The right people doing the right thing are directly correlated with the amount of training they receive. For the hardworking men and women of the carpentry brotherhood, training never ends.

Training is required on a yearly basis due to the constantly changing environment that carpentry represents. Every year new rules, equipment and technology enter the field requiring everyone to be up to date on the latest trends.

“It’s not just us who go to training but everyone,” says IKORCC Senior Manager Thomas Dorsey. “There is always something new to learn or something that is updated that we all have to be aware and knowledgeable of.”

Every year carpenters from across the country make a visit to Las Vegas to visit the Carpenter’s International Center. This million square foot, over 300 room facility is considered the hub of all things IKORCC and provides state-of-the-art training facilities and classrooms to ensure that both new and current generations of carpenters are properly prepared to face all challenges in the field.

“The IKORCC pays to have us fly down to the center for training,” says IKORCC Dorsey. “Just as they pay to create yearly up-to-date textbooks for students, they are always ensuring that those wanting to follow the carpentry path are knowledgeable, have plenty of learning materials in front of them and above all, are always prepared to enter the workforce to the best of their ability.”

Along with carpentry and construction skills, the ITC is also equipped to teach classes for specialty areas. While courses for interior systems and commercial work are offered, plenty of certified courses such as gas- and steam turbine installation are also offered.

“There are plenty of speciality courses offered for those learning and refining their craft but there’s even more offered on top of that,” says Dorsey. “There are courses designed to teach project management, productivity and communication, all of which essential skills for carpenters and leaders to remain successful in their field.

The ITC is not only an investment for the IKORCC but for every carpenter who works within the field of carpentry. In this ever changing field it’s more important to stay up to date and knowledgeable in order to provide only the best when it comes to building the places we live, work and enjoy.

Source: ValpoLife.com

CINCINNATI, OH – In the wake of Cincinnati becoming the first Ohio city to pass a wage theft ordinance, one of Ohio’s senators is trying to bring the momentum nationwide. 

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown introduced the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act Wednesday. The legislation would give workers the right to receive full compensation for all of the work they perform, as well as the right to receive regular paystubs and final paychecks in a timely manner. 

It would also provide workers with tools to recover stolen wages and make assistance available to enhance the enforcement of and compliance with wage and hour laws. 

The bill was co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. 

Wage theft occurs when employers refuse to pay workers money that they are owed by withholding pay, tips or overtime.

“When bosses don’t pay their workers what they’re owed, it robs them of money they earned for their hard work and hurts businesses that play by the rules,” Brown said in a news release.

“We must create a system where employers who steal wages are held accountable and workers have the tools they need to recover their wages when they’ve been cheated.”

A 2009 study by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) of nearly 4,500 low-wage workers found that more than 60 percent had been shorted by their employer each week, equivalent to $2,634 per year in unpaid wages. Analysts applying this study to Cincinnati estimate that low-wage workers here lose $52 million per year to wage theft.

Low-wage and immigrant workers are victims of wage theft when they are paid less than the minimum wage, are shorted hours, forced to work off the clock, are not paid overtime or not paid at all. These are pervasive practices across many industries.  

Despite complaints about wage theft, Ohio has cut the number of state wage investigators from 15 to five since 2008.  The closest investigator to Hamilton County is located in Dayton, Ohio.

In early February, Cincinnati became the first city in Ohio to pass an ordinance to improve enforcement of existing wage laws.

City Council voted 7-2 for the ordinance. Under the measure, if the city or another agency determines a company has committed wage theft, city officials would be able to have the money returned and the company would be barred from doing business with the city.

During a news conference call Wednesday, Brown was joined by Brennan Grayson, director of the Interfaith Workers Center in Cincinnati, who helped organize support for Cincinnati’s recently-passed wage theft ordinance.

“Sen. Brown’s bill is the type of change we need to begin making things right, to begin restoring dignity to wage earners,” Grayson said.

Under the Ohio Democrat’s proposal, workers would recoup the full compensation that employers have taken from them, create a civil penalty of $2,000 when employers violate minimum wage and overtime protections and  increase the time that employees have to bring a claim for owed wages.

The bill also would make it easier for employees to take collective action to recover their stolen wages and remove the current requirement that employees affirmatively “opt-in” to engage in a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Last November, Brown introduced legislation to take action against employers that misclassify their workers to cheat them out of wages, benefits, and important workplace protections – one of the practices that contributes to wage theft. He has also introduced bills to raise the minimum wage, expand paid sick leave to all workers and support workers’ right to bargain with employers.

Source: Cincinnati.com

NEW  YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters announced on Friday, March 18, 2016, the guilty pleas of Sergio Raymundo, 28, and his New Paltz-based construction company Lalo Drywall, Inc. 

Both defendants pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court and must pay $793,509.60 in restitution and $83,143.76 in unpaid unemployment contributions due to the New York State Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Division. 

Raymundo and Lalo Drywall, Inc. cheated eight workers at a Harlem housing project out of approximately $800,000.00 in wages during a 17-month period, and attempted to conceal the underpayments by signing false checks drawn on the company’s account indicating that employees on the job were paid properly under the law. However, those checks were never actually given to the workers.

“No matter how creative they become in their illegal schemes, dishonest contractors will be held accountable. This guilty plea demonstrates that my office will continue to take aggressive action against public works contractors who cheat their employees out of proper wages and who abuse taxpayer money” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Workers must be paid for their labor, and my office is committed to ensuring that workers who are cheated out of wages are rightfully compensated.”

NYC Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “The pleas by these defendants, and the restitution being awarded to workers who were cheated out of nearly $800,000 in rightful pay, demonstrates that wage theft at public works projects is a serious crime with consequences. DOI will continue to pursue and expose employers who attempt to steal workers hard-earned wages. I thank the Attorney General and our partner agencies for their efforts in uncovering and prosecuting these crimes.”

Sergio Raymundo pleaded guilty to one count of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree under New York State’s Penal Law, a class E felony, as well as to one count of Failure to Pay Wages under New York State’s Labor Law, an unclassified misdemeanor.

With his plea, Raymundo paid $350,000.00 to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). representing restitution and unpaid unemployment contributions by Lalo Drywall, Inc. At sentencing, under the plea agreement, Raymundo must pay another $210,000.00 representing an additional amount of restitution and unpaid unemployment contributions.  The remaining $318,150.56 in restitution and unpaid unemployment contributions will be paid during Raymundo’ post-conviction sentence.

Lalo Drywall, Inc. pleaded guilty to one count of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, and will be sentenced to a conditional discharge.  Under the plea agreements, both Raymundo and Lalo Drywall, Inc. are also barred from bidding on or being awarded any public works contracts in New York State for the next 5 years.

This plea stemmed from the April 2015 arrests of five subcontractors as part of an ongoing focus by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters on widespread allegations of wage theft at public works projects in New York City. One of the subcontractors was Lalo Drywall, Inc., which was investigated for underpayment schemes that took place between April 10, 2013 and August 27, 2014 at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Sugar Hill Houses, a mixed-use, commercial and low-income residential project in Harlem, which was subject to prevailing wage requirements.  Federal and state prevailing wage laws seek to ensure that government contractors pay wages and benefits that are comparable to the local norms for a given trade, typically well above the state and federal minimum wage.

The case was investigated by Deputy Inspector General David Jordan and Assistant Inspector General Ondie Frederick under the supervision of Inspector General Jessica Heegan. The Department of Investigation’s effort to combat prevailing wage violations was overseen by Senior Associate Commissioner Michael Carroll and Associate Commissioner William Jorgenson.

Source: Hudson Valley News Network