The Texas
construction industry is facing a crisis. Construction work in the state is
dangerous and unfair for workers and companies that refuse to play by the rules
have a competitive advantage over those who do.
In order to
create a better Texas, we need our legislators to move quickly on legislative
proposals that would make the construction industry more sustainable and fair for
workers and their families, businesses, and local communities.
To this end,
the Build a Better Texas Coalition is converging in Austin today for the Day of
the Fallen. The coalition is a statewide group of community organizations,
churches, business leaders in the construction industry, and other concerned
groups and individuals.
The Day of
the Fallen starts with visits with lawmakers to educate them about the legal
violations and dangerous conditions Texas construction workers face on the job and
what Texas can do to make sure that they are paid fairly and make it home safe
to their families.
The event
concludes with a march from the J.J. Pickle Federal Building Plaza to the South
Steps of the Capitol to raise awareness about the plight of construction
workers and to honor those who have lost their lives building Texas.
Fuerza del
Valle Workers Center has been an active member of the Build a Better Texas
Coalition. Fuerza is sending a delegation to Austin to participate in the Day
of the Fallen and to highlight working conditions in the Rio Grande Valley. The
center is composed of workers, leaders within La Union del Pueblo Entero, South
Texas Civil Rights Project, Proyecto Juan Diego, and other organizations within
the Equal Voice Network.
The stakes
in Texas’s construction industry are very high. The 2010 U.S. census estimated
that there are 950,000 construction workers in the state of Texas. One in
thirteen Texas workers labor in the construction industry and $1 out of every
$20 generated by the Texas economy comes from the industry. In 2011, Texas single-handedly accounted for
16% of new housing construction permits in the country, more than California
and Florida combined.
Despite the
relative prosperity and growth of the industry in Texas compared to other
states, it remains the worst when it comes to pay and safety for workers. More construction workers die in Texas than
any other state, and one in five workers is seriously injured on the job due to
lack of safety training and equipment.
From 2007 to 2011, 585 construction workers died in Texas, compared to
299 in California.
Leaders in
both the House and Senate have filed legislation that would create positive
change in the Texas construction industry.
They deserve careful consideration and wide public support.
SB 167 (Sen.
Deuell) and HB 493 (Rep. Hernandez Luna) require OSHA 10-hour safety trainings
for all workers on state-owned or funded construction sites to address the fact
that 60% of construction workers do not receive basic safety training.
HB 475
(Rep. Walle) and SB 740 (Sen. Rodriguez) require construction employers to
provide workers compensation. Currently, only 40% of construction workers
report having workers compensation resulting in financial ruin for unprotected
workers who are injured or taxpayers picking up the tab for uncompensated hospital
visits.
HB 731
(Rep. Raymond) and SB 341 (Sen. Rodriguez) require construction employers to
provide workers with breaks every 4 hours on government sites to rest and drink
water. This bill would reduce the number of accidents and deaths on the job due
to laboring in the deadly heat.
HB 372 (Rep.
Deshotel) creates penalties for construction employers who illegally
misclassify their employees as independent contractors to lower costs, to gain
a competitive advantage in bidding for contracts, and to shift tax burdens to
working families. Every year Texas is cheated out of $54.5 million in unpaid
unemployment insurance tax due to misclassification.
HB 298
(Rep. Rodriguez) prohibits retaliation under Texas Pay Day Law. Right now, 1
out of 3 workers who try to recover wages is retaliated against by their
employer. HB 494 (Rep. Hernandez Luna) and SB 741 (Sen. Rodriguez), HB 1131 (Rep.
Gonzalez), and SB 340 (Sen. Rodriguez) all strengthen enforcement against wage
theft to deal with the fact that one in five construction workers is denied pay
by their employer.
These bills
are concrete steps Texas can take to promote safe worksites, provide access to
medical care for injured workers, and ensure that workers are paid fairly. They
are good for workers, good for their families, good for honest businesses, and
good for Texas.
To learn more about Texas’s
construction industry, read Build A Better Texas: Construction Working
Conditions in the Lone Star State, a Report from Workers Defense Project in
collaboration with the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at the
University of Texas at Austin. It can be downloaded at:
http://www.workersdefense.org/Build%20a%20Better%20Texas_FINAL.pdf
