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IBEW, NECA Allege Worker Exploitation

 August 18, 2008

A multi-million dollar class action lawsuit filed in July by Dublin, Calif., Local 595 and NECA aims to bring an outlaw contractor to justice and make hundreds of trade workers whole for wages and overtime pay that they were cheated out of by NBC General’s violation of state prevailing wage laws.

Dublin, Calif., Local 595 members James Wray and Kin Hui complete installation of conduit at the Mocho Groundwater Project in Pleasanton.  Kin’s Cantonese language skills have been a valuable asset on construction projects where the Bay Area’s diverse work force includes growing numbers of immigrant workers. Photo credit: Chris Senft

NBC General’s misdeeds—on public projects including firehouses and schools—were first uncovered by new members of San Francisco Local 6 who formerly worked for the company.  Approximately 150 workers were underpaid by up to $6.6 million over the past four years, the suit says

“These former NBC workers, who have stepped forward to shed light on unfair and illegal business practices, are to be commended for their personal courage and commitment to see that justice is done,” says Local 595 Business Manager Victor Uno. “Membership in Local 6 was their “ticket to freedom,” he adds.

The suit alleges that workers were paid a small fraction of the legally required prevailing wage for public works projects.  Workers state that they were on the job 10 to 12 hours each day, six to seven days per week, without receiving overtime pay. 

The legal action also alleges the workers were required to sign time cards that were either blank or had false hours filled in before they could receive their paychecks.

“When companies fail to pay their workers the proper prevailing wage, they can afford to make a very low bid and beat out the honest companies.  This punishes the honest companies, the workers, and the taxpayers who are funding the public works,” says Don Campbell, executive director of the Northern California Electrical Contractors Association.

Local 595 and NECA are broadly publicizing the suit to encourage more electricians, carpenters, pipefitters and others to step forward and join the effort to win lost wages and to levy penalties against NBC for defying state laws.

Since many of NBC’s workers are residents of the large Chinese community in and around San Francisco, the parties have used Cantonese-speaking organizers to aid the investigation and have placed notices in Chinese language newspapers.
A hotline at Local 595 has been established to take reports of violations of prevailing wages.