04/19/2023
Keel Communications & Govt. Relations has proudly provided 20 years of communications and marketing expertise and results to IBEW Local 98. Here’s yet another example of our success, as featured in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer Opinion Section.
Work cheats
On behalf of all union members in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, I wish to thank Govs. Josh Shapiro and Phil Murphy for forming a new interstate task force to better protect workers and crack down on unscrupulous construction contractors who routinely engage in the misclassification of workers. Every member union of both states’ Building Trades Councils confronts this problem daily. Nonunion contractors illegally misclassify workers as “independent contractors” instead of employees. These false classifications allow greedy contractors to evade payroll taxes and benefits contributions. The workers aren’t the only ones who get shortchanged. Uncollected payroll taxes hurt our local municipalities and place a financial strain on the constituent services they provide, such as police, fire, schools, water, sanitation, and more. We’re also grateful for the more localized crackdowns on the misclassification of workers already begun by District Attorneys Jack Stollsteimer in Delaware County and Matt Weintraub in Bucks County. Their efforts are working. Of course, the easiest way to avoid the misclassification of workers scam is to hire — or work for — a union contractor. We play by the rules.
Mark Lynch Jr., business manager, IBEW Local 98
