Reshaping the Construction Industry

Workers who helped build the new international terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta were finally paid thousands of dollars which they were owed in overtime pay.  In the television report, investigative reporter Richard Belcher of Channel 2 News in Atlanta, Georgia explained that the workers were misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees, and were given a “ten ninety nine” form instead of a W-2 by their employer, Colt’s Drywall Inc.The injustice came to light when some of the employees informed Jimmy Gibbs, a troubleshooter for the carpenters’ union, that they were not being paid as employees.  Gibbs alerted the US Department of Labor who then discovered that not only were the workers not having taxes withheld from their pay, but they were also working more

The issues of Wage Theft and payroll fraud were highlighted in Houston, Texas last week when two leaders on the issues spoke before the Houston City Council.  This was part of the effort to garner support against those contractors and business owners who continue to cheat their workforce by not paying them overtime, benefits or by misclassifying them as Independent Contractors and not paying unemployment insurance, federal income taxes or medical benefits.Kim Bobo, Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice and author of the book Wage Theft in America, and Stan Marek, CEO of the Marek Family of Companies based in Houston, aimed a shining a bright light on those abuses with their testimonies, and made the Council members aware of how Wage Theft can occur on their construction projects even though they might not be aware of it.Cindy Gutowski, a worker in the floral industry, testified about her losses when she was defrauded of overtime pay.  Kim Bobo testified about how widespread the issue is across the United States in a number of businesses, and Stan Marek spoke of the impact of the issue on the construction industry in Houston and around Texas.  They each spoke of losses of wages, competitiveness and taxes and how those actions were damaging to workers, their families and our communities.  

Kerrick Whisenant, the president of the American Subcontractors Association, in his February newsletter to the membership, told of a meeting recently held in his offices with a group of ASA leaders who were asked to take a look into the future of the industry.  This is his account of that meeting and the findings.“The ASA Rap Council – ASA ‘s ‘think tank’ that develops innovative ideas for consideration by the association – took up the difficult but fascinating challenge of ‘peering into the future’ last month while meeting at my company’s offices in Alabama.  Here is what members of the council foresee for the next 10 years:Differences between high-end and low-end specialty trade contractors increase, as high-end is quality/skill-driven and low-end is price-driven.

The view from Interstate 45 is changing as the new ExxonMobil campus aka Project Delta and the nearby future retail and residential development Springwoods Village take shape.Up until last fall, the intersections where Spring Crossing Blvd led away to the east from the freeway’s northbound and southbound frontage roads were controlled with stop signs.  Now that Springwoods Village Pkwy leads west from that point, and appears to be one of the main entrance routes to the future ExxonMobil complex, four-way traffic lights are already operating.