Union accuses Framingham Housing Authority subcontractor of wage theft
Photo | Courtesy of North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 336
Demonstrators outside of Carlson Crossing West
The North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 336 has accused Lawrence-based demolitions contractor AM Enterprises Corp. of wage theft, insurance fraud, and tax fraud based on cash payments made to workers for their labor on the renovation of the Framingham Housing Authority’s Carlson Crossing West, a matter being reviewed by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
The company is paying workers in cash at a rate significantly less than the prevailing wage, said Frank Gomez and Rick Anketell, organizers with the carpenters union.
Four workers came forward with the issue in March and were fired, leading to allegations of wrongful termination, said Gomez and Anketell.
The Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General is aware of the matter and of AM Enterprises, according to an email from Attorney General’s Office Deputy Press Secretary Roxana Martinez-Gracias.
AM Enterprises Corp. is a demolition subcontractor working for the project’s general contractor TRAC Builders, Inc. of Providence. When asked for comment, AM Enterprises referred WBJ to TRAC Builders.
Sakib Khan, founder of Needham law firm Khan Law PLLC, who is representing TRAC Builders, provided WBJ with the following statement:
“Like all general contractors, TRAC has subcontracted the work of certain trades and specialties to qualified trade subcontractors. TRAC’s subcontracts require each subcontractor to comply with all applicable laws and substantially all of the terms and conditions for the Project required by the Framingham Housing Authority. These requirements include payment of prevailing wages as required by state law. TRAC expects all of its subcontractors to fully comply with all applicable laws, including wage and hour laws,” Khan said.
The state attorney general’s office is conducting a compliance review of the work performed by AM Enterprises, and TRAC is fully cooperating with that review, Khan said in the statement.
FHA Executive Director Paul Landers did not return voicemails from WBJ requesting comment.
The FHA released a statement in March to Framingham Source, who first reported on the matter: “The Framingham Housing Authority followed Chapter 149 Bid Laws and publicly bid the Carlson Crossing West Modernization Project. General Contractors and Filed Sub-Contractors were required to follow a pre-qualification process which is required for all projects of this size. TRAC Builders submitted the lowest bid of the pre-qualified General Contractors.”
Gomez and Anketell told WBJ contractors who do not pay workers properly have an unfair advantage when bidding for projects. The workers on this project were offered $22 an hour where the prevailing wage is $50-$60, they said.
Since the initial four workers came forward, Gomez said 11 or 12 workers are willing to come forward and others who aren’t because they fear losing their livelihood.
Gomez said workers were made by AM Enterprises to sign checks indicating they were paid at a rate of $62.90 per hour and handed the checks back to the AM Enterprises foreman. Workers were then paid in cash at a rate of $27.50 per hour. This practice began on Feb. 6, Gomez said, and prior to that the workers were just paid in cash.
The workers would be taking on legal representation on Friday, he said.
While the workers are not carpenters and not directly represented by the union, Gomez and Anketell said the union has a moral obligation to stand up in solidarity because situations such as this are a detriment to taxpayers, contractors, and developers who play by the rules, and to area workers who should be earning more.
In March, MassDevelopment issued a $22-million tax-exempt bond to provide financing for the Carlson Crossing West renovation project. The project also will receive $19.7 million in federal low-income tax credits from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, with an assist from MassDevelopment, according to a March press release from MassDevelopment.
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