Monday, July 13, 2009

Press story

Description of press coverage of individual case with link. All should have press tag.

Main menu item will be link to stories with press tag.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Progress through Partnership

One of the greatest assets available to the construction industry in New England is the partnership between the New England Regional Council of Carpenters and union signatory contractors.

The New England Carpenters Labor Management Program joins skilled and dedicated crafts workers with experience, business-oriented contractors and project owners. More than 1,500 construction companies have already chosen to do business with the Carpenters union.

Working together, the union and signatory contractors have been able to develop comprehensive and affordable health and retirement plans. These plans provide for a more secure future for workers and their families, resulting in greater stability and productivity on the job.

The union has modernized policies in the interest of keeping schedules and budgets, including the ability for second shifts, off shifts, and extend work hours. Years ago, union rules restricted carpenters from traveling beyond their local jurisdiction. Today, contractors can take their seasoned crew with them on projects throughout New England.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Training first and foremost

When our highly skilled union carpenters complete a project, it ranks in quality on par with the top craftsmanship in the world. From soundness of construction to aesthetics of the finish, quality is our top priority.

With 22,000 well-trained men and women across New England, we guarantee a deep pool of qualified workers for every type of project. Our apprenticeship program continues to generate the workforce of the future. In fact, more than 6,000 carpenters are taught each year by nearly 100 expert instructors at our 15 training facilities. Those apprentices reflect the diversity of all of the communities throughout New England, and they graduate prepared for a career, not just a job.

We're commited to providing well-rounded carpenters across the entire range of building disciplines. Therefore skill upgrades make up a singificant portion of our educational initiative. There are more than 65 training classes available at no cost to our members, including some of the industry's most in-demand topics:
-Finish Carpentry
-Construction Supervisors LIcense
-Cabinet Making
-Foreman Training
-Bluprint Reading I & II
-10& 30 hour OSHA Safety
-Computer Aided Design
-Solid Surface
-Survey/Project Layout
--Drywall Certification


Along the high-skill path under collective bargaining, the following holds true:
Workers are one-third more likely to have some college education.
Workers have substantially more apprenticeship training.
In the case of heavy-and-highway contractors and specialty contractors:
--Contractors get 14-18% more output from each worker.
--Contractors get 17-20% more value added per worker.
In contract, in the open shop, the following holds true:
--Workers are twice as likely to be high school dropouts.
--Workers are twice as likely to be young and inexperienced.

More than 6,000 carpenters are trained in labor-management administered programs affiliated with the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. There are 93 full and part-time instructors at 15 training facilities.

Monday, May 4, 2009

What is 1099 misclassification?

Tax and Insurance Fraud: Construction employers call their workers "independent contractors" to avoid taxes, insurance costs, and payroll deductions. They pay in lump sums and claim they will report workers’ annual earnings on IRS Form 1099, "Miscellaneous Income."

Gaming the System: Contractors say they don’t have to pay taxes or insurance--including workers’ comp--on these "1099 subcontractors." But nearly all such workers meet the legal definitions of being employees.

Why do contractors misclassify?
Illegal Profits: The 1099 scheme lets companies avoid normal payrolls, so they don’t pay Social Security or Medicare, workers’ comp or unemployment insurance, or overtime--all of which are required by law.

Rigged Bids: These criminals illegally save 30% or more on labor costs--and win more contracts because they can underbid honest, law-abiding, tax-paying competitors.

No Taxes, No Records: Scam companies say they will send individuals their 1099 forms, but most don’t even do that; the lack of any sort of paper trail can help them hide their tax fraud as well as other crimes.

IS this CRIME OR CONFUSION?
Unchallenged Crime: This is lawlessness, not confusion over IRS definitions. These people know what they’re doing--and think that they can get away with it.

Nationwide: Misclassification occurs in all 50 states and in residential, commercial, and public construction projects of all sizes.

Common: 1099 fraud is construction’s "dirty secret."
Nearly all the industry knows about it, and so far officials and honest contractors haven’t been able to stop it.

Who should care?
--Government officials at all levels
--Responsible contractors
--Taxpayers and revenue officials
--Law enforcement/regulatory agencies
--Users of construction services
--Workers and their families
--Insurance companies
--Medical providers & hospitals

WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Unfair to Honest Businesses: Responsible, law-abiding employers are at a competitive disadvantage; many must choose between staying afloat or breaking the law.

Billions in Lost Revenue: Federal, state, and local governments are cheated out of many kinds of revenue--billions of dollars every year.

Higher Insurance Costs: Hospitals are obligated to provide care for all, so workers’ comp and health insurers must raise premiums to make up for the uncovered workers who are injured on the job.

Higher Taxes on Honest Citizens: Tax and insurance cheats force others to pay higher premiums and taxes--or to cut back schools, public safety,roads, and other programs.

Corrupt Firms Gain Influence: Construction is a multibillion-dollar industry, and 1099 abusers have an unfair advantage to win more work and capture new markets.

Major Crimes: 1099 abuse involves many crimes: tax evasion, mail and insurance fraud, grand theft, wage-and-hour violations, money laundering, and racketeering/RICO activity.
Growing Underground Economy: In many places and market sectors, the construction industry has fallen into a cash-only business, often spurring other kinds of crime.

WHAT CAN WE DO?
WHAT WILL IT COST?

Enforce the Law--and Strengthen It.
Give enforcement agencies the resources and tools they need to tackle the problem.

Invest a Little, Gain Much More.
Even small increases in enforcement reap large, ongoing returns--in revenue, fairness for honest businesses, and respect for law.

Support Political Leaders Who Act.
Support officials and candidates who are prepared to take action and enforce laws.

