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IBEW Helps Bust Unscrupulous California ContractorNovember 23, 2009 The IBEW is helping to lead a crackdown on California nonunion contractors who violate the state’s wage and benefit laws.
Said state Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet: Those who bid for public projects had better obey the law and pay prevailing wages. It’s very important for workers to be paid for the work they do under the laws of the state. Santa Rosa Local 551 Business Manager Jack Buckhorn said S.J. Cimino stole from his employees, cheated honest employers and added to the taxpayer’s burden. Buckhorn continued: We are elated that S.J. Cimino Electric is finally being held accountable for many years of illegal activities. Contractors that cheat workers out of wages and benefits undercut good law-abiding union contractors because public works projects are typically awarded to the lowest bidder. The fraud committed by Cimino gave him a significant advantage over competitors. Local 551 Business Representative Denise Soza and organizer John Lloyd said they had been talking to Cimono’s employees for years. Finally, this year, some of the workers said that S.J. Cimino had been deducting the prevailing wage portion of the checks owed to them. Cimino was a subcontractor on three housing projects between 2006 and 2008. Two state investigators said the contractor underpaid its workers and kept money it was obligated to use to purchase health and pension benefits. Cimino, the investigators charged: Willfully and fraudulently prepared false certified payroll records, failed to pay workers the prevailing wage, kept benefit payments that were deducted from employees’ wages and refused to cooperate and supply records to investigators. The company was ordered to pay $287,183 in back wages and penalties. The violations affected electricians, laborers and operating engineers. By shortchanging workers, Cimino was able to win jobs as the low bidder, undercutting Local 551 signatory contractors. Local 551 is keeping the heat on Cimino in his pursuit of private jobs. Said Soza: We make sure the public has access to the Cimino debarment information and trust that it will help developers make a fully informed decision before they award the electrical contract. Because he is having difficulty finding work in Local 551’s area, Cimino has recently bid on a hotel job in nearby San Jose Local 332’s jurisdiction. But Lloyd, Local 551 organizer, reached out to the local to ensure Cimino will not be cheating any more workers, Soza said. |
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Electrical contractor S. J. Cimino, which had performed millions of dollars in construction work for publicly financed projects in Sonoma and Solano counties, was ordered banned from public works projects for three years by state officials. The ban comes 14 months after an investigation initiated by the Northern California Electrical Construction Industry, an IBEW/National Electrical Contractors Association labor management cooperative trust.