Kim Bobo, founder and executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice, talked with Construction Citizen blogger Jim Kollaer during her recent visit to Houston. Kollaer asked...
Social Responsibility
Sophisticated project owners and developers pick premier contractors who are principled, are socially responsible and develop their workforce. They know that contractors who build lasting, high quality employee relationships and career paths for their craftspeople consistently deliver the best value and results. Their practices produce tax revenue and stability to communities while also lowering social service burdens.
Knowledgeable owners and developers avoid using contractors who are are unprincipled and who use misclassified or undocumented workers who are often paid in cash and lack the skills, long-term commitment and support necessary for producing top quality work. They know these second-rate practices not only lead to poor results and hidden costs but also have social consequences in their communities including uncollected taxes, increased social services costs and lower incomes.
What do socially responsible contractors get in return for being responsible?
Do "socially indifferent" or "socially irresponsible" owners, developers and contractors in your community face consequences to their reputation and business?
Editor's note: Since this article was originally published, HoustonWorks has gone out of business. The new YouthBuild grant is operated by SER-Jobs for Progress.Last month...
Today was Tax Day for millions of Americans, but not for some in our industry. The current situation with our broken immigration system and the smuggling of workers into the...
Previously we told you about a lecture at Texas A&M University about Ethical Dilemmas in Construction Industry Labor Practices. Following the February 1 lecture,...
Jim Stevenson, CEO of Bellows Construction, talked recently about his view on the Ethics Matrix, which is a way to explain what we consider to be right versus wrong as a society...
Over 90 business leaders from over 65 companies as varied as McGraw-Hill, Campbell Soup, Duke Energy, Credit Suisse, Bloomberg, Quest Diagnostics, Hasbro and the National...
In part 2 of their investigation which we told you about last week, Randy Travis, a reporter with Fox 5 in Atlanta, follows the money on the use of undocumented workers. In...
When someone tells you a lie are you offended? Do you wonder whether they feel wrong for telling you a lie? What makes something of importance right or wrong? Is...
Interfaith Worker Justice declared November 18, 2010 a National Day of Action Against Wage Theft, and helped organize actions in 50 cities across the United States. ...
