Immigrant workers demand back wages from NBC Contractors

Marilyn Bechtel — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:28:00 +0000

HAYWARD, Calif. - "When I heard about NBC Contractors denying workers their rights and the pay they deserve, I thought about my father, and the struggles he went through when he emigrated from China 25 years ago and became a construction worker. He didn't work for NBC, but he faced similar struggles. Due to limited English and education, and the lack of opportunities for new immigrants, he had a hard struggle to support his family."

Fighting back tears, Connie Huang, executive director of the Asian Pacific Islander Recruitment and Retention Center at the University of California, Berkeley, continued her father's story.

"He would come home exhausted, his back aching, and he struggled physically to maintain his job - the only job he could take because of the limitations and pressures he has in this country. He has managed to keep our family financially intact, but I know the low wages he receives can never equate to the backbreaking work he endures."

Listening were more than 200 unionists and community supporters, including many building trades workers, who gathered outside the Alameda County Superior Court here Aug. 24 as Monica Ung, owner of NBC General Contractors, entered the building for a hearing. In the crowd were dozens of students from public schools and colleges where NBC has performed work.

Ung and two NBC employees were arrested in May, charged with 48 felony counts including public works wage fraud, grand theft of personal property, forgery and insurance fraud. Their actions are alleged to have resulted in an estimated $3.6 million in unpaid wages to 19 construction workers, and an estimated $1.5 million in losses to the state of California from illegally misclassifying workers. NBC has been employed on many publicly-funded projects in the Bay Area, including city halls, schools, libraries and other public buildings.

Workers - many of them Chinese immigrants who speak limited English- told investigators they had to sign two time cards before receiving their paychecks. One showed the actual hours they had worked, and the other falsely reported they had worked fewer hours for the higher "prevailing wage" required on publicly-funded projects.

Saying he is now "a proud member of Local 6, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers," Ricky Lau, a young electrician introduced as the "whistleblower" in the case, told how two years ago he applied for a job with NBC after he saw a notice in a Chinese newspaper. "I was offered a very low rate for a highly-skilled journey level position," he said, "but I took it because I needed a job to support my family."

When IBEW representatives visited the job site, Lau learned he should have been paid "prevailing wage."

Realizing he and others were being cheated, Lau told the union what was happening. "With help from the IBEW, we were able to leave NBC, and become IBEW members. Now we are fighting for justice for all workers who are still being ripped off by greedy employers."

Last year the IBEW filed a class action law suit to recover the unpaid wages and overtime. That law suit is now in abeyance pending the outcome of the criminal charges.

Standing with the workers were elected officials from cities around the Bay Area where NBC has worked on public projects. One former elected official, however, came in for sharp criticism. Several speakers asked why former San Francisco mayor and longtime California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, who built a reputation as a "friend of labor," is now defending a contractor charged with egregious abuse of immigrant workers.

Emceeing the rally program was Don Campbell, executive director of the Northern California chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association. Describing the NECA as "an association of union electrical contractors who pay a fair wage to their workers," Campbell told the crowd, "An employer has a distinct power to write a paycheck ... when that power is abused to the level alleged here, there's only one solution: Monica belongs in jail!"

Reciting a long list of public projects where NBC Contractors allegedly "exploited workers, robbed taxpayers, cheated and committed perjury," IBEW Local 595 Business Manager Victor Uno told the crowd that taxpayers as well as workers were cheated when the contractor dodged payment of full insurance premiums.

"We think there are quite a few problem contractors out there," Uno said after the rally. "We think this case will help workers understand they have the power to fight abuses" and to know union members will help them fight for their rights.

Historic Pullman hosts Chicago Labor Day events

Special to the World — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:28:00 +0000

CHICAGO - On September 7 the Illinois AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor, Illinois Labor History Society, numerous other unions and social organizations join with groups from the south side Pullman community to host a rally and celebration of labor history this Labor Day. The event will begin at 2 p.m. and will take place in the famous factory building at Chicago's Pullman State Historic Site on 111th Street and Cottage Grove Ave.

Several speakers - including Gov. Patrick Quinn - will be celebrating the achievements of American working families and past and ongoing struggles for union wages, rights of citizenship in the workplace, and equal opportunity in the workplace. A special invitation has been extended to President Barack Obama and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. The free program will be moderated by WCPT Radio host and longtime newsman Dick Kay.

Festivities include the annual Labor Day Bike Ride and rally, historical exhibits and presentations, music, food, performances and special guest speeches. Factory and Pullman Historic District tours will be offered following the event.

The storm center of one of the most famous industrial conflicts of the 19th century was the community where workers for industrialist George Pullman built the famous Pullman railroad sleeping cars.

It was here Gene Debs, a founder of the American Railway Union (ARU), became the presidential standard bearer for the Socialist Party. Later he received over 1 million votes while in federal prison for opposition to America's entry into World War I.

The charming and planned Pullman community, with its unique architecture and design, remains largely unchanged to this day. A centrally located neighborhood park and garden welcomes family picnics. A Visitor's Center offers artifacts to view and mementos for sale. The Florence Hotel, with its spacious verandah, provides an elegant centerpiece to the area.

Although the sleeping car factory is partially gone, the dramatic Clock Tower remains and industrial artifacts from the vanished steel industry are on display. The hotel and factory property are now managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

The list of sponsors for the Historic Pullman Labor Day events includes the State of Illinois AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor, Chicago Building Trades Council, Illinois Labor History Society, Pullman Business Council, Historic Pullman Foundation, Pullman Civic Organization, Pullman State Historic Site, Bronzeville/Black Chicagoan Historical Society, Calumet Heritage Partnership, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the Chicago Center for Working Class Studies, Arise Chicago, Jobs with Justice, A. Phillip Randolph/Pullman Porters Museum, SEIU, AFSCME Council 31, United Steelworkers, UE Illinois, United Food and Commercial Workers, Ironworkers Local 1 & 63, Electrical Workers, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Illinois State Senator Donne Trotter, and Illinois State Representatives Connie Howard and Marlow Colvin.

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Immigrant workers demand back wages from NBC Contractors

Historic Pullman hosts Chicago Labor Day events