Thread: Immigrant carpenters owed thousands, union says

Immigrant carpenters owed thousands, union says


By Ian B. Murphy/Daily News staff
MetroWest Daily News
Posted May 20, 2011 @ 12:27 AM
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Between 20 and 30 carpenters working on five different PulteGroup construction sites in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including South Natick Hills in Natick and Ridgeway Townhouses in Northbridge, have filed complaints with the state attorney general's office, saying they're owed as much as $12,000 each.

The MetroWest Worker Center in Framingham and the New England Regional Council of Carpenters said they have worked on behalf of the framing carpenters, many of whom are immigrants, who were not paid by different subcontractors working for PulteGroup.

"We've tried to reach out to Pulte to get these guys paid," said Bert Durand, communications director for the carpenters' union. "They're owed several thousand dollars, and it's up to 30-odd complaints. They're extremely vulnerable. These aren't people that tend to have a lot of leverage. It's become a serious problem in the construction industry."

The MetroWest Worker Center, which advocates for immigrants and low-wage workers, is documenting the complaints. Diego Low, the center's coordinator, said the framing carpenters are owed anywhere from $1,500 to $12,000 each for work done on the Pulte sites in Natick, Northbridge, Braintree, Plymouth and in Wakefield, R.I., in January and February.

Low said there have been payment problems with at least three of PulteGroup's subcontractors, but checks have bounced from one in particular: Nunes Brothers Construction of Worcester.

"We, as MetroWest Workers Center, have filed 20 complaints against Nunes and Pulte, as joint employers," Low said.

A phone listing for Nunes Brothers could not be found.

PulteGroup Inc., which is based in the Detroit area and has operations in 28 states, said it hasn't received any complaints or citations from official channels, and that all of its subcontractors have been paid.

"PulteGroup considers a number of factors when selecting subcontractors to build its homes," said spokesman Eric Younan. "Each project is unique and contracts are awarded on merit to the companies that are the best fit for the job.

"PulteGroup is unaware of any complaints filed with any state or federal agencies, so obviously we are not in a position to make any comment on those allegations," he said.

A spokesman for Attorney General Martha Coakley said her office generally does not comment on complaints it investigates unless a citation is issued.

Durand said the union set up a strike line at the South Natick Hills development during the first week of May to support the workers, despite not being union members. Pulte is one of the biggest homebuilders in the country, Durand said, and isn't being "hoodwinked" at five job sites in New England.

"We don't think that Pulte can be so naive to think that this can be a legitimate operation," Durand said. "We think they're just turning a blind eye to it, and we'd like them to answer why these guys haven't been paid. We think it's shameful that they're building their company on the backs of unpaid workers."

The exploitation of immigrant workers is becoming more and more common as builders are pushed to lower their costs, Durand said, and it's an issue affecting the entire construction industry by ruining any semblance of a level playing field.

Low said he was thrilled that the carpenters' union has stepped in to help the workers he's been advocating for since the worker center opened in 2008.

"I think we can affect the conditions in the industry if we can forge alliances like these, and we're very grateful for their substantial help," Low said. "How do you compete against workers that aren't being paid? How do you maintain wages and working conditions when a sector of the work force is regularly a victim of wage theft? Vulnerable workers affect the working conditions for everyone. The more support they have to be able to defend their rights, the better off everyone in the industry is."

(Ian B. Murphy can be reached at 508-626-3964 or imurphy@wickedlocal.com.)
Copyright 2011 The MetroWest Daily News. Some rights reserved

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If they are here legally then they certainly do have a case and the company should pay AND be heavily fined. If they are Illegals then the company should be heavily fined and the workers deported...
Me thinks its the latter.

Either way this company should be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law...

Thats why they hired them in the first place cheap labor but illegals are getting wiser and wanting more pay that american should be getting.I hope all illegals rise up and demand more pay then the employers will see what cheap labor gets them.Then employers will jump on the band wagon wanting them deported.Illegals have already found out that the can get illegal papers fake ss#and names and get jobs in factory,construction hotel motel chains, resturants mechanic work,sells reps.and ect.not just farm work.They just do farm labor to get their foot in the door as soon as they can get false documents they leave the farms.My neighbor tells me all the time i cant keep them as soon as they get alittle money saved up they leave,i told him he is part of the problem bringing them in and robbing the system of our rights as americans.I CANT FIND HELP HE CRIES I said bull sh*t my boys 2 of them and 3 neighbor hood boys went to him several times wanting to help him in tobacco and hay and he turned them down because he had hispanics to do the work.There are workers that will work farm labor but farmers now dont want to pay fair wages.

Many, many illegals who work in the construction industry have nice new trucks and are paid well, especially the ones who run crews. It is a myth that all illegals work for low wages.

There are a lot of companies out threre who take advantage of black market labor I would love to see ice, irs, and other goverment crack down on this id be willing to bet that most unemployed americans would go back to work if our gov. Would enforce the laws reguarding employing illegals!