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*BOLI vs. Contractors Inc. / City of St. Helens, Water Filtration Facility
*(Bureau of Labor and Industries)
Project of the Year?
Awarded Project of the Year! The St. Helens water filtration system was selected by the 2006 American Public Works Association to receive the honors. Construction began in 2003 and the system went on line in 2006. Steve Newton accepted the award for Contractors Ink.
The Real Truth, The Real Contractors Inc.
While every one was congratulating a job well done by Contractors INC, there was a little bit of information that was left out, concealed behind the city's doors? Of course such information would not be mentioned or made available to the media, especially while giving out awards.
Contractors INC was CAUGHT not paying prevailing wages to their employees on a PWR Project. BOLI collected from Contractors Inc. on behalf of 7 workers $4643.88 for the failure to pay workers the proper prevailing wage rate for several separate classifications. The workers were paid Carpenters rate for performing work that should have been classified and paid at the proper PWR for Iron Worker, Millwright, Boilermaker, Pipe Fitter/ Plumber, and Electrician.
Iron Worker's Local 29 business agent provided information that resulted in the investigation by BOLI. Certified payroll from the City of St. Helens substantiated the findings.
Contractors Inc. was also found in VIOLATION of PWR law by not properly completing certified payroll forms.
Maybe Contractor Inc should have been awarded the
Worst Contractor In Town!
Maybe our Cities and County should hire local construction companies. Maybe hire UNION contractors instead of open shop (RAT) contractors. Maybe the City of St. Helens should check on prevailing wage job payrolls to ensure honesty by the contractor.
City Hires Out of Town Contractor #2
Pacific Stainless erects a tin building at the Mcnulty Industrial Park. Here's the catch, the contractor is out of Eugene, Oregon. They paid their workers $12.00 per hour to construct the tin building, UNION package scale to construct the building would be approximately $42.00 per hour.
While I know there are many qualified construction workers in Columbia County that would have been delighted to have the opportunity to erect the building, have a job close to home, spend the money locally, they were not given the opportunity because in the wisdom of the City of St. Helens Manager Brian Little and the other negotiator County Commissioner Tony Hyde they allowed Pacific Stainless to use the cheapest labor available, or even allowed Pacific Stainless to use their own favorite non-union low paying contractor. Little and Hyde should of stood up for the local work force, and stood up for UNION LABOR. Something that each one of these guys enjoy, wages and benefits derived from collective bargaining.
The irony of this is that Pacific Stainless is receiving Enterprise Zone benefits, no taxes for 5 years! Who subsidizes them? YOU of course, while your living wage jobs was negotiated away to sub-standard wages, you are the one's who are subsidizing the very company through tax incentives that took your job.
You are actually paying Pacific Stainless to take your job. Pretty savvy negotiators! I bet their wages far surpass $12.00 per hour I even bet their wages and benefits surpass the $50+dollar per hour mark.
In my opinion these types of negotiations for out of town non-union contractors needs to be halted for the sake of all workers and business's in our community.
TAMMY
Information is Public Record, provided by Bureau of Labor and Industries
December 23, 2005
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