August 2009

Texas Local Helps Expose Corrupt Contractors
index.html Home    Print    Email

Go to www.ibew.org

David Adamson, the business manager of Austin, Texas, Local 520 and president of the Austin Central Labor Council, already knew that the nonunion electricians in his jurisdiction—mostly Hispanic immigrants—were often exploited by unscrupulous contractors, putting downward pressure on the wages and working conditions of union members.

So when the Workers Defense Project, an organization that promotes fair treatment for such workers, contacted Adamson asking for his help in surveying electricians about their pay and working conditions, he assigned two organizers to the project.

Local 520 organizers Philip Lawhon and Juan Marez helped assemble data that is cited in Building Austin-Building Injustice, an alarming report released in June on working conditions in Austin's construction industry. And, true to the mission of the IBEW, the organizers have recruited some of the workers they surveyed into the union.

Directly after the study's release, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the agency would increase the number of inspectors assigned to workplaces in Texas, one of the report's recommendations.

Austin has quickly become the second fastest-growing urban area in the country. But construction workers have not prospered at the same rate as workers in other industries.

The report finds that 45 percent of surveyed construction workers earned poverty level wages. One in five workers reported being denied payment for hours worked. Seventy-six percent of construction workers lack health insurance; 81 percent are without pensions. Sixty-four percent lacked basic health and safety training. In 2007, approximately 140 construction workers died in Texas, more than any other state in the country.

Jointly funded by the Workers Defense Project and the University of Texas, the construction report will be useful far beyond the workplace. The defense project and the AFL-CIO are incorporating facts from the report in a draft ordinance to be introduced before the Austin City Council setting tougher standards on wages and working conditions for construction employers.

The research report has helped point out the differences between fair contractors and unfair employers, says Adamson. Unscrupulous contractors often misclassify workers as independent contractors instead of employees, thus stripping them of their rights to overtime pay, workers' compensation coverage and benefits while shifting the burden of payroll taxes to workers.

Exposing contractor abuse has stimulated activism that benefits organized labor. "When local clergy hold candlelight vigils outside the home of corrupt contractors, people take notice," says Adamson. Several vigils have been organized after contractors have failed to pay substantial sums for work performed.

"The Workers Defense Project has done amazing work," says Adamson. Project advocates, he says, have successfully encouraged some of the workers they assist to agree not to take jobs painting or installing drywall below a certain rate of pay. These workers are often more cohesive than long-time members of organized labor, says Adamson.

"We will rely upon David Adamson's expertise in construction as we work on policy recommendations flowing from the construction report," says Lauren Cox, research coordinator of the Austin-based Workers Defense Project which has, in addition to its work with the IBEW, helped steer workers to the Sheet Metal Workers and the Ironworkers.

As the membership of Local 520 grows, more immigrant workers are starting their electrical careers as construction electricians or construction wiremen. The local currently has 250 members in those classifications. Exposing contractor abuse continues to grow the local.

Local 520 recently stripped 10 electricians out of one nonunion shop. "They were treated so badly that they came over to us as soon as we asked them," says Adamson. The union's safety and training programs are key to growth.

Esteban Rocha spent years working as a nonunion electrician after arriving in the U.S. from Mexico 26 years ago. Rocha, a U.S. citizen, joined Local 520 two years ago.

"I now feel safer on the jobsite working for a union contractor," he says. Just as importantly, his signatory employer helps him develop his electrical skills. Rocha has completed seven of eight courses offered by the union and has also finished the local's eight-week solar photovoltaic course.




Left: Welgin Mendita, Right: Juan Lopez