The new year of 1999 held greater promise for construction workers and all working people than any year in recent memory. Building trades workers had begun 1998 facing the greatest challenge to workers' rights in 40 years when a "right-to-work" measure had been soundly defeated at the polls. After they played a key role in the defeat of Prop. 226 and the subsequent election of a Democratic Governor and Labor-friendly majorities in both houses of the Legislature, construction workers were poised to begin to reverse the effects of 16 years of administrations that were either indifferent or openly hostile to Labor.
But the Wilson administration kept up its fight against the building trades to the bitter end. On December 29, 1998, Wilson's DIR officials asked the State Court of Appeal in San Francisco to change a court order which prevented the California Apprenticeship Council (CAC) from spending any funds on rulemaking proceedings. It would be Wilson's last-gasp attempt to cut the minimum wage for apprentices. The court order was issued in October 1998 in response to the lawsuit filed by the SBCTC and two contractor groups.
On January 13, new DIR Director Steve Smith asked the court to delay its response to the Wilson administration's last-minute request. Smith informed the court that the terms of half of the members of the CAC would expire on January 15, and strongly implied that the new Gray Davis appointees likely would take a different position.
SBCTC Sponsors Reception
for Governor and Legislators
On January 26, the SBCTC sponsored a reception at the Sterling Hotel in Sacramento for new Gov. Gray Davis and members of the California Legislature. Legislators, including Senate President Pro Tem John Burton of San Francisco, Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, building trades leaders and staff packed the reception. Davis repeated his support for building trades' positions on prevailing wages and a number of other issues. Afterward, he stayed to visit with many of those who attended the reception.
One Legal Battle to Cut Prevailing Wages Ends in Victory for Construction Workers
In late January 1999, the new Davis-appointed management team at DIR notified the 3rd District State Court of Appeal that DIR would drop one of its legal efforts to slash prevailing wages.
The SBCTC, the Teamsters and several contractor associations had filed the lawsuit in March 1997 to prevent the Wilson administration from replacing the longstanding modal rate method of determining prevailing wage rates with a wage averaging method. When Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Cecily Bond ruled that DIR's new regulations were illegal, Wilson's DIR officials appealed the ruling to the 3rd District State Court of Appeal in Sacramento. Now, that lawsuit was history and the building trades prevailed. But one lawsuit was still under appeal to the California Supreme Court.
During his campaign for Governor, Davis had pledged to restore the modal rate method of determining prevailing wages if he won the election, and by dropping the appeal, the new Davis-appointed DIR team was keeping a promise and honoring construction workers all over California!
Davis Asks Building Trades, Other Officials, to Accompany Him on Mission to Improve Relations with Mexico
On February 1, new Governor Davis invited California labor leaders to accompany him to Mexico on a mission to improve strained relations with Mexico -- relations damaged by former Governor Pete Wilson's anti-immigrant positions. The Labor delegation included myself; Jim Kellogg, International Representative for the United Association; Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation, and Eliseo Medina, Executive Vice President, Western Region, Service Employees International Union.
Davis Names Marcy Saunders
Labor Commissioner
Early in 1999, the SBCTC Executive Board endorsed Marcy Saunders for the position of Labor Commissioner and forwarded the endorsement to Governor Davis. On February 19, Davis made the appointment. Saunders had been Business Manager/Financial Secretary of the Building and Construction Trades Council of San Mateo County, and was a member of the SBCTC Executive Board.
As Labor Commissioner, Saunders would be the top labor law enforcement officer in the state. The Labor Commissioner also is chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) in the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). In her new post, Saunders would enforce wage and hour laws, including prevailing wages and Industrial Welfare Commission orders. DLSE also registers garment manufacturers and issues licenses to farm labor contractors, talent agencies, and industrial homeworkers.
Saunders had a long history with the building trades. She was the first woman in the United States and Canada to be elected to the top office in a building trades council. She negotiated a $2.8 billion Project Labor Agreement for the expansion of the San Francisco International Airport.
