Hey Joe.... Monday September 20, 2010
Roofer accused of hiring illegal immigrants
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Labor representatives Monday asked the state School Building Authority to look into a roofing contractor's use of illegal immigrant workers, but company representatives said the allegations aren't true.

Steve White, director of Affiliated Construction Trades, told authority members Monday that Frye Roofing Inc. hires undocumented employees.

The Bluefield-based company has won several school roofing project bids in the last couple of years, including a $307,000 roof project at Randolph County's Midland Elementary in May, a $205,000 project at Stratton Elementary in Raleigh County in March and a $198,000 job at Putnam County's Buffalo Elementary in August 2009.

White said his organization conducted an investigation of the roofing company, obtaining 31 workers' Social Security numbers. He said 24 of those numbers didn't match up with the workers claiming them. Some of the numbers weren't on record, and some were for other people, even dead people.

White said one worker's number actually belonged to an 83-year-old woman. He wouldn't say how his group obtained the Social Security numbers or how he discovered some were allegedly fraudulent but said the information was "very hard to get."

White also alleges Frye Construction doesn't provide health insurance, pension or training programs and owes $113,000 for not paying its employees correct wages.

He said he has never spoken with company officials but some of his staffers have.

"They say they're 100-year-old West Virginia company, just trying to be successful, that local people don't want to work. That's basically it," he said.

J.C. Robinson, president of Frye Roofing, said White's allegations are incorrect.

"We, Frye Roofing, are a 110-year-old company in the state of West Virginia.

"We're the oldest roofer in West Virginia, and we think we're the best," he said. "We didn't get to be this old by trying to skirt issues.

"Clearly we have no clue what Social Security numbers he has or may have used. He may well be subject to legal action should he actually have gotten those Social Security numbers because that's protected information.

"I don't want to call him a liar by any means, but what he is saying is not factual," Robinson said.

He said the Division of Labor concluded an investigation of Frye Roofing earlier this year and didn't find any illegal workers.

"DOL had their Social Security numbers and verified them through the process of their investigation and all of them were fine," Robinson said. "I suspect DOL has better information and better means to verify those things. We've been through that process and passed with flying colors."

Robinson said his company and the labor division were at odds a couple of years ago, when the two parties were at a "misunderstanding about what we should be paying our people."

"The division believes everybody on roof should be paid same wage, regardless of their responsibilities," he said.

Rather than "do battle" with the division, Robinson said Frye decided to pay back wages. He said the company also provides pension and health insurance programs for workers.

Mark Manchin, the building authority's director, asked White if he shared his Social Security number findings with the state Division of Labor. White said he hasn't had the information long but shared information he obtained earlier with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"And they did zero," he said. "They're not interested."
Manchin and School Building Authority Chairman Jonathan Deem urged White to give his information to the Division of Labor.

"If you have to, share it with me, and I'll make sure it gets to the right place," Deem said. The chairman also serves as Gov. Joe Manchin's general counsel.

Deem said he and co-chairman Greg Burton would set up an ad hoc committee to re-evaluate the "18 points" the authority uses to evaluate qualified bidders and make sure those points are enforced.

Some of the "18 points' " criteria include:

The company's experience in construction, renovations and repairs.

Its history of compliance with worker's compensation and unemployment compensation laws.

Its history of compliance with fringe benefit contributions, like health insurance and pension benefits.

The contractor's history of compliance with federal and state prevailing wage requirements, as well as fair labor standards and wage payment laws.

Its performance on similar construction projects.

Its history of compliance with the West Virginia Jobs Act, which requires contractors to hire 75 percent of workers from the local labor market.

"We just want to make sure at the end of the day, these companies are in accordance with West Virginia law," Manchin said.

Manchin said the authority couldn't bust companies for using undocumented workers on school projects. He said the authority could only make a decision to fund a project or not fund a project.

"That's where we derive our power," he said. "We are not an enforcement agency."

Manchin pointed out the authority does not pick contractors for school systems' building projects. That is a county-level decision, he said.

But Manchin said the authority "will not tolerate" school contractors employing illegal workers and if companies are found violating the law, it will take action. But simply revoking school construction grants isn't necessarily an option, he said.

"If you pull funding, a roof doesn't get on a school that needs it," Manchin said.

White said he was pleased Deem and the rest of the authority were taking his complaints seriously.

The Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation is the research, lobbying and advertising arm of the West Virginia State Building Trades, which consists of 20,000 union construction workers from West Virginia and surrounding counties.

Contact writer Zack Harold at 304-348-7939 or zack.har...@dailymail.com.
http://www.dailymail.com/News/201009200999