroll taxes, unemployment and workers' compensation insurance. The practice is particularly troubling in the construction industry, where companies that play by the rules are put at a significant advantage during competitive bidding.

The effort expands the model used in numerous states, including five of the six New England states, where multiple agencies work together on a task force to ensure violations of some laws aren't allowed to pass because they do not fall under the jurisdiction of the agency that happens to be investigating.

News coverage
Associated Press
Bloomberg

Resources on the issue of misclassification and wage theft:
Wage theft stories on NERCCBlog.
1099 and Misclassification stories on NERCCBlog.
National comprehensive resource page.

Carabetta raided, latest problem for CT developer
Posted by NERCC on June 21, 2011 at 12:00 AM

The Carabetta companies have been raided by the FBI and the IRS. It is the latest in a series of problems for Carabetta and their projects.

In April, nine Stop Work orders were issued against nine Carabetta subcontractors on a New London housing project only months after three Stop Work orders were issued against Carabetta subcontractors for similar offenses on a different NEw London housing project.

Both the Meriden Record-Journal and the Hartford Courant had coverage, including details of Carabetta's troubled financial and legal past.

Attacks on Davis-Bacon, PLAs fail in US House
Posted by NERCC on June 09, 2011 at 12:00 AM

Last week, the United States House of Representatives considered and defeated two amendments to the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill that would have weakened or eliminated prevailing wage protections or the use of Project Labor Agreements on federal construction projects.

Democrats were joined by a significant number of Republicans in defeating the two amendments. The vote on the Davis Bacon amendment was 183-234, with 52 Republicans joining all but one Democrat to prevent passage. The PLA language lost by a smaller, but still significant 207-213 vote. Twenty-eight Republicans joined Democrats on that vote.

Neither Republican Congressmen from New Hampshire--Charlie Bass or Frank Guinta--joined the side of union members to defeat the amendments. They are the only two Republican members of the House from New England.

More on Mayo
Posted by NERCC on June 02, 2011 at 12:00 AM

The Mayo Group and owner John McGrail came under public scrutiny again in downtown Worcester when a group of nonunion carpenters set up a strike line outside the Bancroft Commons property at the end of last week and continued it earlier this week. Today, the carpenters demonstrated in front of Mayo's corporate headquarters in Dorchester.

The carpenters are owed $55,000 for work they did on the project for Ramirez Drywall. The subcontractor has not been paid for the work and so he has been unable to pay the workers.

Ramirez and the carpenters contacted NERCC Organizer Manny Gines for assistance, after seeing that the union had helped other workers receive owed wages recently.

Bancroft Commons is a major residential renovation project covering several blocks downtown, bordering Worcester Common and the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. The project has been the site of consistent problems.

Late in 2007, NERCC Organizers talked to nonunion carpenters on the site who were having issues with the way they were being paid. One carpenter told a reporter from the Worcester Telegram that "sometimes" taxes were taken out of his check. The story was given prominent coverage in the paper and Mayo began its strategy of portraying the union as the boogeyman to explain away issues on the job.

Several months later Clive McFarlane, a columnist for the Worcester Telegram, wrote a second piece in the paper, detailing allegations by more nonunion immigrant carpenters employed on the Bancroft Commons project. This time the story got worse. Three of them told McFarlane that they had not been paid wages owed for work they did for Mayo. They were each owed more than $1,700 and had filed complaints with the Attorney General's Office.

Things got worse in January of 2009, when the Mayo Group were indicted by a Worcester Grand Jury for improper handling and disposal of asbestos removed from the property. Investigators alleged that the company:
--failed to conduct a survey to determine whether asbestos was in the building
--threw demolition debris, which turned out to include asbestos, out of second story windows into an open dumpster
--scheduled asbestos to be disposed of at a landfill not approved for asbestos
--did not notify state authorities, as required by law, of asbestos demolition.
--ignored a stop work order from the state and continued to remove asbestos from areas of the building where residents were living.