Prevailing Wage Bill
Clears First Legislative Hurdle
Committee Recommends Confirmation
of Smith as DIR Director
As February drew to a close, the focus of the struggle to defend prevailing wages and other workers' rights shifted from the courts to the Legislature. On the morning of February 24, the Senate Industrial Relations Committee voted 4-2 to advance SB 16, the SBCTC-sponsored bill that would lock the modal rate method of determining prevailing wages, into state law. And in the afternoon, the Senate Rules Committee voted 4-0 to recommend to the full Senate that Steve Smith be confirmed as DIR director.
DLSE Begins the First
Debarment Proceedings of the 1990s
Against an Active Contractor
Also in February 1999, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement set a debarment hearing for May 14 for W.S.B. Electric and its president, Kenneth Mark Williams. The non-union electrical contractor had been in a legal battle against California's prevailing wage statutes since the early 1990s. DLSE alleged that while W.S.B. Electric performed work as an electrical subcontractor on three separate public works projects, it failed to pay all or some of its employees for all the hours they worked, failed to pay overtime wages when its employees worked more than eight hours in a single day, and that W.S.B. submitted false certified payrolls.
It was the first time that a debarment action had been taken against an active contractor since the Labor Code was amended to include a debarment procedure at the beginning of the decade!
SBCTC Sponsors Legislation to Beef Up Labor Law Enforcement
The W.S.B. Electric case demonstrated a problem that had grown worse during the prior 16 years. Labor law enforcement under two successive Republican administrations had dropped dramatically.
Between 1991 and 1996, the DLSE had referred only 61 cases to the Contractors State License Board after a finding that contractors willfully or deliberately violated the Labor Code. Workers compensation cases fell from 2,844 in 1993 to 1,357 in 1996.
Under the Wilson administration, total penalties collected compared with total penalties assessed showed how the enforcement system had failed dramatically. The SBCTC sponsored the introduction of two bills to strengthen the weakened enforcement system.
AB 1646, introduced for the SBCTC by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, called for a new wage and penalty citation system under the Labor Commissioner, replacing the old system that required a lawsuit to be filed in Superior Court.
AB 952, introduced for the SBCTC by Assembly Member Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, called for transfer of 10 percent of the total revenues of the Contractors State License Board to the Labor Commissioner's office for enforcement of construction industry labor laws.
SBCTC Sponsors Apprenticeship Bill
To strengthen apprenticeship standards that had been weakened during the previous two state administrations, the SBCTC sponsored AB 921, which was introduced by Assembly Member Fred Keeley, D-Santa Cruz. AB 921 said that members of the California Apprenticeship Council must represent both employers and employees which actually sponsor apprenticeship programs. It called for audits of apprenticeship programs at least once every five years, and required that employers who sign apprenticeship training agreements use apprentices on both their public and private sector work. In short, no more pay cuts for apprentices when they work on a private sector job. AB 921 also increased penalties to employers for violations of apprenticeship requirements.
Other bills either sponsored or supported by the SBCTC defined the term "responsible bidder" for purposes of qualifying bidders on public works jobs, required all public works awarding bodies which use owner-supplied "wrap-up" insurance to prequalify all contractors on the basis of the job safety record, extended the life of the Joint Enforcement Task Force on the Underground Economy until 2006, and improved procedures for trust fund administrators to file claims and liens against contractor bonds for nonpayment of fund contributions.
Labor Reps Appointed to State Commissions
In mid-March of 1999, Governor Davis reappointed Charles "Chuck" Center, Director of Legislation for the California State Council of Laborers, to the Industrial Welfare Commission. The IWC issues orders that set the minimum wage, hours and conditions of labor and employment of working Californians, including conditions of overtime pay for persons not covered by collective bargaining agreements.
James W. Kellogg, International Representative of the United Association, was named to the California Transportation Commission, and six labor leaders, including four from the building trades, were named to a new 44-member Commission on Building for the 21st Century. Appointees to this commission, which Governor Davis charged with developing a comprehensive building plan to assure that the state's infrastructure needs are met, included:
•Bob Balgenorth, President. State Building and Construction Trades Council
•John Casey, International Representative, Northern California Carpenters Regional Council
•Jim Kellogg of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
•Max Warren, Senior Vice President & Pacific Southwest Regional Manager, Laborers' International Union of North America
•Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President, Service Employees International Union
•Art Pulaski, Executive Secretary/Treasurer, California Labor Federation
Smith Confirmed as DIR Director
On March 15, the State Senate voted 30-0 to confirm Steve Smith as the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations.
