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0911_UndergroundFight_04
The carpenters union is known for staging aggressive, long-running demonstrations against contractors over labor disputes.
// Photo by Anthony Pidgeon

In response to the problem, the state in 2009 granted new training and collaborative powers to a “compliance team” of investigators from the departments of employment, revenue and consumer and business services as well as BOLI. The compliance team shares information to crack down on the underground economy and restore lost tax revenues. As with the union officials, Avakian says the state does not investigate whether or not the workers are undocumented. “It’s irrelevant from our standpoint,” he says. “If a worker is on the job, they are entitled to get the legal wage that they’ve earned.”

Avakian says he often hears complaints from contractors who play by the rules only to get beat out by cheaters.

Mike Salsgiver, executive director of the Oregon-Columbia branch of the Association of General Contractors, says the underground economy is “not an issue of concern to our members. We’ve put a lot of resources into making sure our members have the tools to comply with the law.”

Other contractors such as Mike Roach, president of Western Partitions, say they are extremely familiar with the problem, and sick of it. Western Partitions is a Portland-based contractor with offices in Eugene, Spokane and Seattle. A few years ago the firm had about 1,200 people working on various sites throughout the Northwest; now that’s down to about 500.

“We bid on prevailing-wage jobs and get beat by substantial dollars,” Roach says. “There’s no way they’re not cheating. If they’re not paying taxes, workers’ comp or benefits, they have a huge edge on you.Some of these people are in it for 10 bucks an hour. I was making 10 bucks an hour in the trades back in the ’70s. You just can’t compete with that.”

Most of the Latino workers Sanchez talks to on job sites around Portland are earning about $12 an hour, down from $15 a few years ago. Union apprentices in Oregon start at around $18 per hour, with benefits; with experience wages and benefits rise to over $42 per hour.
 

Comments   

 
Donny1020
0 #1 Really — Donny1020 2011-09-06 13:11:18
No doubt that some of the work that the Carpenters perform is of value but it needs to be pointed out that:
the carpenters not only shut down one Local in Portland but all Locals throughout Oregon, Washington, Montana, etc.. There was a claim of finical mismanagement with our Portland Local but these charges were never substantiated and were simply an excuse to throw Pete Savage out of office. If those charges were true why did the Carpenters fail to turn the information over to the Department of Labor as required by law?

As for paying workers in cash, if one looks at the PNWRCC's LM2 reports you will not find one of people hired to protest listed as required by law. These employees of the Regional Council are required under the Landgrum Griffen Act to be report, the only way around that is to pay them in cash.

Over the past five years the Regional Council has been the only labor group cited by the Department of Labor for failing to pay their employees minimum wage and overtime. The Regional Council also settled out of court with Hoffman Construction for unlawful coercion and intimidation. The Carpenters also settled out of court with another Northwest developer in Tacoma Washington for more than $10 million for illegal intimidation and coercion. This is money that came directly out of the members pockets to pay for the mistakes of hired staff such as Tweedy,Little, Prindle, and Matta.

The Regional Council routinely cuts sweetheart deals behind the backs of the membership with employers allowing employers to circumvent the standard area agreement. The majority of these workers are Latino and looked on as second class members in the Regional Council.

Most recently the Carpenters, and their partners the Operators, developed a scheme in conjunction with high profile employers to break the Longshore Union's strike in Longview Washington. The Carpenters and Operators are planing to use this favor to Kewit/General to out maneuver and minimize the Cement Finisher and the Laborer in next years negotiations with the AGC. The Carpenters master plan is eliminate all other groups leaving the Carpenter as the exclusive organization in the construction field.

The members no longer have a say, we no longer have the right to vote on Business Representatives and when we turned down our contract, Doug Tweedy and John Little were at this meeting, we were told that our vote didn't mean anything and that "leadership" would be telling us what's best from now on.

So this is the real story, you won't get the truth from the staff because truth is no longer in their vocabulary.
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freddie
0 #2 Give us a break UBC HYPOCRITS — freddie 2011-09-07 08:58:37
Most of us in the carpenters union are not working and you mention in this article about your passion.Where is your passion for the membership? Why do you guys give deals different to our agreement to other cheater employers that hurt our signatory companies? Why have you abandoned your employers and your membership? We are tired of guys like Sanchez acting like he actually cares when all he cares about is taking orders and keeping his job. We are tired of guys like Matta saying he is passionate about cheaters and crooks when off the record he would cut a deal with them in a heartbeat. We are tired and our numbers are growing. Even though our union, which really isn't a union anymore, has taken the democracy away from us we have options. The option many of us have been talking about is the option that our brother's and sister's in New York and Jersey have done, start are own carpenters union. We are not proud union carpenters anymore and we are ashamed of our leadership. This article makes us sick.
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Short Nailer
0 #3 Carpenter Union a joke — Short Nailer 2011-09-07 10:06:29
Interesting comments above. The Carpenters union will gladly hold out their hand for my union dues and they have no work, dont promote themselves and are just "pre-vail" [blocked]es. Always want a prevail job..... pathetic.

Dont forget Eric Franklin.... clueless in Seattle. The article is typical "media" BS just look behind the scenes and connect the dots. They should interview carpenters who aren't suck-asses !!!
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Squished Like A Pancake
0 #4 Wage and Hour Steamroller — Squished Like A Pancake 2011-09-19 13:45:12
Not pertaining to the union or prevailing wage, there appears to be a lack of supervision into the investigative practices of the W&H Division. In my opinion, employers are guilty until proven innocent. If it is a small business, especially in these troubled times, most likely cannot afford to hire an attorney to prove the company is innocent. As a state agency, the bureau employees are public servants. Yeah, right. Again, in my opinion, W&H employees are on a money-hungry power trip and are rude, ruthless, and out of control. One, and only one, person employed there was civil and actually listened. This person told me, in regard to the investigations unit authority to issue a formal complaint, "(they) are supposed to have investigated the claim first." , There is more, MUCH more. Once again,it is my opinion th system has run-amok.
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