Building Trades News

The Governor Says ‘Bah, Humbug to Workers This Labor Day

By Richard Slawson, Executive-Secretary

California’s workers’ protection agencies created by the legislature and approved by governors over the years, are being slowly and surreptitiously dismantled. As Labor Day approaches Gov. Schwarzenegger will be making a Labor Day speech and telling you how much he supports the hard working California workforce. All the while he has apparently directed his Secretary of the Labor & Workforce Development Agency to stop enforcement against law breakers and cheats. This Labor Agency is a powerful part of the state government. It has the responsibility for labor law enforcement such as payment of wages, enforcement of prevailing wages as well as the enforcement of workplace safety through Cal-OSHA. This agency is vital to the average worker and especially to non-union workers who do not have collective bargaining agreements with which they could file a grievance if not treated fairly. Agency after agency, when asked to act on behalf of California’s workers, respond that they don’t have the budget or manpower to go after any but the most egregious cases. This flies in the face of budget increases over the last year. Hundreds of millions of dollars in wages are lost to employees because those that the Governor has placed in power are re-assigning staff to non-productive areas or directing them not to take action. The most serious example of the Schwarzenegger administration’s direction is the misuse of Cal-OSHA. The agency’s staff have used a lack of funds as an excuse for doing nothing even when called to stop violations that are an “immediate threat” to the lives of workers. While the Cal-OSHA would deny it, every union representative and craft worker that I know has had a bad experience with Cal-OSHA – either its failure to respond or finding no violations, even after numerous misdeeds were reported and witnessed by dozens of fellow workers. Recently a photo appeared in a local newspaper showing a welder, tied to a ladder, in a particularly dangerous position, but the “inspector” from Cal-OSHA found no violations – no safety hazards. With the evidence provided with photos, he still found no violations and made no corrective actions with the contractors. The Secretary of the Labor & Workforce Development Agency says, “The Labor & Workforce Development Agency is committed to ensuring that businesses and employees have a level playing field upon which to compete,” that there will be “fair, impartial and consistent enforcement of the laws,” and that they are “committed to ensuring that law-abiding employers and their workers are not victimized by others, who violate the States’ labor, health, safety and tax laws in order to gain competitive advantage.” That statement is 180 degrees from reality. How Schwarzenegger can brag about increasing the dollars going into enforcement agencies and not see an increase in enforcement, leads you to only one conclusion – the governor is directing the agencies not to enforce the laws. This isn’t a new plan, other Governors have done the same. Pete Wilson reduced budgets and cancelled enforcement. George Dukemejian maintained a no-enforcement policy as well. But, Schwarzenegger’s policy is particularly offensive because of the aura of commitment that he presents to workers and businesses who want to abide by the laws of California. They believe that their taxes are being used to create the “level playing field” that we all expect. Instead, the Governor is playing politics. The construction industry is filled with cheats – contractors who don’t even pay their employees the minimum wage, contractors who take chances with their employees’ lives to save a buck, contractors who don’t pay “Prevailing Wages” to be the low bidder and contractors who use hundreds of other scams to cheat common place. The increase in the “underground” economy from 9% to 14% of the overall economy in California over the last five years proves the need for enforcement. But, not with this Governor. This Labor Day, the message from the Governors office is; “You’re on you own.” Workers and their families need to use this day to declare our message for support of our own labor rights, our own organizations – our Unions, and our demands that when workers are successful in having laws passed to protect wages, benefits, conditions and safety our elected officials enforce them. We need to tell all of our elected officials that we demand to get what we are paying for – enforcement of our Labor Laws.

 

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