McGrail and one of the Mayo Group Companies, JMRealty eventually pleaded guilty to several of the counts related to improper handling of asbestos, evasion of unemployment insurance, failure to provide pay records, and failure to withhold income tax. McGrail narrowly escaped jail time. He and JMRealty were fined $100,000 each and sentenced to three years of probation.

After the strike line was established last week in Worcester, representatives of the Mayo Group spoke to Ramirez and the carpenters, but did not pay them. When contacted by the Telegram and Worcester Magazine, Mayo suddenly claimed there were quality issues with the work produced and the issue was the result of the Carpenters union trying to exploit the situation.

Bad press for AvalonBay
Posted by NERCC on May 24, 2011 at 12:00 AM

The Somerville Journal reported on AvalonBay's troubles in Woburn, where the Attorney General forced them to settle claims of housing discrimination.

The story also discusses the death of Oscar Pintado, a carpenter who was killed during construction of the project when he fell 48 feet through a hole that was improperly covered with unmarked particle board.

The Woburn site was one of several AvalonBay sites that were the subject of an Attorney General's Office investigation into misclassification of workers and wage and hour complaints by workers employed by AvalonBay subcontractors.

More carpenters strike for owed wages
Posted by NERCC on May 24, 2011 at 12:00 AM

A group of nonunion carpenters went on strike at two projects yesterday, seeking close to $100,000 in wages owed to them. The carpenters approached the union for help after their employer--New Haven Drywall--refused to pay them and bounced checks for their drywall and taping work.

Carpenters first demonstrated yesterday morning outside of Cohasset AvalonBay, a project that has been slowed for years by permitting and economic reasons. Construction finally began last year and the company hopes it will open early this summer, according to media reports.

After securing more than $17,000 owed to 11 of the carpenters on the Cohasset site, the group traveled to Norwood, where they planned to demonstrate seeking close to $80,000 15 workers claim to be owed there. New Haven Drywall was also the subcontractor there, hired by developer Chestnut Hill Realty, which is acting as the general contractor, developer and owner.

The strike continued there today.


.

MetroWest Daily News reports on Pulte, unpaid carpenters
Posted by NERCC on May 20, 2011 at 12:00 AM

The MetroWest Daily News today ran a front page, above the fold piece about carpenters that have gone unpaid for work they did on multiple Pulte sites in Massachusetts. The issue was the topic of a story in the Quincy Patriot Ledger last Saturday.

A group of more than 30 nonunion carpenters have filed wage complaint forms with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office seeking to recover months of wages they are owed for work they did on Pulte sites in Braintree, Natick, Northbridge and Plymouth. They may also be owed wages for work done on a Pulte site in Wakefield, Rhode Island.

Despite protests at the Braintree and Natick sites and last week's column in the Patriot Ledger, the company continues to claim in today's story that they are "unaware of any complaints filed with any state or federal agencies."

As one of the largest home-builders in the United States, with developments in 28 states, it's hard to believe Pulte doesn't know what's happening on their own sites. The company acts as a general contractor on many of their projects, directly hiring subcontractors.

A company spin-meister told the MetroWest Daily News that "PulteGroup considers a number of factors when selecting subcontractors to build its homes. Each project is unique and contracts are awarded on merit to the companies that are the best fit for the job."

Unfortunately, workers going unpaid on Pulte jobs does not appear to be a "unique" condition. It looks more like something the company has decided is the "best fit" for their current projects in New England.

Carpenters in New England aren't the only ones unhappy with Pulte. Last week eight people were arrested during a peaceful demonstration at Pulte's annual shareholders meeting in Detroit. They were there to question the job creation and economic benefit to the community of $900 million in tax benefits Pulte earned last year when a tax law was changed largely benefiting a small number of large, national home builders.

Here in New England, Pulte is the latest in a series of contractors whose projects have become the subject of protests and wage claims as a result of nonunion workers not being paid and going on strike. The following is a video chronicling some of NERCCs activity regarding the issue.

