House GOP approves hiring of lawbreakers as federal contractors

[umbertino]

by: Mark Gruenberg

June 4 2014

 

 

 

WASHINGTON (PAI) - By a 196-211 margin, the GOP majority in the U.S. House rejected a Democratic attempt to aid low-wage workers by ending federal government hiring of contractors who violate the law.  All 186 voting House Democrats and 10 Republicans favored the move, which would have barred federal contracts to firms that violate minimum-wage and overtime-pay laws.  All the opponents were Republicans.

 

Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., co-chairs of the House Progressive Caucus, tried to insert the ban on contracts to firms that steal wages from their workers.  All three moves came during debate on the money bill funding the State, Justice and Commerce Departments for the year starting Oct. 1. They lost when the majority questioned what their amendment actually said.  Ellison said the firms owe the workers at least $4 million.

 

Ellison and Grijalva were going to bat for low-wage workers who toil in restaurants in food courts in federal buildings, such as the Reagan Center in downtown Washington, at Union Station, at the Smithsonian Institution, and on various military bases nationwide.

 

For more than a year, those underpaid - and sometimes unpaid - fast-food workers whose firms had contracts at the facilities, have staged periodic one-hour  walkouts demanding a living wage, longer hours and the right to organize without employer interference. 

 

Their leaders, from the group Good Jobs Nation, recently met top Obama wage and hour enforcement officials to press their case against the fast-food firms.  In a prior response, Obama issued an executive order saying any fast-food firm signing a new contract with the feds must pay the workers at least $10.10 an hour.  His order doesn't help workers right now.  

 

Ellison and Grijalva tried to put the purchasing power of the federal government behind the cause of raising the workers' wages.  They didn't succeed.  "The federal government could lead the way by disqualifying contractors who practice wage theft, but House Republicans voted tonight against an amendment to do exactly that," they said afterwards.

 

"No hardworking American should ever have to worry about whether her employer will refuse to pay her when she works overtime or take money out of her paycheck, especially if she works for a federal contractor," Ellison told his colleagues.

 

"Right now, federal contractors who violate the Fair Labor Standards Act are still allowed to apply for contracts," he continuing, saying the amendment denies contracts "to those who violate the Fair Labor Standards Act to deny workers the pay they earned.

 

"We may not agree on the minimum wage or we may not agree on a lot of other things," Ellison told the Republicans.  "But Americans on both sides of the aisle believe that a penny earned is a penny that must be paid.  Any time a contractor is found to have violated a worker's right and is found to have been guilty of that, according to the law, that contractor should not benefit from the money in this particular bill."

 

 

 

http://www.peoplesworld.org/house-gop-approves-hiring-of-lawbreakers-as-federal-contractors/

 

[TexasGranny]

BS - this was an attempt to stop awarding federal contracts to non-union companies.

 

More communist propaganda.

 

[R2D2]

Yep the commies are embedded and they will stop at nothing in pursuit of the agenda. Good Call Granny!  

Edited June 5, 2014 by R2D2

[divemaster5734]

BS - this was an attempt to stop awarding federal contracts to non-union companies.

 

More communist propaganda.

 

 

The anti-union movement has been very busy.

 

In Washington State it is nearly impossible for non-union people moving to the state to get their certifications.

The state legislature has approved every law submitted by unions, and now all private non-union contractors are being aggressively targeted by inspectors in what they call "compliance focused" inspections.

What that means in real life is the inspectors openly look for any "violation", which can something as silly as a worker not wearing their ID card in the right place, someones shorts being 1/4" too short, or a host of other insanely petty violations.

The individual, their supervisor, and the company is all sited for the same issue.

Each ticket is $250, next one $500, next $1000, and so on.

So even the lowest ticket gets them $750.

The inspection is canceled, and a penalty assessment of $55 is levied for a re-inspection.

 

One contractor, who actually had a permit for a project but it wasn't posted in the correct place, and had three employees without their cards on lanyards, got a total of $15,000 in fines for one inspection.

He had performed an emergency call and temporary repair, pulled a permit. Then the project scope increased when they found more bad stuff, so they got another permit.

There were fines on top of every stage, and each time they intentionally ignored an earnest attempt, they added more fines.

He was unable to pay the fines, and they shut down his shop.

He went to get his journeyman card renewed so he could start working somewhere else, and they attached the LLC's fines to his personal license.

He couldn't get a job, and then had to go bankrupt.

He lost everything, he is in his mid 40's.

 

I recently had a final inspection scheduled on a restaurant we just finished.

Apparently a painter had removed a switch cover plate to do touch up in one of the bathrooms.

The paint was wet, the plate was 2" away on a counter, and the screws were sitting on the plate.

The inspection was failed and a fee was assessed, claiming the project was not ready for the inspection.

Thankfully, I know several of the inspectors very well, and was able to call bs.

The fine was dropped, but they let me know it was a whole new world.

In the first 3 months of the program they generated 10 million in fees.

I have been looking to hire journeymen for months, have ads in almost every online venue, which costs around $350 a month each listing.

I get resumes from all over the US by people that are hoping to relocate to WA.

Every single one has been caught up in a bureaucratic nightmare.

 

In contrast, the union has a written into law pass on that requirement.

They can hire anyone, declare them a JW, and put them on a job.

They don't get compliance inspections.

It's a huge nightmare that is only going to get worse.

[DoD]

Your federal government and tax dollars hard at work folks...an they call Iraq a third world country...LMAO!!!

[Pablo404]

Punitive Inspectors in NY City find themselves with unwelcome evening visitors and "accidents". You try to work fairly but sometimes you just have to kick ass.  There is no easy straight road when the criminals work for the city..Too many stories of payola and pay to work are all too common.  When unions and politicians get together, the general public gets screwed. I've worked in 'Closed shop' businesses and in a postal union and never quite figured out what the benefit was for workers. After paying dues in the business, there was no benefit...only to the union reps. Unions, they served a purpose but now...?