SBCTC Bills Move Through Legislature
In April 1999, bills sponsored by the SBCTC were approved by several legislative committees. SB 16 -- the bill to lock the modal rate method of determining prevailing wage rates into the Labor Code rather than leave it as a regulation that could be changed by an anti-worker administration -- already had cleared the Senate, and on April 14, it was approved by the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on a 6-2 vote. Six Democrats voted "yes" and two Republicans voted "no."
AB 1646 provided for tighter enforcement of prevailing wage law, also cleared the committee on an identical 6-2 vote.
And in the Senate on April 14, the Industrial Relations Committee approved SB 899 to establish the Youthbuild education and training program in the State Employment Development Department. This SBCTC-sponsored bill would help school dropouts in low income households to obtain the education and skills necessary to be admitted to building trades' apprenticeship programs.
By the end of April, SB 16 had been approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on its way to the Assembly floor for final passage. A floor vote would take place in May.
Final Vctory in Legal Battle
Over Prevailing Wages
April 1999 closed with a tremendous victory for the building trades. In 1998, when Pete Wilson was still Governor, his DIR officials asked the California Supreme Court to review a State Appeal Court decision favorable to the building trades.
The Appeal Court decision was on a building trades lawsuit that challenged the authority of Wilson's DIR appointees to spend money on prevailing wage surveys needed to implement his "weighted average" regulations despite the fact that the Legislature had refused to budget money for the surveys.
The Appeal Court had ruled that DIR lacked the authority to spend the money, and the Wilson plan to implement its new regulations was stopped in its tracks.
The Wilson administration hoped the State Supreme Court would overturn the Appeal Court's decision and allow DIR to do the wage surveys needed to put its weighted average regulations into effect. But after the Davis administration took office, Davis' new DIR team reversed Wilson's policies and asked the high court to dismiss the case.
As April closed, the Supreme Court agreed to the Davis administration request, and the case was dismissed. A four-year legal battle waged by the SBCTC, its affiliates and union-signatory contractor associations was over. The San Francisco law firm of Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Berzon & Rubin represented the building trades in the legal actions.
Now, the legal battle was over and passage of SB 16 would mark the end of the war. Construction workers did not have long to wait.
Bills to Restore Overtime, Other Labor Bills Move Through Legislature
Other legislation important to California's workers was moving through the Legislature in April. One of the most important was AB 60, to restore overtime after an eight-hour day. AB 60 was carried by Assembly Member Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles. The Wilson-appointed majority on the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) had voted to eliminate daily overtime, making overtime pay available only after 40 hours of work in one week.
AB 574, sponsored by the California State Council of Carpenters and carried by Assembly Member Robert Hertzberg, D-Los Angeles, allowed local and state agencies and other public bodies to require prospective bidders on a public works contract to establish a standardized system of rating prospective bidders.
AB 1206, sponsored by the California State Council of Laborers and carried by Assembly Member Herb Wesson of Los Angeles, required persons who set up street and highway construction zones for traffic diversions to obtain a contractor's license.
SBCTC, Other Unions Meet With
UC President to Discuss Labor Relations
On May 5, 1999, representatives of the SBCTC, the California Labor Federation, and seven unions which represent large numbers of UC employees, aired labor problems with UC President Richard Atkinson and other top UC officials at UC headquarters in Oakland. Atkinson and the Labor representatives agreed to begin discussions about establishing a task force to review the University's labor policies.
Prevailing Wage Bill Wins Final Passage, Goes to Governor's Desk
On May 13, 1999, the SBCTC's prevailing wage bill won final passage in the Assembly and went to the Governor's desk. The vote was 53-17, with 46 Democrats and 7 Republicans voting "yes," and 17 Republicans voting "no." It was a remarkable victory in light of the four-year battle to save the prevailing wage.
