In a move that a key lawmaker called “unprecedented” and “unmistakable,” The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has unanimously voted to press the legislature to crack down on employers who commit payroll fraud.The commission is asking the legislature to impose penalties on companies that intentionally misclassify their employees when they get government contracts.Misclassification of employees happens when a company pays a person as a contractor when that person actually, by law, should be paid as an hourly employee. This is done to avoid payroll taxes and significantly cut their costs. Federal law defines what kind of worker can be classified as an employee versus an independent contractor. Dozens of other states, Oklahoma is a particularly strong example, have passed laws to deal with this.For the past ten years, Workforce Commissioner Ronny Congleton has pushed for the commission to take a stance on misclassification, often called payroll fraud, but until now his proposals have never gotten any traction.
There are certain captains of this industry who truly get what's happening with the workforce and what needs to be done moving forward.I was lucky enough to be able to visit with Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing President and CEO John Kafka. He's not only running one of the companies that invests in its workforce, but he's getting involved in the C3 movement to help fix the problems across the industry.“To look at where we are now, you need to step back and look at where we were 30 years ago. The fact is, we are not in a much different situation in terms of wages and working conditions than we were 30 years ago,” Kafka said. He pointed to the example of someone who does caulking work who makes the exact same amount now that they did decades ago
November 28, 2012
Construction Citizen has long been focused on presenting the skilled trades as an outstanding option for young people to consider as a career. There are serious policy discussions now at the Texas Capitol and elsewhere about whether a blue collar track for kids should be re-emphasized in an education system that has become more and more focused on sending all students to four year institutions.It's a nuanced argument, and I wanted to present you with real perspective from an expert who understands both sides of the debate. So, I sat down in Washington with John Schmitt, Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who's written extensively about what he calls “the college conundrum”.“We have to think about what the purpose of college is,” Schmitt said.
November 26, 2012
With open arms, ethical construction companies are welcoming veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who need civilian jobs now that their service to their country has been completed.For example, thousands of veterans showed up for a job fair in Atlanta last week where the whole idea was to match these men and women with the kinds of careers they’re either already qualified for or could easily get training for. The Macon Telegraph reported that “around 5,000 job seekers would visit the Georgia Jobs For Veterans Career Expo by the time it ended in the afternoon”.“It was a no-brainer as far as the skilled labor shortage that we're seeing here,” said Don Cerlanek with MEMCO Solutions, Inc in Atlanta. “It makes total sense for us to recruit veterans who are interested in a skilled trade.”Cerlanek said he was a little surprised that there weren’t more construction companies at the job fair for veterans, which was organized in part by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s Office of Workforce Development. “I don't know where the disconnect is, as far as why more general contractors and subcontractors weren’t there.
November 14, 2012
Leaders in the construction industry told the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) that the state needs to get tough on companies that cheat the system by misclassifying their employees. Construction Citizen has reported extensively on the problem, also known as payroll fraud, and now state leaders are starting to make moves toward correcting it.During a hearing, Workforce Commissioner Ronny Congleton asked that the commission press the legislature to, in a general sense, crack down on misclassification. “We need to bring the rule of law to this enormous underground economy in Texas,” Congleton said. “We have to do something. Doing nothing drives honest employers out of the business because they cannot compete.”Commissioner Tom Pauken said he couldn’t go that far. “This is a serious problem. I respect the idea behind the proposal. But, it’s so broad that it concerns me,” he said.After raising that objection, Pauken was able to convince his fellow commissioners to join him in unanimously asking lawmakers to prohibit construction companies that win government contracts from misclassifying. The specific proposal has yet to take shape, but Pauken said current law could be tweaked
November 13, 2012
Leaders from business and workers’ advocates sat down recently in Washington to talk about the road ahead when it comes to creating a sustainable workforce in the construction industry. Following a 90 minute panel at the Aspen Institute, Mike Holland, Division President for Marek Brothers Systems in Houston, and Emily Timm, Policy Analyst with Workers Defense in Austin, agreed they can combine their efforts for the good of both industry and workers.Holland believes the profession of construction craft work has to be elevated. “It just hit me when were having the conversation: as a former craft worker and a proud employer, it's a sad state of affairs,” Holland said. “[Employers] need to treat their construction craft employees the same way they would treat any other employee.”
November 12, 2012
As Pat Kiley recently wrote about in his recent series Construction Craftwork as a Career, construction craftwork has seen a decline in Houston and around the country over the last few decades for multiple reasons. One huge problem is the deterioration of the employer-employee relationship that's been spurred by the growing problem of misclassifcation of workers as independent subcontractors. Wage theft by unethical employers also makes it very difficult to attract young people into the skilled trades.On Construction Citizen's recent trip to Washington, I had a chance to sit down with Christine Owens, Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project, to talk about what can realistically be done to fix some of these problems.“I think any job has the potential to be a good job,” Owens said.
November 08, 2012
At Construction Citizen, we’re always looking for examples of communities being made better by creative thinkers in the construction industry. One program that's been touted as a shining example is called Our House.During my recent trip to Washington DC, I had a chance to sit down with former Maryland State Senator Chris McCabe. He’s helping get the word out about Our House and what they do for young men who find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Many would describe them as “throwaways”, but McCabe says the people who run Our House want nothing more than to help juvenile offenders find their way back to a life of integrity by introducing them to the skilled trades.Set on a 140 acre farm in Maryland, the 20-year-old program puts these young men in a situation many of them have never experienced: a structured day. They learn carpentry skills for 8 hours each day. At night, they attend classes as they prepare to get their GED’s.“What we’re trying to do is teach them a skill but that’s not the end game,” McCabe said. “The real
November 06, 2012
Following the bold prediction that housing starts will be around 1.6 million in the next couple years, we at Construction Citizen thought it would be interesting to explore what's being done to ensure that there will be enough skilled workers to meet that demand. What follows is part of our conversation with John Courson, President and CEO of the Home Builders Institute.Braddock: With housing starts predicted to get back to “normal” levels of 1.6 million annually by 2016 at the latest, what is HBI doing to ensure that there will be enough skilled workers to meet demand?Courson: Home builders are planning to hire more workers as they see improvements in the market, but they are concerned about worker skill levels. In fact, according to data HBI released in July about the construction labor market collected from NAHB’s HMI survey of home builders, 41 percent plan to hire skilled workers during the next year, but 62 percent of home builders have concerns about workers needing training before they are ready to begin their work.
November 01, 2012
A dramatic scene involving an unsecured crane is playing out this evening in New York City as Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on the East Coast.The crane was being used to erect One 57, a luxury high-rise near Central Park which will include residential and hotel space. The New York Daily News quotes a Bronx man as saying “The crane was waving in the wind. Then next it started to break up. You could hear the crunching of metal.”Reuters and other news agencies with reporters on the ground in New York are reporting that evacuations have been ordered around the site where the crane is dangling after breaking in half. CNN posted this iReport video from one of their viewers which shows the crane swinging in the wind.This website, The Good Men Project, talked with a 7-year-old stormwatcher in New York who was terrified:
October 29, 2012
