Brandon Twp.- A giant inflated rat in the back of a pick-up next to M-15 last week symbolized what Michigan Poured Walls, Inc. is to Labor Union Local 1076 from Pontiac.
‘They’re rats,? said one man who declined to be named.
The man was one of eight men from the union who stood at the entrance to the Centex home development on M-15 on Jan. 10, several holding signs which read, ‘Michigan Poured Walls fails to pay wages and fringe benefits prevailing in this area.?
The action was not a strike, but rather an ‘informational picket line,? said Local 1076 secretary/treasurer Bill Bass.
Bass claims Michigan Poured Walls, Inc., a contractor who is pouring basements at the site, pays substandard wages and fails to give benefits or pensions to the company’s workers.
‘We’re informing the public that they’re paying a lot of money for these homes and the workers who are building them can’t afford to buy them,? Bass said. ‘We just want a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. They need to make a living.?
Bass said the prevailing wage for the construction the workers are doing is about $18 an hour, but the contract workers are making about $10-$12 an hour. Because of this, he adds, it isn’t a level playing field.
The union plans to continue the picket line as long as cement work continues at the site.
Michigan Poured Walls, Inc., could not be reached for comment.