Carpenters unpaid for months on Pulte jobs
Posted by NERCC on May 14, 2011 at 12:00 AM

NERCC Organizers are putting the heat on Pulte Homes, one of the nation's largest home builders, after more than 30 nonunion carpenters came forward reporting they hadn't been paid their for months worth of work.

Demonstrations have been held at Jonathan's Landing in Braintree and South Natick Hills in Natick and the workers have filed wage complaint forms with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. Most of the workers are owed nine week of wages and overtime, totaling $3,500-$4,000 each, from work they did in Braintree, Natick and another site in Wakefield, Rhode Island.

Multiple subcontractors have worked and been dismissed from the Pulte sites, each employing the same group of carpenters. Pulte acts as the general contractor on many of their projects, directly hiring and paying subcontractors.

It is unclear whether Pulte paid the subcontractors who did not pay the carpenters. But what is clear is that these are projects being built and sold by Pulte, who boasts "Pulte Homes' culture is wrapped around a strong sense of family and a small company atmosphere."

The Quincy Patriot-Ledger ran a story on the issue today.

AG hits Hampton Building for violations on three sites
Posted by NERCC on May 13, 2011 at 12:00 AM

The Massachusetts Attorney General has ordered Hampton Building to pay $100,000 in fines and restitution for wage violations related to nonunion carpenters at multiple sites. Carpenters will finally be paid more than $19,000 in wages owed to them from work dating back to December 2009 at Westford Town Hall, Molly's Lane in Chilmark and the Whitman Police Station.

The company will pay an additional $81,000 in penalties for:
--failing to pay prevailing wages
--failing to maintain true and accurate payroll records
--failing to submit true and accurate certified payroll records
--failing to pay employees in a timely manner
--intentionally failing to submit certified payroll records and general payroll records to the Attorney General's Office for inspection.

More bad guys nabbed in New London
Posted by NERCC on April 20, 2011 at 12:00 AM

From the New London Day:

New London - The state Department of Labor issued nine stop work orders Friday to several subcontractors at the Bates Woods housing construction site for violating labor laws.

Members of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters were protesting at the Jefferson Avenue site Tuesday after the state charged that the subcontractors were either employing independent contractors to avoid paying workers' compensation insurance or they were under-reporting the number of people on their payrolls.

Read the full story here.

McCarron writes on misclassificiation
Posted by NERCC on April 07, 2011 at 12:00 AM

Doug McCarron, General President of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America has written a piece on misclassification and tax fraud in the construction industry that was just published by the Construction Labor Report. It can be read here.

DOL crossing borders to root out pay scams
Posted by NERCC on April 07, 2011 at 12:00 AM

The United States Department of Labor’s district office in Hartford has announced an initiative to aggressively pursue wage and hour violations on construction sites in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

“Due to the competitive nature of the construction industry, some contractor and subcontractors cut corners with respect to wages, hours and employment conditions,” said Neil Patrick, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Hartford. “The Wage and Hour Division is developing new strategies to better identify and remedy widespread labor violations so workers are protected against exploitation and law-abiding employers are not placed at a competitive disadvantage when they play by the rules and pay fair wages.”

NERCC staff in the two states have been pushing for increased enforcement as harsh economic conditions in the construction industry have made it more tempting for project owners and general contractors to look the other way at violations. Several meetings have been held with state and federal enforcement agencies in the last year where multi-state investigations have been a main point of discussion.

Because so many general contractors and subcontractors move across city and state borders, coordinated efforts are essential to make a significant impact on contractors and the industry as a whole.

The DOL plans to look at general contractor and subcontractors on projects in Connecticut and Rhode Island to uncover patterns of cheating. The Wage and Hour Division conducted nearly 300 investigations in the construction industry in the last ten years, recouping $5.6 million for almost 3,300 workers.

“These numbers how that we need to change industry behavior across the board, not simply on an employer-by-employer basis,” Patrick said. “Paying workers the proper wages is the employer’s responsibility. We particularly want to encourage general contractors to require and ensure Fair Labor Standards Act compliance by all of their subcontractors.”

