News

Few places in our council are as hot at Somerville when it comes to building. For a few years, the city just outside of Boston has seen a massive wave of development and redevelopment in and around the Assembly Square area.

Union carpenters and contractors have done significant work there, but there have also been some disturbing cases of wage theft and tax fraud on nonunion projects that should have been done by more professional companies.

Members have responded by working tirelessly to pass a wage theft ordinance in the city, giving local people more of an opportunity to protect local people and local standards.

In December, the Somerville City Council passed an ordinance sponsored by the Carpenters union and a number of community partners that should serve as a model for others. And they did it by an 11-0 vote.

The ordinance gives the city the right to pull a project’s building permit— temporarily or permanently—if wage theft is occurring, if workers’ comp policies are not in place or if tax fraud is found. The ordinance applies not just to public work, but projects where Tax Increment Financing agreements (TIFs) are in place or other tax breaks have been given.

Organizing Director Brian Richardson says the ordinance, and similar ones passed in more than a dozen communities, are a reaction to insufficient attention by other enforcement agencies.

“The federal government has really walked away from enforcing laws that protect workers, and states often don’t have the resources or the ability to react quickly enough,” he said. “Even in instances where someone can step in, the general contractor or developer isn’t held liable, so there’s no deterrent to their continuing to hire the same cheating subs. But if you put their permit at risk, they’re more likely to reconsider who they hire to do their work.”