Carpenters Protest Wage Theft as Connecticut Senate Votes on Housing Bill

As the Connecticut Senate convened on March 14, 2024, to vote on a significant housing package, members of Carpenters Local 326 gathered outside the Legislative Office Building to voice their concerns regarding wage theft in the construction industry. Holding banners from various job sites where the Department of Labor has issued stop-work orders due to payroll violations and unpaid wages, the carpenters underscored their belief that affordable housing cannot be built on the backs of exploited labor.

“This is happening in all four corners of the state,” said Miguel Fuentes, president of Local 326 and a representative for the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. He highlighted the involvement of out-of-state developers who capitalize on community redevelopment funds while neglecting their obligations to workers. “They decide they’re going to build these projects on the cheap and not pay workers’ time, not pay unemployment, not pay workers’ comp, and not pay wages,” he stated.

Housing Bill Aims to Expand Rental Stock

The demonstration coincided with the Senate’s special session aimed at advancing a housing bill designed to increase the state’s rental stock through zoning incentives, streamlined permitting, and new development subsidies. This legislation had already received approval from the House on March 13, 2024. Despite its intentions to expedite construction, the proposal notably lacks provisions to address wage theft or labor misclassification, which unions argue could undermine affordability goals before any projects commence.

Fuentes remarked that the issues of wage theft and misclassification have escalated over the past two decades, particularly in publicly supported housing initiatives. “We’ve got skilled Connecticut workers ready to go, but contractors bring in out-of-state crews they can exploit. It drains wages and stability from our communities,” he explained.

Evidence of this alarming trend is illustrated by recent enforcement actions. In East Hartford, three principals of ITO Construction and Hotel Renovation Solutions were arrested after investigators discovered they were paying workers in cash and misclassifying them on a Fairfield Marriott project. In Meriden, subcontractors for A.R. Building Company received eight stop-work orders after 50 workers went unpaid for nearly two months, amounting to approximately $150,000 in stolen wages. Tragically, one carpenter died on site during this period. In New Haven, the Labor Department halted work at Spinnaker Real Estate’s 34 Fair Street development due to employee misclassification, while other contractors faced citations in Bridgeport and Hartford for payroll and insurance violations.

Impact of Wage Theft on Workers and Communities

“These are real jobs, real violations, and taxpayers end up footing the bill,” Fuentes remarked. A recent advisory from the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network identified the construction industry as high-risk for issues such as money laundering, tax fraud, and human trafficking. Construction workers, who are already struggling financially, remain particularly vulnerable. A study from the UC Berkeley Labor Center revealed that 39% of Connecticut construction-worker families depend on public assistance.

Misclassification of workers leads to significant financial losses in payroll taxes. Nationally, between 1.1 and 2.1 million construction workers are misclassified or paid off the books each year, resulting in over $12 billion in stolen wages and up to $10 billion in lost tax revenue.

Unions have advocated for stronger enforcement tools for three consecutive legislative sessions, and lawmakers have begun to respond. Earlier this year, Comptroller Sean Scanlon supported a bill allowing his office to withhold payments from state contractors found violating wage laws. This move followed a 2024 audit that uncovered nearly 1,000 wage-theft complaints stalled at the Department of Labor. Although the Senate approved the measure, it failed to pass in the House before the conclusion of the 2025 session.

“If there is a company that’s shortchanging workers, we’re gonna shortchange them,” Scanlon reportedly stated at the time.

Union leaders continue to push for contractor-liability legislation, similar to laws in ten other states, which would hold general contractors accountable for wage theft committed by subcontractors. This proposed legislation would apply to private projects comprising at least 15 units and would include a 30-day window for correcting violations without affecting municipalities.

“If we want real affordability, everyone has to play by the rules,” Fuentes concluded. “Connecticut workers should earn enough to live in the homes they build. Do it right, and we fix problems. Do it wrong, and we multiply them.”