Other SBCTC-backed bills also were advancing, including legislation on apprenticeship, labor law enforcement, "responsible bidder," and highway construction safety.
The SBCTC also was negotiating with the administration and legislators for increased supplemental education funds for apprenticeship programs, with the amount to be determined in coming weeks.
In other legislative action, the Senate Rules Committee recommended that the Senate confirm James W. Kellogg, International Representative of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices International, as a member of the California Transportation Commission.
Lujan Appointed to Del Mar Fair Board
Also in early May, Governor Davis named Arthur S. Lujan, business manager of the San Diego Building Trades Council, to the Board of Directors for the 22nd District Agricultural Association, better known as the Del Mar Fair Board.
Luboviski's Hard Work Gets Results
In Northern California, Alameda Building Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer Barry Luboviski and his staff had worked hard to persuade the Port of Oakland's Board of Commissioners that they should negotiate Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) to cover $1.4 billion in construction work scheduled for the airport and harbor. The Board of Commissioners agreed, voting to negotiate PLAs provided that the agreements promote the use of local, minority and disadvantaged labor and contractors.
Building Trades Win
$4 Million Budget Increase to Enforce
Apprenticeship, Wage and Hour Laws
At the request of the SBCTC and with the support of Senate Budget Subcommittee Chair Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, and Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, the subcommittee added $1 million to the $3.9 million budget for the Division of Apprenticeship Standards in DIR. The appropriation would allow 15 positions to be added to the division.
And in a second significant action also requested by the SBCTC, the subcommittee increased the budget for the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) by $3 million to add 39 labor enforcement positions.
DLSE, under the direction of State Labor Commissioner Marcy Saunders, has primary responsibility for enforcement of wage and hour laws, conditions of employment, collection of unpaid wages, licensing of farm labor contractors and industrial homework firms, registration of garment manufacturers, field enforcement of prevailing wage requirements for public works projects, workers' compensation, child labor, unlicensed contractors and unlawful cash payment of wages.
Because the enforcement staff had been significantly reduced during the prior 16 years, the number of inspections and field activities had plummeted. In May 1999, there was a backlog of more than 2,000 wage complaints that were overdue for investigation.
ABC Uses Desperation Tactics
to Oppose Apprenticeship Bill
As the SBCTC's bill to strengthen apprenticeship standards, AB 921, moved closer to final passage, the anti-union Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) resorted to circulating a memo to legislators that was filled with lies about apprenticeship programs.
The ABC memo made the outrageous charge that AB 921 is " . . . racist and a direct assault on our (the ABC's non-union, employer-operated) training programs to the detriment of minorities." The ABC alleged that minority enrollment in its construction apprenticeship programs was higher at 39.5 percent than minority enrollment in joint labor/management programs.
The truth, according to the official figures of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, was that more than 50 percent of the apprentices enrolled in jointly operated labor/management construction apprenticeship programs were minorities. Even more revealing, the graduation rate for non-union employer-only construction apprenticeship programs for the years 1992, 1993 and 1994 was only 3.9 percent. That was only 117 persons.
The ABC attack failed and AB 921 advanced.
Governor Davis Signs Historic
Prevailing Wage Bill, Declares June 1
'Building and Construction Trades Day'
For the first time in California history, use of the modal rate method to determine prevailing wage rates on public works jobs became law on June 1 when Governor Gray Davis signed the SBCTC's prevailing wage bill, SB 16.
Davis honored building and construction trades unions by issuing a proclamation that declared June 1, 1999, "Building and Construction Trades Day."
The signing of SB 16, which was carried by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, and coauthored by Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles, marked the end of a five-year struggle over prevailing wages that began when former Governor Pete Wilson tried to do away with the modal rate method, and install a scheme of determining prevailing wages that would have cut construction pay by as much as 20 percent.
Now, with the modal rate method mandated by law, it would be much more difficult for any future administration hostile to workers to weaken or eliminate prevailing wages.
Pete Wilson tried to take a wrecking ball to construction workers' pay, and bring down their unions along with it. This bill will make sure that a fair wage structure, built over the 40 years, can't be brought down by those who favor greed over fairness.
