Carpenter's Union introduces legislative priorities - which include overdue action on wage theft
"You should not be able to knowingly steal from Rhode Island workers," said State Senator Meghan Kallman. "That should not be allowed."
Carpenters Union Local 330 and elected leaders marked the beginning of the 2024 legislative session at their offices in Warwick by introducing legislation to address pervasive wage theft, workplace safety issues, and the need for supporting minority-owned businesses.
The event featured the introduction of the Construction Industry Paycheck Recovery Act (aka, “Up the Chain” legislation). Under this legislation, workers employed by a subcontractor will have the legal right to sue the prime contractor for any wage theft.
“Last year's felony wage theft bill and this year's Construction Industry Paycheck Recovery Act [House Bill 7054] are the two most important pieces of legislation we can pass to protect construction workers from nefarious, shadowy subcontractors and create a level playing field for law-abiding contractors,” said Carpenters Local 330 Political Coordinator Ben Branchaud. “Here in our state, the construction industry paycheck recovery legislation allows construction workers who have been ripped off by corrupt, fly-by-night subcontractors to recover their stolen wages directly from the prime contractor on the job.
“This is already possible on public work projects here in Rhode Island. This bill shifts the responsibility of recovering stolen wages from the exploited worker to the contractor who allowed the unscrupulous subcontractor on their job site in the first place,” continued Branchaud. “The construction industry paycheck recovery bill creates for the victim a clear legal pathway, through the intentionally murky web of tiers of subcontractors above them, directly to the prime contractor who allowed that crime to happen on their job site.”
The Rhode Island Senate has twice passed a version of this bill. State Senator Meghan Kallman (Democrat, District 15, Pawtucket), who sponsored the bill, explains:
“Wage theft, as you all know, can take a lot of forms. It's difficult to know its full economic impact. The details that we have, according to the Economic Progress Institute, is that about $1 billion in stolen wages are recovered by authorities nationwide yearly. That's a lot. That's 1/14th of our state budget last year. The true figure is likely far higher because wage theft is often under-reported.
“That's billions of dollars taken away from working families, including our families, friends, neighbors, and children. Nobody should be able to do that. You should not be able to knowingly steal from Rhode Island workers. That should not be allowed.
“In this session, I'm proud to be reintroducing this bill, which will forever in my mind be branded as the up-the-chain bill, although it's now called the Paycheck Protection Recovery Act. The bill seeks to ensure that contractors are responsible for making sure all workers on their job sites are paid the wages that they have earned and that they deserve.
“Creating this mechanism for up-the-chain responsibility is another way to express our faith in the workers of our state as part of the social contract. We need to create laws that protect you guys. You guys are building, we're paying you for it, and we should be paying every cent that is owed.”
State Representative David Morales (Democrat, District 7, Providence) added that,
“…more often than not, at the national and local level, we have labor laws that are continuously abused because of loopholes. One of the most infamous loopholes that we've seen play out year after year is a subcontractor not adequately paying workers and thereafter not claiming any responsibility or liability. The same goes for the contractor. So at the end of the day, who is being held accountable?
“No one is being held accountable as it relates to subcontractors committing wage theft against workers, the hardworking men and women in this state engaged in construction projects. This is why we're introducing the Paycheck Protection Recovery Act for the third year in a row - to ensure that all of our workers are afforded the right to be paid properly for the number of hours that they have worked. And if there is a case where there's suspected wage theft, regardless of whether it is the contractor or the subcontractor in question, there will now be a process for accountability.”
When “you have gone without being paid, you’ve suffered and your loved ones suffered. The fact that we, as a state, have allowed this to play out year after year is just wrong. We made progress a few years ago when we enacted this type of law for public projects. Why is it that workers within private development aren't being given the same rights? Why is it that those contractors are allowed to play by different rules?
“Of course, we'll have some business interests try to interfere and stall this legislation, by saying that they're one of the ‘good guys.’ But the question is, if they are complying with the law, why is there an issue if we enact this?”
Other legislation that the Carpenter’s union will be advocating for is the Dignity at Work Act [which seeks to tackle workplace abuse and harassment], green school construction, and bolstering support for minority-owned businesses in the construction sector.
“I'll keep it brief because my fierce colleagues over here have already done the work of laying out why workers’ rights in Rhode Island are going to continue the momentum that 2023 set up and set the precedent for workers' rights across our nation,” said Senator Tiara Mack (Democrat, District 6, Providence). “We had huge and historic wins nationally, but Rhode Island deserves those same wins for all of our workers right here, right now in 2024.”
Senator Mack continued:
“We can capitalize on that movement by doing what my colleague said, coming to the State House and participating in those public meetings and having your voice heard, because the future of Rhode Island is dependent exclusively on the work of you all, whether it's building new schools and getting them up to code, or making sure that we have a housing stop that is safe, affordable, and that will meet the needs of Rhode Islanders for generations to come. That is the work of you all in this building and of the people that you all represent on the job site and beyond the job site.
“I'm proud to be someone who stands for workers' rights and who makes sure that the voices of the most marginalized folks are at the center of that. Good-paying union jobs give every person in my community a leg up, whether they are residents of Washington Park who for the first time can buy a home because they became, like my friend Juan Huertas, a carpenter who is now able to own a home in my community and provide for his family.
“That is the Rhode Island dream that should be possible for every single person and we cannot do that unless we hold everyone up the chain of command responsible, and also make sure we're prioritizing the building of new, affordable, safe, quality homes in every community. It is no secret that Rhode Island is facing a housing crisis and folks in the trades and the unions are the folks who are going to make sure that we are digging ourselves out of that crisis. They're the ones building homes with good union jobs and making sure they get the necessary salary that they deserve and that they work hard for.”
Here’s the video:
00:00 Carpenters Local 330 Political Coordinator Ben Branchaud
02:42 State Representative David Morales
05:16 State Senator Meghan Kallman
09:40 State Senator Tiara Mack
“I am very proud that we're introducing legislation that protects hardworking men and women in the construction industry and holds accountable those who willfully ignore unscrupulous and dangerous business practices and behavior on their job sites,” said Ben Branched. “Let's pass House Bill 7054. Let's pass it in the Senate. Let's eradicate wage theft, protect construction workers, clean up the industry, and create a just economy in Rhode Island.”