Meriden site sets CT record
Posted by NERCC on March 30, 2011 at 12:00 AM

On Friday, March 25th members of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters protested in front of the site of the Chamberlain Heights Housing in Meriden, Connecticut, a low-income public housing facility. The protest was scheduled after the Connecticut Department of Labor issued a record 22 "Stop Work" orders on the site, where a $27 million renovation is under way.

The orders were issued when workers on the site were found to not have workers compensation coverage, as required by law, and were not properly paying state and federal payroll taxes. There were also concerns that the workers were not legitimate "independent contractors" as indicated during an inspection of the site.

The LaRosa Building Group is the general contractor hired by the Meriden Housing Authority hired for the project.

“Having workers on the job without any workers compensation is appalling. To allow people to avoid paying taxes on Housing Authority jobs in these times is a slap in the face to every tax payer in Connecticut,” said Tim Sullivan of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.

The 22 workers join a list of hundreds of subcontractors on multiple other sites who have been issued “Stop Work” from the state for similar violations.

Misclassification of workers as so-called "independent contractors" has become an epidemic in the construction industry. Not only does it strip workers of basic protections, it provides a significant competitive bidding advantage to contractors who cheat and deprives the state and federal government of significant tax revenues.

The "Stop Work" orders and protest caught the attention of Connecticut House Speaker Chris Donovan, who stopped by the site.

When protesters continued to gather at the site on March 28th, a second visit by Connecticut Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division netted yet another stop work order for violations.

Protests will continue outside the project to highlight the misuse of taxpayer money and the blatant tax and insurance fraud by some of the subcontractors on their site.

Additional coverage in the Hartford Courant.

Follow up from Fox 5 in Georgia
Posted by NERCC on February 22, 2011 at 12:00 AM

The Local Fox affiliate in Georgia that ran a piece about illegal immigrants being hired to work on public school projects in that state has run a follow-up. The second piece focuses on a group of more than 50 workers who were not paid for work they performed for a masonry contractor.

I-Team: Hiring Illegal Immigrants Pt. 2: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Schools, GCs play "hear no evil, see no evil..."
Posted by NERCC on February 17, 2011 at 12:00 AM

I-Team: Hiring Illegal Immigrants: MyFoxATLANTA.com

A Fox station in Georgia--and Georgia workers--take up some of the same issues NERCC has been working on. In this case it is immigrant workers building public schools without any attempt to verify their status. This is despite laws in Georgia requiring the use of the federal e-verify system.

The workers are not hired by the general contractor or even a subcontractor. They're brought in by a subcontractor to a subcontractor and are each paid as so-called "independent contractors" themselves.

When the reporter confronts the general contractor--the one who celebrates their winning low bid and will brag about the project's completion at the end--they shrug and claim to not know and not be responsible. The subcontractor doesn't respond to requests for information.

So who's responsible for the project and the laws being broken on them in the name of lowering the project cost? Whether it's the employment of undocumented workers or the classification of workers to cheat the government out of revenue and the workers out of basic protections, there are crimes being committed. The victims of the crimes are:
--The people in the industry who play by the rules and, therefore, can't compete.
--Workers who can't get jobs because they won't give up their protections and can't afford to work for what illegal immigrants do.
--Entire communities, which must struggle with budget crisis's exacerbated by cheating employers.

Carpenters Local 1996 responds to elimination of task force
Posted by NERCC on February 08, 2011 at 12:00 AM

John Leavitt, Business Manager for Carpenters Local 1996 recently wrote an editorial piece published in Mainebiz regarding the recent Executive Order issued by newly elected Maine Governor Paul LePage eliminating the state’s Task Force on misclassification. The Governor claimed the work the Task Force was doing was “a bad direction for the state, so we are going to try to reverse that.”