Senate Rules Committee Recommends Confirmation of Marcy Saunders
as Labor Commissioner
On June 9, Marcy Saunders' confirmation as State Labor Commissioner was virtually assured when the Senate Rules Committee voted 3-0 to send her nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote. Voting to recommend her confirmation was Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, the chairman of the Rules Committee, and Senators Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, and Teresa Hughes, D Los Angeles.
Davis Names Labor Leaders to
Key Positions in State Government
On June 14, six labor union officers were named to important positions in the Department of Industrial Relations, the State Energy Commission, the State Air Resources Board and the State Personnel Board.
Daniel M. Curtin of Sacramento, director of the California State Council of Carpenters since 1986, was named Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Industrial Relations.
Richard P. Gannon of Cherry Valley, a member of Operating Engineers Local 12, was named Administrative Director, Division of Workers' Compensation. Gannon had been a commissioner for theWorkers' Compensation Appeals Board since 1992 and earlier served as an administrator for the Southern California Surveyors Joint Apprenticeship Committee.
Sean Harrigan of Anaheim was appointed to the State Personnel Board. Harrigan had been the regional director and international vice president of the Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) since 1994.
Matthew R. McKinnon of Sacramento, executive secretary treasurer of the California Conference of Machinists since 1994, was appointed to the State Air Resources Board.
Henry Patrick Nunn III of Alameda, director of the Painting and Decorating Joint Apprenticeship Training Council of the Bay Area, Inc., since 1982, was named Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards in the Department of Industrial Relations.
Robert Pernell of Sacramento, director of research for the California State Council of Laborers Legislative Department, and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, was appointed to the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
New State Budget Contains $5 Million Increase Requested by SBCTC for
Wage and Hour Enforcement
Adds $500,000 for Apprenticeship
On June 29, Governor Davis signed an $81.3 billion state budget for 1999-2000 that contained a $5 million increase for wage and hour enforcement requested by the SBCTC and legislative advocates for a host of building trades unions.
The budget also added $500,000 to the budget of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS). As approved by the Legislature, the budget contained a $1 million increase for DAS, but Davis used his "blue pencil" veto authority to reduce that to $500,000.
The additional $5.5 million for wage and hour and apprenticeship enforcement was a major step toward putting teeth back into labor law in California -- a goal long sought by the SBCTC and its affiliates. During the past 16 years, job site inspections and field activities had plummeted drastically.
SBCTC's Zampa Battles to Stop Caltrans from Using Foreign Steel
on Carquinez Bridge Retrofit
In the spring of 1999, SBCTC Secretary-Treasurer Dick Zampa, also President of the Iron Workers District Council, discovered that Caltrans was using steel purchased in China for its multimillion dollar seismic retrofit of the Carquinez Bridge on Interstate 80. Efforts to persuade Caltrans Director Jose Medina to halt the practice and impose a "Buy California" provision in California law failed.
In response, the SBCTC sponsored a bill carried by Assembly Member Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, to establish preferences for the purchase of materials manufactured in the United States and California when those materials are to be used in public works projects. The bill, AB 214, quickly gained support in both houses of the Legislature, and was sent to the Governor as the legislative session ended in September.
"It's not a union issue. It's an American issue," Zampa said. "It's our tax dollars. We're paying for the project. California workers are doing the retrofit. They ought to be making the steel, too."
Tough Stand by Labor Commissioner Results in 3-Year Debarment for W.S.B. Electric
On July 15, Labor Commissioner Marcy Saunders, who had easily won confirmation in a vote by the full Senate in June, announced that W.S.B. Electric, Inc., a subcontractor with a history of labor disputes, would be debarred for three years, effective September 1, for multiple violations of prevailing wage laws on Bay Area projects.
The debarment was the first since Saunders took office earlier in the year, and one of only a handful of debarments for contractors or subcontractors for the past eight years.
Davis Signs Bill to Restore Daily Overtime
On July 20, Governor Davis signed AB 60, the landmark bill sponsored by the California Labor Federation and backed by the SBCTC, to restore daily overtime after eight hours of work to some 8 million Californians who labor without collective bargaining agreements. The Wilson-appointed majority on the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) had repealed daily overtime in 1998.
