Building Trades News

Ironworkers Local 433 President Robbie Hunter addresses a "Stop the Violence" rally of over 600 Building Trades and other union members in downtown Los Angeles Mar. 17. Hunter, along with four other organizers, was attacked by non-union contractors while picketing a jobsite.

Click here for photos of rally

by Roy San Filippo
Staff Writer

A civil rights lawsuit was filed on Monday, Mar. 17, against several contractors and multiple unnamed defendants after five union organizers were brutally assaulted a few days earlier while engaged in a lawful picket at a construction site in downtown Los Angeles.

The lawsuit filed against contractors Hirex, Golden Gate Steel and its owner, and the unnamed defendants seeks unspecified damages for violations of California Civil Code section 51, assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

More than 15 workers from the jobsite, some of whom were wielding iron rebar and 2x4's, violently attacked the five organizers. As a result, Robbie Hunter, President of Ironworkers Local 433, was hospitalized after suffering multiple injuries including a fractured cheek bone and split lip. He was punched in the face, struck in the back of the head with a club, and kicked in the face and body by the defendants.

The violent assault against these union organizers is not only reprehensible, it is also a violation of their civil rights," said Ellyn Moscowitz, attorney for the plaintiffs. "These men were attacked because of their position as union organizers; that makes this a hate crime in the state of California. Employers who engage in these crimes can expect that the full weight of the legal system will be brought to bear on them."
In response, over 600 Building Trades and other union members and their allies turned out for a "Stop the Violence" rally the following Monday at the jobsite where the union organizers were attacked.

We are here to send a message to all of the non-union contractors in Los Angeles that we will not tolerate violence against union organizers or any other member of the Building Trades who are out here fighting for decent wages for construction workers," said Richard Slawson, Executive-Secretary of the LA/OC Building and Construction Trades Council. "We are prepared to use every legal means at our disposal to protect the rights of workers. These non-union contractors may use these violent tactics from 100 years ago, but we won't stand for it."
In addition to the injuries sustained by Hunter, IBEW organizer Larry Henderson was struck by a 2 x4, fracturing his arm. Ironworkers Local 433 organizer Rene Angeles was hit in the face with a 2x4 and suffered bruises. IBEW 11 Political Director Kevin Norton and IBEW 11 organizer Tommy Faavae also suffered bruises.

Craft union and BCTC representatives subsequently met with LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo to express their concern that charges have not yet been filed for the assault. They urged the city to conduct a public hearing on the issue.

The assault against these organizers is part of pervasive system of abuse in the non-union construction market said Mike Gutierrez, Organizing Director of IUPAT District Council 36. "Non-union construction workers downtown are routinely victimized by unscrupulous contractors in LA's underground economy. They work in unsafe conditions and are not being paid area standard wages and benefits. Some are not being paid at all."

Hunter said that if contractors such as these are allowed to flourish, contractors who abide by the laws and pay workers fair wages and benefits will be put out of business. "They're going to have to do it right, just like everyone else," he said of the non-union contracors. "There's an honest way to make a buck and using slave labor is not the way to do it."

District Council 36, Ironworkers Local 433, Ironworkers Local 416, Sprinklerfitters Local 709, and IBEW Local 11 are also taking another tact to fight these unscrupulous contractors – they are challenging the underground economy in the courts. They recently filed suit against several contractors and subcontractors and one of LA's largest developers, Gilmore and Associates. The suit alleges that the developers, contractors, subcontractors and labor finders named in the suit "have conspired to engage in an underground economy of paying cash, employing undocumented workers and violating prevailing wage laws to unfairly compete against law-abiding developers, owners, general contractors, and sub-contractors."

Craft union members have also been working closely with Board of Equalization member Judy Chu to launch an investigation into the underground economy in downtown Los Angeles.