The Task Force was established by an Executive Order in 2009 by then-Governor John Baldacci after studies showed the state was losing as much as $36 million a year in tax revenue due to misclassification. As in other states, the Task Force was given two goals: clarify language regarding employee status and eliminate barriers to information sharing and cooperative enforcement among government agencies. Because misclassification involves issues of workers' compensation, unemployment and taxes, there are usually multiple agencies involved, each with concerns about sharing personal information collected during investigations. Task forces in many states have been effective in finding ways to accommodate those concerns while opening lines of communication and enforcing all of the laws and regulations involved.

Leavitt’s letter was published in the ‘Perspectives’ section of Mainebiz, where he points out that “this new executive order promotes poor business, not good business, and is a major step backward for Maine people.”

You can read the entire letter here.

Data shows large problem with worker misclassification
Posted by NERCC on January 14, 2011 at 12:00 AM

Speakers at a panel session of the Labor and Employment Relations Association annual meeting reported that there has been an increase in the likelihood and costs associated with getting caught for misclassification and underreporting of workers in the construction and other industries.

The panelists presented evidence of employers treating workers as independent contractors when they are in fact employees. A striking report discussed by the panel shows a significant discrepancy in data, one which “suggests an explosion in the misclassification of workers,” notes James Parrott, deputy director and chief economist for the Fiscal Policy Institute of New York.

The report shows that there was a growth rate of 20 percent for workers paid as independent contractors who received 1099s. Across the same time period, there was only a .5 percent increase in employment figures for workers who receive W-2 forms. The large gap between the growth of nonemployer “independent contractors” versus payrolled employees “likely reflects an increase in misclassification,” Parrot said.

Matt Capece, an attorney with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters emphasized that this problem is not just about illegal immigration, but that it “has gotten to the point where it encompasses not only undocumented workers, but people who are documented citizens of the U.S.”

Capece went on to add that adequate enforcement is needed because “…we are dealing with a class of people who don’t care about the law at all. The law is just a traffic cone for them to avoid.”

To read more about the panelists findings, click here.

NH contractors STOPped in CT
Posted by NERCC on December 14, 2010 at 12:00 AM

Two contractors working on a CVS store in Guilford, Connecticut were issued STOP WORK orders on December 3 by the Connecticut Department of Labor because they did not have workers' compensation coverage in place for their employees. Those Stop Work orders remain in place.

4 Star Drywall of Manchester, New Hampshire and MPC Construction of New Ipswich, New Hampshire were hired by general contractors TRB Development, of Hooksett, New Hampshire.
The Stop Work orders were issued after a site visit by the DOL.

4 Star had at least 6 employees working on site without coverage. The company is responsible for drywall and ceiling work on the project.

It is unclear how many workers were employed by MPC on the project or what type of work they were doing. MPC generally does concrete work but also has a drywall division. The concrete work on the store was completed before the Stop Work orders were issued.

4 Star now in trouble in Mass
Posted by NERCC on December 14, 2010 at 12:00 AM

With a Stop Work order in place against them in Connecticut since December 3, 4 Star Drywall ran into more trouble today, when the Department of Industrial Accidents issued a Stop Work order against them in Massachusetts.

As in Connecticut, the Stop Work order was issued when authorities found out the company was performing drywall work without having workers compensation insurance in place. Today's order was issued at the future site of a Walgreen's in Somerset, where the company is believed to have had seven carpenters working. PM Construction, based in Maine, is the general contractor on the project. The Connecticut order is in place on a CVS site in Guilford, where 4 Star was hired by TRB Development.

FOX 25 hits employers who exploit
Posted by NERCC on November 09, 2010 at 12:00 AM

Mike Beaudet of the FOX 25 Boston's Investigative Team reported last night on employers who hire and exploit immigrant workers with little or no regard for getting caught or punished. (story embedded below)

The story includes the tale of drywall carpenters employed Jared Stevens and Elite Drywall to perform work on a new Wicked Pizza location at the Legacy Place Mall in Dedham. NERCC Organizers confronted Stevens about the fact that his employees were owed $15,000 in wages for work they had performed at Wicked Pizza and another job in New Hampshire. The workers eventually went on strike, a story that was the focus of this NERCC video last month.

