Public Employee Press

DC 37 research sparks prevailing rate probe

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

Based on DC 37 research indicating underpayments to blue collar workers by contractors, City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. is studying the potential violations of the prevailing wage law.

Union and Comptroller’s Office officials have met periodically since DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts wrote Mr. Thompson in July to urge him to investigate the matter.

“We are pleased that the comptroller is taking our findings seriously,” Ms. Roberts said. “It would be unconscionable for the city to permit taxpayers’ dollars to be used for improper employment practices.”

In her July 16 letter, Ms. Roberts informed Mr. Thompson that the Division of School Facilities is using two contractors, Moveaway Inc. and Business Relocation Services, to deliver construction material, a task also performed by Laborers in DC 37’s Local 924. Members reported that the contractors’ employees told them they earn only $9 or $10 per hour, even though the prevailing rate for their work is $22.07 per hour.

Under the Labor Law, contractors who do business with the city must pay skilled laborers the industry standard for specific jobs — the prevailing rate. Reports of violations are filed with the comptroller, who is responsible for ensuring that employers pay the correct rate.

DC 37 uncovered the possible prevailing rate violations through ongoing “White Paper” research into the city’s use of outside contractors, said Henry Garrido, assistant to DC 37 Associate Director Oliver Gray, who is overseeing the investigation.

Through its research, the union has also found instances in which temporary clerical workers from an employment firm used by municipal agencies are being paid below the living wage. The Living Wage Law, approved a few years ago by the City Council with the support of DC 37 and other unions, sets minimum pay standards for several job classifications.

The union has studied the pay rates of several titles of temporary workers. “We are concerned that the city is using temporary employees to encroach upon the work of our members,” Mr. Garrido said. “If there is clear pattern of paying these temporary workers below the living wage, the city must, of course, put an end to it.”

The comptroller has received 30 complaints about underpayment of workers by “Job Order Contractors” working for the Dept. of Education. “We have learned that some JOCs may not be submitting certified payrolls, which raises suspicion about possible prevailing wage violations,” Deputy Comptroller Greg Brooks told a City Council hearing Dec. 8.

He also faulted DOE for failing to comply with Local Law 35, which requires city agencies to certify that a contract will not displace municipal employees or to conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

— Diane S. Williams