The District of Columbia, April 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters joined the Catholic Labor Network on Wednesday, April 14th for a Press Conference at Freedom Plaza in the District of Columbia to announce the release of a new Wage Theft Report.
“The Construction Industry in the District of Columbia features an extensive underground sector in which workers are misclassified as independent contractors or paid in cash off the books,” said Clayton Sinyai, Executive Director of the Catholic Labor Network. "Denying the public necessary tax revenue and denying workers the protection of wage and hour laws."
The Report, The Underground Economy and Wage Theft in Washington D.C’s Commercial Construction Sector, found that nearly 50% of all construction workers surveyed by the Catholic Labor Network and their partners were part of the underground economy. They also found that 47% of those surveyed received no tax deductions in their paychecks, or are strictly paid cash. This study was conducted with extensive surveys and interviews with construction workers in Washington DC, including workers being paid less than minimum wage, payroll tax missing from payment, and overtime violations.
"This is not the first study, this is the third that I am aware of and all end with the same results," said Robert Burns Regional Manager for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. "Workers are being exploited here in the DC Metro area and it's time for it to end."
Speakers at the press conference included Sinyai, Burns, Handley Farah & Anderson Lawyer Matthew Handley, Kalmanovich Initiative & Georgetown University Professor Joe McCartin, The Baltimore DC Building Trades Steve Courtien, Washington Lawyers Committee Dan Katz, Ricardo Gallardo of LiUNA, and DC Jobs with Justice Organizer Nikko Bilitza.
The press was hosted by the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and their Local Union 197. It is part of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America’s Construction Industry Tax Fraud Week of Action. Similar educational events are taking place across the United States and Canada. You can visit EveryoneIsAVictim.com to learn more.
"These issues are severe and take advantage of the most vulnerable in the construction industry as well as the average everyday taxpayer," said Communication Director for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Frank Mahoney.
Attachments
- Local 197 - Tax Fraud Day of Action Press Conference #2
- Local 197 - Tax Fraud Day of Action Press Conference #1