In the FOX piece, Jessica Vaughan with the Center for Immigration Studies said government efforts to crack down on employers hiring and exploiting illegal immigrants has not been enough of a deterrent so far.

“Essentially what happens is these workers pretend to be legal and the employers pretend to believe them. And that's how everybody is able to keep the system going. “It is easy for them to get away with it because there are no penalties. There's no deterrents for them. In most cases, what they're facing is a slap on the wrist or a warning," she said.

Bruce Foucart, ICE Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, told Beaudet that focusing on employers rather than individual workers would have a greater impact, but claimed budget issues and the newness of the enforcement efforts has limited their success. He admits the problem exists and the bad guys are the ones making out.

“It exists out there and the bottom line with that is the employers are benefiting. They're benefiting if they have an illegal workforce," Foucart said. "Employers are getting away with it obviously and given limited resources we're doing the best we can."

After years of trying to tackle the problem by targeting immigrant workers, several years ago the New England Regional Council of Carpenters changed their focus in a way that is now being mirrored by enforcement agencies. Since the union began helping immigrant workers who are not paid properly, they are more likely to blow the whistle on employers who win work over honest union contractors by cheating.

The union has also found it more beneficial to bring public shame to contractors and those who employ them, including owners who go out of their way to claim they don't know what's involved in lowball bids. Unlike immigrant workers and some subcontractors, they can't as easily disappear from the jobsites, or the communities in which they do business.

Massachusetts poposes debarment for Callahan
Posted by NERCC on October 29, 2010 at 11:42 AM

The Department of Capital Asset Management in Massachusetts has proposed debarring Callahan, Inc. from bidding or performing any work as a result of their actions in bidding for the contract to build a new Hanover High School.

After submitting their Statement of Qualifications to the town and submitting the lowest bid, it was discovered that Callahan, Inc had taken credit for projects performed by another company in order to qualify to bid in Hanover. Though the Attorney General twice advised the Town to throw out Hanover's bid or rebid the job through an expedited process, the town moved forward with Callahan.

Petitioned by a group of union carpenters living in Hanover, a judge then ordered work on the project to stop pending further consideration of the fraud and Hanover's selecting Callahan. Another judge over-ruled that order, sending the case to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The SJC agreed with the Town's argument that although Callahan clearly lied on the SOQ, the Town was aware of the lies and chose to do business with the company anyway.

DCAM now appears to be saying that even though Hanover has been allowed to work with a contractor that lied about its qualifications, the State of Massachusetts will not allow it again. Unless Callahan asks for an wins an appeal from DCAM, the already tarnished reputation of the company will be formalized.
 

Bad guys nailed in Mass, Conn
Posted by NERCC on October 25, 2010 at 12:00 AM

Enforcement agencies in Connecticut and Massachusetts this week moved against contractors who have been violating laws in ways that undermine the ability of honest union carpenters and contractors to compete.

The Department of Labor in Connecticut performed a random on-site inspection of an AvalonBay job in Wilton, Connecticut, finding an out of state subcontractor who didn't have workers' compensation coverage. The employees of the company were sent home and will not be allowed to work on the site until they can prove proper coverage.

A representative of AvalonBay told the Norwalk Hour he expected the problem to be remedied soon, but did not indicate how they were able to work on the job without coverage in the first place.

Workers comp coverage should be of significant concern for AvalonBay, given their history in New England. Not long after OSHA had issued a series of citations for serious violations of fall protection regulations on jobs being built for AvalonBay, a 27-year old carpenter named Oscar Pintado fell to his death on an AvalonBay job in Woburn, Mass. He was working for a framing contractor which managed 150 wood framers. All of them, including Pintado, were listed as "independent contractors," meaning they were not covered by workers' compensation. His family was not eligible for any benefits or compensation.

In Massachusetts, the Attorney General's office reached a settlement agreement with Vincent Locke and his company V. Locke Contracting, Inc. over a string of violations for which they will pay a total of $100,000 in fines and restitution to workers.

