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.”
Timm said it’s not just the people at the bottom who suffer when these jobs are treated as menial tasks instead of careers of integrity. “There's a huge cost for everyone in our society. There's a huge social cost when employers are misclassifyng their workers, when they're not providing workers’ compensation. It's not just that that's a money-saving tactic. That cost is being pushed over to the taxpayers,” Timm said.
Holland is hopeful, but warns “By the time the folks that don't ‘get it’ figure it out, we'll all be suffering the impact.”
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