The Problem

Although the construction industry is vital to the City of Austin and to the state of Texas, construction workers face deadly working conditions. Violations of state and federal laws are commonplace. Construction workers have strengthened Austin’s economy and contributed considerably to its growth over the years, yet, some employers have failed to reward them for their honest work- one in five Austin construction workers reports being denied payment for his work.

KST Electric is an exception to the problem. In the video below, Kenneth Tumlinson, CEO of KST Electric, describes the benefits that he has gained from treating his workers in a fair manner:

Industry leaders have not ensured economic security and safe working conditions for their construction workforce.  Policymakers fail to guarantee basic protections for construction workers; Texas is ranked the most deadly place to work in construction, leading the nation in the number of construction deaths in 2007.

In the video below, construction worker Pedro Hernandez recounts the delibitating injury that he suffered in 2007 after falling off of a roof on a construction site. He also details the pain that he has endured due to unsafe working conditions:

Austin has disproportionately high rates of workers who are not paid for their work, and sub-poverty level wages are earned by almost half of the workforce.

In the video below, former construction worker Saul Vela Jr. recounts how unpaid wages have impacted his ability to provide for his family:

Failed policies have also hurt good construction companies that play by the rules and invest in their workforce to make their business profitable and ethical.

In the video below, Austin Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez talks about some of these failed policies:

Deadly and Low-wage Jobs
Construction work in Austin is predominately low-wage work where jobs are characterized by long hours and dangerous working conditions. Survey results from the recent study, Building Austin, Building Injustice: Working Conditions in Austin’s Construction Industry, found that it is commonplace in the industry to violate federal and state employment regulations, and that such violations have a profound negative impact on the lives of construction workers, including: 

• Poverty level wages.  Forty-five percent of surveyed construction workers earned wages below the federal poverty line.¹ Due to low wages, nearly half of construction workers reported not having enough financial resources to support their families.
• Failure to be paid. One in five workers reported being withheld payment for their construction work in Austin.  Fifty percent of construction workers reported not being paid overtime, and for many, this has resulted in the inability to pay for food and housing.
• High rates of dangerous and unsafe working conditions.  One in five surveyed construction workers has suffered a workplace injury that required medical attention.  Sixty-four percent of surveyed workers lacked basic health and safety training, and many were forced to provide their own safety equipment (47% of residential construction workers provided their own hard hats).
• Death on the job. More construction workers died in Texas then in any state in the country, with 142 construction deaths in 2007. California, the runner-up for most deadly state for construction workers, only had 81 deaths in construction for the same period, little over half of Texas’ number. According to surveys, 15% of construction workers reported personally knowing someone who had died due to a construction work-related accident. 

 

Social Costs of Breaking the Rules
Poor and illegal working conditions, inadequate safety protection, and few employment benefits have implications that stretch far beyond the individual workers who suffer them.

Substandard working conditions in the construction industry have a direct impact on the local economy, taxpayers, charity organizations, and hospitals. Responsible employers help create necessary and good jobs; they also have a positive impact on the local communities in which they operate. Unfortunately, many bad employers break the rules, thus undercutting good construction businesses. Employers who attempt to cut costs by engaging in illegal workplace practices do so at the expense of the public:

• When workers aren’t paid for their work, millions of dollars are lost to the local economy each year, resulting in lower sales for local businesses, and decreased sales tax revenue.
• Workers who earned low-wages and experienced wage theft were increasingly forced to rely on local charities and government assistance to make ends meet. Nearly half of Austin’s construction workers are unable to meet their basic needs.
• Public hospitals are often forced to absorb the cost of treating injured construction workers who are denied workers compensation coverage by their employers, leaving the balance to be paid by the rest of us.