After receiving a complaint that workers were not being paid the proper prevailing wage, Attorney General Martha Coakley's office began an investigation. Locke and V. Locke agreed to a settlement which cites them for intentionally violating the Prevailing Wage Law by failing to pay the prevailing wage to 35 employees. They are also being cited for violating Prevailing Wage Records Keeping Laws, violating the Independent contractor law by misclassifying employees as independent contractors and violating Overtime Law. Each of the citations cover violations that occurred from January 2008 through the investigation.

Locke and his company have agreed to make payments totaling $90,000 to workers and to pay the state $2,500 for each of the four citations. They will also be debarred from bidding on or performing any public work for a period of six months.

Also yesterday, Coakley's office reported that two subcontractors working on the Hanover High School project for Callahan, Inc. have been cited for violations of wage and wage reporting laws. Action Floors has been issued a $2,000 penalty for intentionally failing to submit true and accurate certified payroll while Superior Foundations was found to have intentionally failing to pay proper prevailing wages on the Hanover High School project. Superior was also cited for prevailing wage violations while working on the Swansea Police Station. Superior has been issued a $2,000 penalty for the violations and order to pay $3,802.94 in restitution to workers who were cheated.

The Hanover High School project has been a source of controversy for years. After fighting to win local approval to fund construction of a new building, local authorities came under fire for ignoring or excusing misleading statements Callahan, Inc made to justify it's qualifications for the project. The Town successfully fought to have put aside opinions by the Attorney General's office and a suit brought by union carpenters in Hanover that the project should be rebid. Treasurer Tim Cahill, who's office was in control of funding for the project, refused repeated requests to intervene.

Wicked big problems at Legacy Place
Posted by NERCC on October 21, 2010 at 12:00 AM

When six carpenters weren't paid the wages they were owed working on a Wicked Pizza at the upscale Legacy Place shopping center in Dedham, Mass., they turned to the Carpenters union for help. Though they weren't union members, anytime a contractor can get away without paying carpenters, it undermines industry standards and union members. As fellow carpenters, helping them is also just the right thing to do.

So NERCC Organizers Marty Coyle and Manny Gines organized a demonstration with other staff that quickly got the attention of the mall's management. Security scrambled on a Segway in a golf cart and a pickup truck. Police were called not once, but twice, even when the demonstration moved to the busy, but public sidewalk along busy Route 1.

Elite Drywall employed the carpenters on the Wicked Pizza project and on another job in New Hampshire. After promising to deliver checks to the carpenters, they simply strung them along until the carpenters walked off on strike. They've since filed wage complaints in Massachusetts and New Hampshire to recover the $15,000 they are owed.

Mass 1099 task force reports increased success
Posted by NERCC on October 20, 2010 at 12:00 AM

The Massachusetts Joint Task Force on the Underground Economy and the Employee Misclassification (JTF) has released its annual report for 2010, showing a dramatic increase in collected taxes owed and penalties issued. The report, summarizing the second year of work by the JTF, lists $6.5 million was collected through cooperative enforcement, up from $1.4 million last year. The total includes $2 million in new unemployment insurance taxes $1.5 million in overdue taxes collected through 196 audit investigations and $1.87 million in fines as a result of 3,676 stop work orders issued for lack of workers' compensation insurance. The JTF was formed by an Executive Order of Governor Deval Patrick early March of 2008. There are now more than a dozen state agencies sharing information relevant to the underground economy and cooperating in enforcement efforts. The full annual report is available online here.

Workers who feel they are being misclassified can request assistance here.

Organizers help carpenters in Holliston claim unpaid wages
Posted by NERCC on August 11, 2010 at 12:00 AM

Thanks to the help of union organizers, carpenters working at the Cutler Heights affordable housing project in Holliston, MA, have finally received pay for 2-3 weeks of work. The group was employed by framing subcontractor Hampton Building Inc. The General Contractor at the site, located just behind Town Hall, was James J. Welch & Co.