Prosecute w/Asset Forfeiture to pressure and fund.
Prosecutors and agencies can leverage civil forfeiture to help settle cases and to create highly visible, self-funding enforcement efforts.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

AvalonBay subs out of control or following the business model?

AvalonBay’s case for building housing projects with reputable contractors who comply with the law has gotten a lot weaker. Problems with AvalonBay subcontractors in two states have hit newspapers, once again lending credibility to claims union carpenters have been making for several years.

In March, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office cited five subcontractors for misclassifying workers on three AvalonBay projects in Massachusetts, ordering payment of more than $36,000 in fines and restitution.

The action came shortly after the owner of one of those same companies was arrested and arraigned in Connecticut on twenty counts of failure to properly pay workers. That company, National Carpentry, and its owner, John Kirk have become notorious with not only the union, but with state enforcement agencies in the largest two New England states.

In December, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal attended a press conference with a group of workers who filed a civil suit against National Carpentry and Kirk. Twenty of thirty-four workers who were owed money joined the suit after being shortchanged for work they did at a luxury condo project in Stamford. The state brought charges of wage fraud against Kirk, who is facing fines and jail time.

Gary Pechie, the Director of the Connecticut Labor Department’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division estimated the workers are owed $55,000 and called Kirk "the poster child of how not to do business in the state of Connecticut."

National Carpentry is well known to organizers from the New England Regional Council of Carpenters. They have been one of the larger wood frame contractors in the region for several years and one of the more aggressive in taking advantage of a "coyote" system for accessing easily exploitable immigrant workers. Their partnership with AvalonBay has not been a good one.

National Carpentry was hired to build on AvalonBay projects in Lexington and Woburn, Massachusetts. After visiting the Lexington site, OSHA issued citations and fines for inadequate fall protection. Not long after, in an unusual move, those fines were rescinded. Only months later in neighboring Woburn, carpenter Oscar Pintado fell to his death while working for National Carpentry on an AvalonBay project. National essentially disavowed Pintado, claiming he worked for another subcontractor.

In Coakley’s investigation, National Carpentry was found to have misclassified employees as independent contractors on both the Lexington and Woburn AvalonBay projects.

Also cited in the investigation were AMC Building Construction LLC of Thorndike, MA and its owner, Jocelyne Boduc; DaVinci Construction Company of Massachusetts, Inc., and its President, Arthur Cipoletti, of West Bayshore, NY; F.A. Construction of Revere, MA and its owners Francisco and Miriam Antunez; and C&K Subcontractors and its owner Chong Kim, of Fairfax, Virginia.

National Carpentry will pay a total of $15,000 in fines as a result of the investigation.

AMC agreed to pay a $10,000 citation for violating laws regarding misclassification at the Lexington AvalonBay site. They have also agreed to a compliance plan with the Attorney General’s office that allows the AG to monitor operations to ensure compliance.

DaVinci Construction also agreed to a compliance plan with the Attorney General’s office after investigation of their practices at the AvalonBay project in Lexington.

F.A. Construction was cited for violations at the Lexington Project and will pay more than $20,000 in fines, penalties and restitution.

C&K will pay $5,000 for citations for failing to provide records for inspection in regards to their work on the Hingham job.

Blumenthal had harsh words for National Carpentry and its business model, saying they "egregiously exploited its workers, hopeful or certain that they would be reluctant to report abuse for fear of retaliation or other consequences. Despite its promises, this company paid its workers less -- and sometimes nothing at all -- for physically draining 70-hour work weeks.

"These reprehensible practices allegedly jeopardized lives and livelihood -- denying hundreds of workers fair wages and employment opportunities.

"Even if employees are undocumented, they are still protected by state and federal laws that require fair treatment of employees. We will fight vigorously to uphold the law in this case -- and others when employers prey on vulnerable men and women. Substandard pay or working conditions for some workers affects all workplaces."

Blumenthal’s words were not an exaggeration. Last year in Connecticut alone, the state issued ten Stop Work orders against National Carpentry for not having proper workers compensation coverage on workers.

We Know and We Care

We’re the Carpenters Union. We Know and We Care. Do you?

Union Carpenters picket, leaflet, banner and demonstrate in other ways to promote decent standards in the construction industry. We talk to nonunion carpenters and contractors as well as developers every day. It’s what we do. When it comes to what’s going on, We know.

We go out and try to raise awareness because we believe all carpenters should be respected, whether they belong to a union or not. We do this to support nonunion workers and educate those not in the industry, but impacted by it. We care.

We talk to people in the industry about the conditions they face. What do we often find?
--Workers are paid cash or effectively under the table, with no taxes paid.
-- Many are not paid well, or even what they’re promised. Sometimes they are not paid at all.
--Few, if any, have health care coverage or are offered retirement benefits.
--In one of the most dangerous industries, many are denied basic safety protections or legally required workers’ compensation coverage.

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

We’re here for them. But we’re also here for you. Why should you care?
When workers don’t have health care: we all pay extra when they are sick.
When pension and retirement benefits are not offered: we all end up paying more when they are old.
When taxes are not collected: we all pay more for the fire, police, schools and roads.
When workers compensation coverage is not provided: We all pay more when workers get hurt.

We believe that consistent downward pressure on wages, health care benefits and retirement benefits is detrimental to the quality of construction by pushing talented, skilled people out of the field. To the extent that it lowers the bottom line for construction at all, it results in a shorter lifespan for a building. That means maintenance and rebuilding is more extensive and sooner.

Have you ever witnessed a wrong? Have you ever had a wrong done to you, but felt powerless to do anything about it? Did you wish there was another person or group that understood and would stand with you, speak out and say "stop this"? That’s what we’re doing. Because we know and we care, we can not look away and be silent.

Now you know. Please care. If you don’t care, at least understand why we’re here.