The legislation, AB 60, by Assembly Member Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles, would for the first time apply daily overtime requirements to persons in the construction, mining and logging industries. That was because the legislation applied to all California workers except persons who work in specified industries, including commercial fishing, hospitals, horse racing and agriculture.
State Supreme Court Upholds PLA for
SF Airport Rejects All ABC Arguments
In a unanimous landmark ruling that virtually assured an end to anti-union Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) challenges to project labor agreements in California, the State Supreme Court on August 16 upheld the legitimacy of the PLA for the San Francisco Airport expansion project.
In its ruling, the Court described the PLA as an agreement "designed to eliminate potential delays resulting from labor strife, to ensure a steady supply of skilled labor on the project, and to provide a contractually binding means of resolving worker grievances."
The 7-0 decision said that "ABC fails to explain persuasively how the wage and benefit requirements for the …(PLA) place ABC or its members at a competitive disadvantage." Attorney Sandra Rae Benson, a partner in the law firm of Van Bourg, Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, represented the San Mateo Building and Construction Trades Council in the suit.
Historic Meeting of CLCs and BTCs
On August 24, 1999, there was a first-ever meeting in San Diego between Central Labor Councils and Building Trades Councils to promote better coordination and cooperation between CLCs and BTCs across California. The meeting was at least partially inspired by the success of a united Labor effort in defeating Proposition 226, the anti-union ballot measure on the June 1998 Primary Election ballot.
Labor Day 1999 Brings Good News
for California Apprentices
On Labor Day, Governor Davis named five worker-friendly members to the 17 member California Apprenticeship Council (CAC). They were:
Marvin Kropke, Business Manager/Financial Secretary for IBEW Local 11 in Pasadena.
Richard E. Zampa, Jr., Apprentice Coordinator for Ironworkers Local 378 in Benecia.
William T. Callahan, Executive Director of the Association of Roofing Contractors of the Bay Area Counties, Inc.
Carole Cresci Colbert, President and owner of Cresci Electric in San Francisco, a union contractor.
Max Turchen of Los Angeles, representing the public. Turchen is a member of the Congress of California Seniors, the National Council of Seniors, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Governor Davis Signs Flurry of
SBCTC-Backed Bills
In October 1999, Governor Davis signed AB 921 to strengthen apprenticeship training standards and crack down on substandard programs, AB 574 to assist public agencies in determining "responsible bidders" for public works contracts, AB 1127 to increase civil and criminal penalties for CAL-OSHA violations, AB 1268 that clarified court authority in Labor disputes, AB 1689 that clarified the Labor Commissioner's role with respect to recovery of lost wages, SB 981 requiring public works awarding bodies to prequalify contractors on the basis of their job safety record if they utilize owner-supplied "wrap-up" insurance, and SB 319, which extended the life of the Joint Enforcement Task Force on the Underground Economy to 2006.
Davis vetoed AB 214, the "Buy America" and "Buy California" bill, citing budget concerns.
A Labor Law Conference That
Broke New Ground
In October, the SBCTC brought together more than 350 sisters and brothers from its affiliates for a conference on labor law in Los Angeles. It was a unique gathering because the union representatives had two days of face-to-face meetings and workshops with the top enforcement officials of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).
Governor Davis sent the entire DIR leadership team, including DIR Director Steve Smith, all of his division chiefs and scores of other senior staffers to the October 20-21 conference, called Making the Law Work.
Smith told conference participants that "labor has a seat at the table" in the Davis administration. It was a total reversal of the message the SBCTC had received for most of the past 16 years when anti-worker Governors held office.
For two days, construction workers and DIR officials on the front lines of labor law enforcement discussed the problems that each of them face every day.
Two facts were clear as the conference ended. It would now be easier for the men and women who work construction in California to get a fair shake on the job, and it's going to be tougher for fly-by-night contractors to take advantage of workers.
After five years of struggle, the 300,000 men and women who were members of labor unions affiliated with the SBCTC could be optimistic about their future.