You work, you get paid, right? Wrong. Many construction workers suffer wage theft. A recent study by the Institute for Construction Economic Research found that construction workers have close to a billion dollars of wages and premium pay stolen every year. And it does not just happen on private jobs, it happens on tax-payer funded projects by contractors that cheat on their taxes and steal jobs from law-abiding employers.
Recently the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters assisted workers on a tax-payer funded job site get back pay that was allegedly stolen from them. The workers were building a child learning center in Brighton Park. The general contractor on the project was Griggs, Mitchell & Alma of Illinois, LLC. Because of the Council’s intervention and advocacy, Griggs is going to pay $37,416 in penalties and workers $187,081 in back wages.
“For too long, scofflaw contractors have been able to cheat the system and pay workers less than what they are entitled to,” said Gary Perinar EST of the Chicago Regional Council. “This affects us all, it takes away tax dollars from our communities, which during this global pandemic are needed more than ever and it puts our signatory union contractors at a disadvantage for competitively bid projects. Our union says enough is enough. We will continue our fight on behalf of the working class and are committed to holding tax cheats accountable.
