Texas’s capital city is economically booming in a way that’s almost unlike any other city in America, largely because of the region's technology industries. Now, it is time for Austin to take the next step to ensure that the high-wage, high-tech economy also supports the creation of quality blue-collar jobs for working families. That’s the argument laid out by Gregorio Casar, one of the “junkyard dogs” at the Workers Defense Project and now a candidate for Austin City Council.
In a marathon hearing held by Texas lawmakers on the issues of workers’ compensation and worker misclassification, representatives from businesses and labor came together to talk about what could be done to level the playing field for ethical companies and improve the lives of middle-class Texans. But, there was also significant pushback from certain business interests which would like to keep things as they are.The House Business and Industry Committee listened to about six hours of testimony on both issues, which some would argue are inextricably linked. The House is holding hearings on various issues right now in preparation for the next regular legislative session, which will begin in January of 2015. The point is to help shape whatever legislation might be filed next year.
April 30, 2014
Workers who have been cheated out of their wages by unscrupulous employers in Houston are fighting back now that they have the tools to do so under the city's new wage theft ordinance. The city has received its first official complaints under the new law from some workers who say they were not receiving overtime pay that they are owed.Via the Houston Chroncle's Lomi Kriel:“Thirteen workers on Tuesday filed the first complaint under a new Houston ordinance aimed at preventing companies from stealing workers' wages.“The workers, with the assistance of the nonprofit Faith and Justice Worker Center, filed documents with the city's inspector general alleging that their employer, Bradley Demolition and Construction, refused to pay them overtime. They say the company also failed to provide tax forms.
April 23, 2014
A Texas House Committee has scheduled a hearing on the issue of worker misclassification and what more the state may need to do to combat the problem that is particularly rampant in the construction industry. The House Business and Industry Committee will take testimony on the implementation of a limited crackdown that was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry last year. The hearing is slated for Tuesday, April 22 at the state capitol.The official announcement of the public hearing says that the panel of lawmakers will be looking into “the issue of misclassifying employees as independent contractors on workers, employers, income tax withholding, and the unemployment insurance system. And the review of current statutory deterrents, including those required by HB 2015.” That bill just took effect on the first of this year.As our readers are well aware, the practice of employee misclassification happens when companies pretend their workers are independent subcontractors when, by law, those workers should be properly classified as employees.
April 10, 2014
The problem of human trafficking in construction and other industries was on full display at the American Jewish Committee's Immigration Summit 3.0 on March 18 at Rice University in Houston. The panel discussion – featuring Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Letty Ashworth from Delta Airlines and your humble correspondent – focused on what government and business leaders can do to combat the problem.No matter how anyone spins it, comprehensive immigration reform is a huge part of the solution. Law enforcement must be enabled to go after those who are actually doing harm to others and not the wider group of people whom many are mad at for being undocumented.The people who end up as victims of human trafficking may not be who you think. While there are far too many women and children caught up in the criminal enterprise, there are also very many men who are trafficked for their labor.
April 03, 2014
Some lawmakers raised questions this week about whether school districts around Texas have the kind of resources they'll need to fully implement sweeping education reforms signed into law last year. Starting this fall, students will have several new options for which path they'd like to take to earn a high school diploma. But whether those kids and their parents will receive adequate guidance up front about their choices has become a point of contention.The flexibility in graduation plans was part of a broader education reform package that got a “yes” vote from all of the 181 members of the Texas Legislature.
March 27, 2014
While some believe education reforms passed by the Texas Legislature last year offer the right alternatives for students who may want to go to college or immediately enter a career, there are others who will push to make changes as soon as possible. They'll get their chance over the next few weeks. The Texas House and Senate have scheduled separate hearings for later this month and in April to take testimony on implementation of the sweeping education reforms that were signed into law by Governor Rick Perry under House Bill 5.As we've told you, this is a bit of a “fight within the family” because the business community is not of one mind on this issue. There are those who think the changes went much too far and relaxed standards in a way that will be detrimental to students and the future workforce. Others, specifically those in the construction industry and other fields that need skilled workers, say students will now be afforded a broad range of options that will be mutually beneficial to those students as well as their future employers.
March 20, 2014
The Construction Citizen team has long held the position that any good faith effort to try to close the skills gap in America should be welcomed with open arms. The players on this landscape are as politically diverse as Glenn Beck on the right and now President Obama and some of his supporters on the left. Naturally, any initiative proposed by any politician is going to be met with some skepticism. But if there’s a chance the federal government can aid employers in finding the kind of skilled workers they need – and therefore place those workers in jobs that better their families and communities – then we are encouraged to see it.A push by the Obama Administration to reform the way the government engages in job training is underway, led by Vice President Joe Biden. His responsibility for overseeing this was announced during the State of the Union address, and since then has been met with a mix of skepticism as well as hope. The order signed by the president has been billed as an “across-the-board” reform review designed to make those programs more “job-driven”. Imagine that.
March 13, 2014
An unfortunate reality of the industry we cover is that there are many instances of worker abuse. We have documented much of this on Construction Citizen over the years. Terrible working conditions, worker misclassification, lack of health insurance and workers’ compensation insurance, denial of overtime pay and other problems honestly keep me up at night. But, I was only fairly recently alerted to just how prevalent human trafficking is in construction.Houston is ground zero for human trafficking in the United States and for that reason, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Bridging America Task Force will present its third immigration summit on March 18 at 8 am at Rice University.
February 26, 2014
Workers' rights advocates in Austin are ramping up a push to hold Gables Residential accountable for the kind of working conditions that are reportedly prevalent on many of the Atlanta-based company's jobsites. Led by organizers with the Workers Defense Project (WDP), about 200 people marched to the Gables Park Plaza in Austin on Saturday to demand safer conditions and better treatment.In addition – and this is key – a worker the day before filed a lien on the property as a way to recover unpaid overtime. The lien, of course, is a legal claim for unpaid wages that holds the owner legally responsible. Heriberto Mendoza was a painter on the unfinished Gables Park Tower project who told Workers Defense that Flores Painting Services, a subcontractor on the Gables site, has failed to pay him overtime since he began work on the project in early January.
February 19, 2014
