Staff and supporters of SER - Jobs for Progress gathered at the Houstonian this past Sunday night to celebrate the organization's 48th anniversary. Dignitaries including Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, Representative Al Green, and others looked on as famed immigration attorney Charles Foster and Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman were honored during the gala.Organizers said the event raised at least $175,000 for the group that provides education, training, and employment services that empower individuals, businesses, and communities. It's an investment that produces an 800% return in the local economy, organizers said.Justice Guzman, a SER alumnus and the first Latina to be elected statewide in Texas, told the crowd that there's simply no way she'd be where she is today without having received job training from the group. Guzman pointed out that her life was changed “as a kid from Houston's East End”.
University Calls the Allegations “Concerning”Students attending classes at the University of Texas at Austin this fall have a chance to “Live Big. Live Better” at some new luxury apartments on campus, but they might be shocked to hear the stories of workers who built those apartments. The website for the 2400 Nueces Apartments, which were completed this summer, proudly says a student can “share your life with an exciting community of friends while enjoying one of Austin's newest first-class highrise communities.” Apartments are available for less than $800 per person. Those prices are made possible through terrible mistreatment of workers, according to workers and their advocates.Complaints have been filed with both the U.S. Department of Labor as well as the City of Austin, the Workers Defense Project said. Conversations with workers who helped build the apartments reveal they often weren't allowed to stop and get a drink of water even when the temperatures in Austin soared over 100 degrees.
September 04, 2013
As I continue to travel around Texas to visit with construction company owners who are disgusted with some of the bad actors in their industry, I’m struck by just how candid many are willing to be. Their conviction comes through in testimony before the Texas Legislature and in interviews.My latest conversation was with the President of Texas Fifth Wall Roofing Systems Inc., Todd Hewitt, who also chairs the Texas Construction Association’s board. Hewitt speaks modestly about his company, which does business all over Central Texas. “Work has come back. We had a little slow spot last year, and we're peddling as fast as we can to keep up now,” he said.He said the actions taken by the legislature this year to crack down on worker misclassification are a good start but much more needs to be done. “There's been a lack of consequences, and that's what's led us to this situation we're in right now,” Hewitt said. “There are a few contractors who are really prepared to speak on the issues.
August 27, 2013
Part of our mission at Construction Citizen is to offer construction executives up-to-date information about best practices and how to be in compliance with the laws and regulations that are constantly being updated. That's why we're excited to announce that Employment Law Attorney Vianei Lopez Braun will be joining us to offer monthly updates on what's happening with employment law. In addition to her status as a partner at Buck Keenan, LLP in Houston, Braun is also a regular speaker at Texas Business Conferences around the state.
August 15, 2013
Key players in the Construction Career Collaborative (C3) met this past week to talk about the next steps for the group, as word about C3 spreads around the state and the nation. Among the biggest developments during the conference was the unveiling of the online database that will contain the safety and craft training information for workers. It’s a system that will ultimately be used to ensure that a perfectly tailored workforce is on each and every C3 jobsite. Under the system, workers will be assigned a C3 identification number that will allow for an instant search of each employee’s level of craft and safety training. “What follows the employee is that information, not who their employer is,” said C3 Executive Director Katrina Kersch. She said the employee’s compensation level would also not be available through that system. It is solely focused on the workers’ qualifications.Some have expressed concerns that the database could put personal information at risk. That’s because when the workers are entered into the system, their Social Security number is used as part of
August 07, 2013
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram delved into the issue of worker misclassification this Sunday with an extensive piece about the steps that the Texas Legislature has put the state on track to implement next year. As we've reported, Gov. Rick Perry has signed a targeted crackdown on the misclassification of workers, which is also known as payroll fraud. But, as we've chronicled here, lawmakers took a pass on enacting a much broader bill that would have gone much further in addressing the problem.The Star-Telegram's Yamil Berard tells the story of workers on a federally-funded housing project:...as each Friday rolled around, the drywallers on the $31 million Buckeye Trail Commons project went home without one.The men likely will never get paid.
July 31, 2013
Despite concerns from some council members about a “cleaner process” for going after employers who cheat workers out of their pay, the chairman of the Houston City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday pledged an “aggressive” timetable to enacting a tough wage theft ordinance.Committee Chairman Ed Gonzalez held a public hearing on the proposal that included testimony from workers who have been cheated and a construction executive who says he’s “ashamed” that the practice of stealing wages often happens in his industry. Gonzalez said the concerns “are not falling on deaf ears”. He said his office has worked with the city attorney to craft something that is workable and will make headway, even if the proposal might need some changes before it can be adopted. “It’s not good enough to say you can’t stop everyone so you should do nothing,” Gonzalez said. “We have to address this.”
July 24, 2013
We've been telling you about the problem of wage theft for years and it sounds now like the Houston City Council is getting serious about it. Tomorrow, the council's public safety committee will take testimony on the proposal to go after those unscrupulous employers who steal the labor of their workers. Laura Perez-Boston, Director of the Fe y Justicia Worker Center in Houston, is trying to rally support for the city cracking down on this problem. “We have a very narrow window of time to get this ordinance passed and your voice is crucial,” she said in a note to supporters.
July 22, 2013
During the battle over a crackdown on worker misclassification in the Texas Legislature this year, I was struck by some of the testimony from business owners who had never been previously politically involved. As the process played out, one thing that was clearly happening was the emergence of new leaders in the fight against what many have called a "scourge" in the industry.One of those who stood out in particular was Michael Beeter, CEO of BRI Roofing & Sheet Metal in Fort Worth.
July 18, 2013
The Construction industry, like much of the rest of the country, now turns its attention to the House of Representatives as sweeping immigration reform moves to the lower chamber where Republicans control the agenda. As we've reported, the industry was working hard to persuade senators to lift the arbitrarily low cap on construction workers. The Washington Post now reports that they've lost the battle:"While industry advocates say the companies will need to hire more than 200,000 new workers per year, under the Senate bill the number of foreign-worker construction visas can never exceed 15,000 per year.The setback, unusual for an otherwise powerful special-interest lobby, reflects the political tightrope being walked by each party as leaders try to pass an immigration overhaul while balancing concerns from influential skeptics.
July 10, 2013
