Iron Workers Fight for Justice at Lyn-Phill and Dominion Rebar
Thursday, December 5, 2013(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
The DC Iron Workers Movement for Justice reports “great success” in
their campaign for equitable conditions for the workers of Lyn-Phill
Construction and Dominion Rebar. “These companies have a history of labor
rights and OSHA violations and are currently working on large public works
projects for DC Water, Ballou Senior High School, and the University of the
District of Columbia,” the Coalition reports. Lyn-Phill and Dominion workers
says their employers force them to work without minimum levels of safety and do
not pay the required minimum wage for construction workers. At the Coalition’s
urging, both Rep. Eleanor Norton (D-DC) and DC City Council member Mary Cheh
have asked DC Water to investigate. Cheh heads the DC Council committee that
oversees DC Water. Workers involved in the Coalition have filed complaints
against Lyn-Phill with the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES), as well
as at the National Labor Relations Board, and the Maryland Department of Labor
and Industry is also currently investigating Lyn-Phill for underpaying the
state-required minimum wages for construction in Montgomery County. The
Coalition plans ongoing actions at DC Water, saying that “To keep the pressure
on them, we need to be a constant presence at DC Water to urge them to finish
their investigation quickly and effectively.”