People United on KOOP FM 91.7 - Interview with Patricia Zavala and Hector Hernández of the Workers Defense Project

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PEOPLE UNITED with host Allan Campbell talks with Patricia Zavala and Hector Hernández of the Workers Defense Project/Proyecto Defensa Laboral (PDL) about the rights and lives of low-wage laborers in Austin, particularly in the construction industry.

To Learn More Visit:

http://www.koop.org

http://www.workersdefense.org

http://www.buildaustin.org

21Rio Workers Hold Vigil to Remember Deceased Co-Workers

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Workers Defense Project calls for an end to gross workplace abuses

AUSTIN, TX---Six months after construction workers Wilson Joel Irias Cerritos, Raudel Ramirez Camacho and Jesus Angel Lopez Perez fell 11 stories to their deaths while working on 21Rio apartments complex, their co-workers will hold a candlelight vigil in their memory.

Workers Defense Project - Building Austin, Building Injustice - Press Release

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Combining results from surveys of more than 300 Austin construction workers and industry-related data from federal and state agencies, the 68-page study, "Building Austin, Building Injustice," depicts an industry rampant with poor and dangerous working conditions. Although many builders, developers and contractors are model employers, the study notes, others cut costs by not paying some workers for overtime, not paying some at all, misclassifying others as independent contractors, and failing to provide proper safety equipment such as harnesses and helmets, violations of federal and state regulations.

"The report is just shocking in the way that it shows how the industry (in Austin) is really rife with these conditions that are pretty deplorable in terms of safety and health issues," said Richard Heyman, a UT professor and an adviser and researcher on the study. A specialist in urban development studies, Heyman said the report reveals systemic, structural failures.

Major findings:

Though overtime work in the construction industry is common, half of workers who did so reported receiving no overtime pay, a violation of wage and hour laws.

Nearly four in 10 workers were misclassified as independent contractors, denying them legal protections to overtime pay, workers' compensation coverage and benefits.

Sixty-four percent said they had received no basic health or safety training provided by OSHA. The training is voluntary.

A majority of workers lacked employer-based health insurance, pensions and sick or vacation days. Only 45 percent of workers said they had workers' compensation coverage. In Texas, employers can opt out of workers' comp.

Most workers earned $10 an hour. Using federal guidelines, the report calculated a poverty hourly wage as $10.56 an hour, based on a family of four.

Drawing on existing data, the report also says that Texas led the nation in construction-related deaths in 2007 with 142 fatalities, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Tzintzún said similar data is not available by city. Per capita data is not tracked by state.

Texas had 23,900 construction-related injuries in 2007, an incident rate of 3.7 per 100 full-time workers, according to the Department of Labor. In all private industries, Texas had 242,000 injuries in 2007, an incident rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers.

[Text From the Austin American Statesman, , June 17, 2009]

Workers Defense Project - Direct Action Against - Rick Perry

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Members of the Workers Defense Project, construction workers and community supporters Wednesday evening protested Governor Rick Perry's recent comments downplaying the risks faced by construction workers.

A recent report shows that one in five Austin construction workers have suffered serious injuries on the job, and the most recent numbers from 2007 show nearly 150 workers have died on the job in Texas.

Protestors say Governor Perry has dismissed the need for improving safety regulations.

Three construction workers fell 11 stories to their death in June while working on the 21 Rio apartments in West Campus.

While there has so far been no official finding about what went wrong, OSHA reports scaffolding had either been assembled incorrectly or substandard parts were used that didn't meet weight requirements.

Workers Defense Project - Direct Action - Against Centex/Pulte Homes for Unpaid Wages

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Workers Defense Project and community supporters gathered at the Central Texas Division of Centex Homes in North Austin to demand payment for unpaid wages. A group of four workers report they are owed $2,700 for carpentry work they performed on three homes.

In May of 2009, Marcos Cuevas, Franklin Barahona, Salvador Gamiño, and Santos Arriaza worked for a subcontractor of Centex to perform carpentry work on Centex homes. The subcontractor never paid the four workers nearly $3,000 in wages.

Workers Defense Project has tried to negotiate directly with Centex and their subcontractors for payment, but the homebuilder has refused to pay. Dallas-based Centex merged with Pulte Homes in August 2009 to create the largest homebuilder in the country. Their combined stock is valued at $3.1 billion. Pulte has taken $450 million dollars from taxpayer-funded bailouts.
Workers, advocates and community supporters sent a delegation to the Centex corporate office demanding to pay these workers their hard-earned wages. Homebuilders need to take responsibility for labor practices on their work sites, Stated Selena Fernandez of Workers Defense Project.

The Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA) held a community forum bringing together homeowners of Pulte and Centex and the workers who built the homes to discuss how these large homebuilders arent holding up their end of the bargain.

Take Action! Call Centex/Pulte and ask them to make sure these workers are paid for their hard work! (512) 532-3300

To Learn More Please Visit:
http://www.workersdefense.org
http://www.buildaustin.org

A Community Forum on the Abuses from Centex, Pulte & KB Homes

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Homeowners of Texas, Workers Defense Project and Labor Unions discuss the problems with Corporate Residential Home Builders. Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA) has organized a caravan from Los Angeles to Pulte Homes' headquarters in Bloomfield, Michigan in order to call attention to the company's role in the housing crisis, especially their high profits and receipt of bailout funds as others lose homes and jobs.

To Learn More Please Visit:
http://www.homeownersoftexas.org/
http://www.liuna.org/
http://www.workersdefense.org

Extended Community Forum on the Abuses from Centex, Pulte & KB Homes

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Homeowners of Texas, Workers Defense Project and Labor Unions discuss the problems with Corporate Residential Home Builders. Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA) has organized a caravan from Los Angeles to Pulte Homes' headquarters in Bloomfield, Michigan in order to call attention to the company's role in the housing crisis, especially their high profits and receipt of bailout funds as others lose homes and jobs.

To Learn More Please Visit:
http://www.homeownersoftexas.org/
http://www.liuna.org/
http://www.workersdefense.org