The building trades unions are some of the most powerful in the labor movement. Because their members are well-paid, their dues are often higher than in other unions, giving them more resources to influence change. They also hold a certain cultural cachet, exemplifying what many people (wrongly) think the working class looks like: white men in …
A new study from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute (MEPI) released exclusively to Wisconsin Public Radio finds the repeal of Wisconsin’s prevailing wage laws has resulted in lower wages for construction workers in Wisconsin, despite having no statistically significant impact on the cost of public construction projects. Prevailing wage laws set minimum pay requirements for wages …
The rush to keep building through the pandemic has compounded the risks for construction workers. The recovery of the construction industry in the United States after the lockdowns imposed by the pandemic has been remarkable. Activity in the industry, based on data on workers’ hours, returned since May to pre-lockdown levels in 34 states, and construction spending …
The Return of the Construction Industry Has Brought a Surge of Immigrant Worker Deaths Read More »
A powerful union group uneasy about a Labor Department apprenticeship proposal has “the potential to be a significant force in the 2020 election.” One of the nation’s largest labor groups embraced Donald Trump at the start of his presidency, in hopes he would create construction jobs and retreat from proposals that might reduce workers’ wages. …
Construction workers prepare to battle former ally Trump Read More »
Peggy Frank, a 63-year-old California postal worker — and also a mother and grandmother — died last week while working her usual route in unusually hot weather. Frank’s heat-related death was not a freak occurrence, nor was it unusual. “An average of more than 2.2 million workers in the agriculture or construction industries worked in extreme heat each …
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
