Long Island leaders continue push for school construction reform | Long Island Business News

A group of elected officials, labor leaders and construction workers held another press conference at a Long Island school Tuesday, extending their campaign to urge passage of a bill requiring project labor agreements in public school construction projects.  

The event, held at Norman J. Levy Lakeside School, was aimed at condemning corruption in construction projects at Merrick School District and other public school districts across Long Island. The Merrick district is one of more than a dozen Long Island public school districts where contractors have recently been prosecuted for nonpayment of taxes and exploiting workers, according to a statement from the group. 

Speakers at the press conference highlighted two contractors who were prosecuted this year by the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, and a third contractor who submitted fraudulent certified payrolls to the Merrick School District that went undetected.  

Last month, the same group of officials held a press conference at Uniondale High School and mentioned the indictment of Bronx-based masonry contractor, who was arrested in July and charged in a 14-count complaint with failing to pay years of employee payroll taxes, scheming to defraud a construction contractor of millions of dollars, and aggravated identify theft. 

Participants at the press conference said that Long Island school districts have awarded multi-million-dollar projects funded by state taxpayers to contractors who have been found guilty of wire fraud, wage theft, failed to secure New York-based insurance and workers’ compensation, and even refused to hire local workers. They said the crimes and lack of oversight have cost taxpayers millions of dollars and robbed workers of hundreds of thousands of dollars.  

At both press events, officials called for passage of the Stop Worker Exploitation in Public Education Act, bipartisan state legislation to create a project labor agreement (PLA) between Long Island public school districts and local building trades unions to ensure construction projects are awarded to responsible, New York-based contractors that employ local workers.  

Organizations and individuals involved in Tuesday’s press conference included: the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau & Suffolk Counties; Mason Tenders’ District Council of New York and Long Island; Long Island Federation of Labor; New York State Senators Mario Mattera, Monica Martinez, and Jack Martins; New York State Assembly Members Judy Griffin, Mike Durso, Chuck Lavine, Ed Ra, Michaelle Solages; construction workers and victims of wage theft. 

“New York’s public education system is meant to strengthen our workforce, not weaken it through unfair construction practices. As we’ve seen here in Merrick and across Long Island, without reform, taxpayers can end up subsidizing contractors who exploit workers and cut corners,” Martinez, lead co-sponsor of the Stop Worker Exploitation in Public Education Act, said in a written statement. “The Stop Worker Exploitation in Public Education Act will change that by protecting workers, saving taxpayer money, and keeping students and staff safe during and after construction. Passing this legislation means safer schools, stronger local jobs, and greater respect for taxpayers.”   

Martins added that PLAs provide school districts with the certainty they need when planning construction, including protection from unexpected surprises that can derail a project. 

“They also ensure that good-paying jobs go to hard-working New Yorkers and don’t go out of state,” Martins said. “At a time when many families are struggling with affordability across our state, supporting our local workforce has never been more important. This is a win-win.” 

Solages, who co-sponsored the measure in the State Assembly, said: “When contractors cheat workers, they cheat the entire community. Misclassifying labor and misappropriating public funds robs our students, our schools, and our local economy. That is why the Long Island delegation is pushing for project labor agreements for school districts to ensure every tax dollar builds quality schools and supports fair, lawful employment.”