...Union uncovers wage theft at Pearl District apartment
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Clark, regional enforcement coordinator for the
U.S. Department of Labor.
“It’s in place so that unscrupulous contractors
can’t come in and underbid,” Clark said. “The
government doesn’t want to be a party to a race
to the bottom.”
It didn’t take Marcos long to find problems at
C2 Professional Painting, the painting subcon-
tractor at the Parker Apartments. Showing up at
the job site March 20, 2014, he was told by C2’s
foreman that he could start work the next day. But
he was never told what the rate of pay would be.
His first paycheck worked out to roughly half the
$26.83 an hour prevailing wage rate for painters.
Not only that, but he never saw or signed a W-4,
the form that determines income tax withholding.
Paychecks came late, and without a proper pay
stub — which would show the hourly rate and
number of hours worked. Marcos stayed on at The
Parker until May 6, when he was laid off after an
argument with the foreman. But he stayed in
touch with other members of the C2 crew.
On June 25, Ramos, the union organizer, met
with three C2 workers and told them they were
being cheated to the tune of $13 an hour. He told
them to log their hours, and promised the union’s
help to get them what they were due. C2 workers
were indignant when they learned just how low
they were being paid in comparison to workers for
other contractors on the project.
“Even the guys picking up garbage on the floor
were making more than us,” recalls C2 painter
Romeo Garcia.
The C2 painters began talking with other work-
ers on the site. A Carpenters union member work-
ing as a drywall hanger at Anning-Johnson en-
couraged them to report the violation to the
government and to general contractor Lorentz
Bruun. On July 3, he accompanied several other
workers to the project superintendent’s trailer, and
PAGE 10
Solidarity — from the union, from workers on the job, and each other — is the force that exposed
wage theft at a brand-new Pearl District apartment complex. Romeo Garcia, Alberto Avendaño,
and Marcos Jimenez — pictured above at the office of Painters Local 10 — were among at least
eight employees of C2 Professional Painting who were paid about half the $26.83 prevailing wage
rate for painters at Parker Apartments. But after the Department of Labor investigated, general
contractor Lorentz Bruun paid $85,000 to settle the underpayment of its subcontractor.
they told Lorentz Bruun senior project manager
Mike Clancy what was happening.
On prevailing wage jobs, contractors are re-
quired to fill out certified payroll reports every
week, listing the names of the workers, the num-
ber of hours worked, the rate of their pay and ben-
efits, and any payroll deductions. Willful falsifi-
cation of the reports is subject to civil and criminal
prosecution.
According to the workers, Clancy looked at
C2’s certified payroll reports, and said their check
amounts matched up, with C2 paying the $26.83
rate. Except for one problem: The reports said the
men were working half-time, but the men said
they were working full-time. Clancy told them
he’d look into it.
By then, the Department of Labor was in-
volved. A team of at least eight investigators flew
in from around the country, led by Rebecca Clark.
They pored through certified payroll records, and
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
interviewed workers. Besides The Parker, they in-
vestigated three other Portland-area projects with
HUD loan guarantees: The Prescott Apartments,
Marquis at Tualatin, and Moreland Station Apart-
ments. Results of the investigations are still pend-
ing.
Shortly after the visit to Lorentz Bruun, C2
workers say their supervisor, Felix, told them that
if they didn’t go back and tell Lorentz Bruun (and
later, the DOL investigators) that they were work-
ing only 20 hours a week and making more than
$20 an hour, the company would go out of busi-
ness. Garcia and one other worker refused, and
were told to leave. Six other workers were then
given a choice: Lie about the hours worked, and in
the future be paid as a “professional painter,” or be
fired like the other workers. They packed their
things and left. They had already made a pact with
each other that if any were let go, they’d all walk.
Having seen the records, DOL agents met with
C2 workers on Aug. 1. It was clear the law had
been violated.
Under the law, whoever signs the loan docu-
ments — in this case the developer — is on the
hook for wage violations. But it never got to that
level. On Sept. 16, general contractor Lorentz
Bruun paid $85,000 to settle the claims.
“C2 totally screwed me,” Lorentz Bruun pres-
ident Mark Bruun told the Labor Press.
Bruun said his company has never had a pre-
vailing wage violation in 70 years of business.
Lorentz Bruun employs some union subcontrac-
tors, including concrete contractor Whitaker Ellis
and electrical contractor Prairie Electric.
State corporate records listed Errin Caudle as
president of C2 and its parent company, New
Heights Construction Management. She’s also a
dance coach at Aloha High School and St. Helens
High School. On Aug. 14, she filed to make her
husband Gordon Caudle the company president.
Between the two, it’s Gordon who has more ex-
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OCTOBER 3, 2014