The problems started on July 23rd when Hampton Building owner Anthony Iannacone issued checks to his employees. The checks all bounced. Iannacone passed the blame on to J.J. Welch saying the General Contractor was late in making payments, therefore leaving Iannacone’s company unable to cover the carpenters’ wages. The ten carpenters were owed an estimated $38,000 in unpaid wages.

The story was first reported in the MetroWest Daily News on August 6th. In the article, Hampton Building Foreman Dean Morin was quoted as saying “since it was not a union job…the carpenters have been having trouble finding any sort of recourse.”

After reading the story, Union Organizers Mario Mejia contacted Daily News reporter Kendall Hatch and asked if would have one of the carpenters contact him. Mejia received a phone call late Sunday night and coordinated with the carpenter to meet the group at the jobsite with other Union Organizers.

On August 10th, Union Organizers met the carpenters at the site and spoke with the project superintendant Jim Estrella. After getting nowhere with the project superintendent, the Union representatives stood with the employees to strike at the site (Read more here).

After weeks of getting nowhere, thanks to the help of the Carpenters Union, the group was finally issued checks; however this did not happen without a hitch. Initially, the carpenters were given joint checks by the General Contractor James J. Welch & Co. The joint checks were filled out using the word “and” between the two entities (i.e. Joe Carpenter and Hampton Building Co.), instead of “or”, so the bank was unable to cash the checks.

A second set of checks were finally issued yesterday at 5:30 pm, however the banks were closed for the day. The carpenters reached the end of yet another day with empty pockets.

To read more about this story in the MetroWest Daily News click here.

Update: Organizer Mario Mejia has reported the carpenters were able to cash their checks first thing this morning when the banks opened.

Union Carpenters question United Illuminating, Whiting Turner
Posted by NERCC on August 02, 2010 at 12:00 AM

On Tuesday morning, August 3 starting at 9:30 am members of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters will protest in front of the site of the future headquarters of United Illuminating on Orange Street. Chief among the union’s concerns will be the screening, hiring and supervision practices on the site, where a subcontractor was issued a “Stop Work” order on Friday for not having proper workers’ compensation coverage.

“We have noticed a pattern of problems with subcontractors hired by Whiting Turner,” said Tim Sullivan, a Representative of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. “Throughout the process, we have also been concerned with United Illuminating’s seemingly cavalier attitude toward the screening contractors and subcontractors. Construction is a dangerous and often ruthless business. To have workers on the job without any protection should there be an accident is appalling.”

Davis Tree and Logging was the subcontractor on site ordered to stop work from proceeding with work after investigators from the Department of Labor Friday. They join a list of multiple subcontractors for Whiting Turn on multiple other sites who have been issued “Stop Work” orders or other legal citations.

“On Friday, the state found a subcontractor on this site without workers’ compensation coverage,” said Sullivan. “If a worker gets injured in that situation they are likely out of work and out of luck for a long, long time. Our concern is that, with Whiting Turner’s track record of hiring, we’ll see more violations of tax and insurance laws. Maybe workers being underpaid or not being paid at all. These things happen every day and they happen because companies like Whiting Turner and United Illuminating turn a blind eye and pretend that everything’s alright.”

Sullivan said the union will continue to visit the site to monitor compliance and to notify the public of any and all violations that occur.

The New England Regional Council of Carpenters represents more than 22,000 union members in six states who are employed by more than 1,500 union contractors. As part of their mission to bring fair wages and working standards to all carpenters, they regularly work with nonunion workers, educating them on their rights and helping them seek legal recourse when necessary.

State finds more wage violations
Posted by NERCC on July 27, 2010 at 12:00 AM

Dex by Terra and Daniel Terra, individually are paying workers more than $16,000 and $3500 in fines to the state for violation of state wage and payroll records laws.

The company failed to pay the proper prevailing wages to numerous employees on projects for the Lexington DPW and Concord Willard School from June of 2008 through October of 2009, the state found. Investigators had been alerted to violations by New England Regional Council of Carpenters Organizers after they had visited job sites and talked to workers.

The civil penalties resulted from their failure to pay workers the proper wage and failure to keep and submit payroll records as mandated by law.