WASHINGTON, DC – Members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) and their allies will hold scores of activities and educational events across the United States and Canada April 13 – 19, to highlight the crisis of worker abuse brought on by billions of dollars’ worth of stolen wages as well as tax and workers’ compensation premium fraud perpetrated by dishonest labor brokers and other construction employers.
Construction employer tax fraud victimizes workers, law-abiding contractors and the public. A 2023 national study used conservative estimates and found that up to 2.1 million construction workers, or 19 percent, are misclassified as independent contractors or paid off the books. Workers suffer $1.9 billion in overtime wage theft and working families suffer a $5.1 billion tax increase because crooked employers shift their own responsibility to pay employment taxes onto their workers’ backs.
State and federal tax losses amount to $10 billion a year. In addition, workers’ compensation insurers lose $5 billion to employer premium fraud.
“Employer fraud is a cancer that has become a business model,” said UBC General President Douglas J. McCarron.“It’s a systemic problem that involves every size and type of construction jobsite and employers at every level, from the smallest subcontractors and labor brokers to the largest developers and construction company owners. Greed is at the foundation of the tax fraud business model.”
Tax Fraud Days of Action events will include press conferences and rallies at state and provincial houses and federal buildings, worksite visits by elected officials and banner displays. Local, state, and provincial officeholders who are concerned about construction employer tax fraud will be featured speakers at events.
A list of some of the events and contacts for further information can be found at: https://stoptaxfraud.net/standup/events/
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners represents 500,000 skilled workers throughout North America. For more information on the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, please visit: www.carpenters.org
