Signs. At one time, there were 43 of them all over town. Even a few in Laughlin. About 10 feet long and 4 feet wide, with the names of the alleged offenders in large red letters, the signs spoke out, even if the groups of two to four members of Carpenters Local No. 1977 who manned them continually referred questions to headquarters. The first two words on the signs were all the same: "Shame on ..." and were followed by names of alleged offenders—Summit Builders, Las Ventanas, Desert Springs Hospital, etc.
Frank Hawk, director of organizing for the Nevada jurisdiction of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, says the signs have been an effective, if quiet, way to protest its gripes with several Valley builders.
Last year, Carpenters Local, whose 10,000 members make it the largest construction union in the city, targeted Burke and Associates, alleging that the builder discriminated against union members constructing the Las Ventanas senior housing project on Charleston Boulevard just east of Town Center. Hawk claimed Burke used local contractors on the first phase—paying them prevailing wages and offering benefits—then imported workers from Colorado during the next phase, thus undercutting local workers. "We also had a suspicion about racism," he says. "White guys were getting $25 an hour and Latinos were getting $8 an hour, and none of the workers out there had health care or pensions."
At the time, Matt Boyd, vice president of field operations for Burke & Associates, said this was "not an issue of us not wanting to hire union labor. We have numerous union contractors on numerous jobs throughout the Valley and have union carpenters doing a handful of projects right now. We use a mix of union and non-union workers. The union protest had nothing to do with Burke, but more to do with a specific contractor."
Months later, Hawk says things are better in this particular case. "We have settled lots of differences with Burke." (There have been dueling lawsuits.)
Hawk insists that the union's Valleywide demands aren't excessive; it doesn't set Nevada's prevailing wage; the state does.
"A carpenter working on a high-rise building might make $30 an hour, plus benefits. Don't get me wrong, that's good money, he says. "But the nature of construction workers is different. It can be seasonal. It can fluctuate with the market and a person might not be making $30 an hour all the time. Plus, many construction workers put their lives on the line every day. ... And there are lots of good contractors in town, who do the right thing. We have 800 contractors who are signatory with the carpenters' union."
But now the union has set its sights on Universal Health Systems—owners of Valley, Deserts Springs, Summerlin and the under-construction Centennial Hills hospitals—and Summit Builders (whose local projects include Homewood Suites in Henderson, The Onyx luxury condominiums and the Thomas & Mack Beltway office building). Hawk claims that both companies don't pay standard wages or offer health benefits to workers.
"It's an ironic example that the people building Centennial Hills hospital can build it but can't get treated there," Hawk says. "I'm sure they'll tell you different. I'm interested in what they have to say."
Neither Universal Health Systems nor Summit Builders returned calls for comment before press time.
Hawk says the signs—there are 21 now—have had the unintended effect of spurring other companies to improve their labor practices; he's heard that some companies have made sure they are paying standard wages and offering benefits.
Nothing like the threat of bad publicity to keep companies in line—even though some of the signs seem to go unnoticed as cars rush by. It's a slow process, but one of the proven ways labor disputes get prompted toward resolution.