Posts tagged Building and Construction Trades Council
Former head of powerful construction labor association confesses to taking bribes
December 14, 2022 // James Cahill, ex-president of the state Building and Construction Trades Council, and 10 former union officials copped to taking bribes and other illegal payments from a construction company between October 2018 and October 2020. Others who pleaded guilty to the scheme included ex-top officials from two union locals, 638 and 200. They took thousands in bribes from the same company. Federal prosecutors said the bribes were handed off in cash-stuffed envelopes usually in restaurant bathrooms. The construction firm, not named in court papers, got the unions’ support in its bids for construction jobs and favorable deals in collective bargaining that allowed workers to be paid less.
California: Anti-worker or pro-worker? Why labor unions are fighting over a housing bill
May 12, 2022 // Under Wicks’ bill, developers would have to pay union-level wages — which are common to builders of exclusively affordable housing, but rare among market rate developers. Projects larger than 50 units would require health benefits for workers and contractors would need to request the dispatch of apprentices, but if they’re unavailable, the project would move forward anyway.