Across the U.S. and Canada, Carpenters Union members and supporters are gearing up for a variety of events April 13 – 19 to protest the epidemic of employer tax fraud in the construction industry.
Events are taking place at dozens of locations throughout the U.S. and Canada to demonstrate how construction employer tax fraud hurts us all: workers, law-abiding contractors and taxpayers.
Crooked contractors steal wages, engage in shady banking schemes and game the system to illegally avoid paying payroll taxes and workers’ compensation premium obligations. Some $10 billion a year is lost to construction industry tax fraud.
It’s time to speak out and take action!
Click the Events tab at the Tax Fraud Days of Action website for a look at scheduled events or contact the UBC council in your area for more information.
Here are just a few examples of Days of Action events:
- On April 8, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost will visit construction jobsites in Columbus with representatives of the Central Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters to learn more about how tax fraud schemes operate on many sites.
- On April 9, in Boise, Idaho, members of the Western States Regional Council will pack a city council meeting to testify about examples in the city where employer tax fraud is occurring.
- On April 11, the Central South Carpenters Regional Council is hosting an event in Oklahoma City where elected leaders will speak out about the effects of construction employer tax fraud in their state. Speakers will include Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn, State Senator Michael Brooks, and State Representatives Mickey Dollens and Ben Sherrer.
- On April 15, members of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters will hold a large rally including state officials at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg.
- On April 17, members of the Central Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters will rally at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso, Indiana. State Senator Mike Bohacek, City Council Chair Robert Cotton and council candidate Bob DeRuntz will speak at the event.
- On April 18, the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters will host Hardhat Day at the State Capitol in Lansing, where members will speak with legislators about the tax fraud crisis and the council will conduct tours for legislators of its 44-foot Schools2Tools Mobile Field Trip “semi” truck.
- Throughout the week-long Days of Action campaign, in New York, workers and supporters will rally at the State Capitol in Albany, at state office locations including Binghamton, Syracuse, Watertown and Utica, at the District Attorney’s office in White Plains and at events in Buffalo, Patchogue, Rochester and Plattsburgh. Hundreds of UBC members will rally against wage theft at the New York City Public Library in Manhattan, with public officials on hand as speakers.
- Throughout the Days of Action campaign, members of the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council will take part in bannering events, jobsite rallies and public-awareness demonstrations at numerous post offices and federal, state and local government buildings in Illinois and Missouri.
- Southeastern Carpenters representatives will staff literature tables and educate public officials and others attending several council-sponsored events in Georgia and Tennessee during Tax Fraud Days of Action.
- On April 18, construction workers and members of the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council will rally in Sacramento with members of the state legislature and local officials. Similar events are being held at the Daly City City Hall and the Contra Costa County Courthouse in Martinez.
Get involved and Stand Up against construction employer tax fraud and worker abuse.