Cities in eastern Iowa recently made national news in connection with alleged unsafe construction, and failures on the part of government to implement effective enforcement mechanisms and respond to reported dangers. It’s high time that the state and elected officials listen to workers and put safety and responsibility over revenue and deregulation.
Braden Colvin, Ryan Hitchcock, and Daniel Prien lost their lives in the collapse of the historic Davenport Hotel building. Despite dozens of warning signs about the deterioration of the building, portions of the building collapsed, destroying the lives of dozens and devastating the entire community. Property owner Andrew Wold pleaded guilty to a civil infraction asserting that he did not maintain safe conditions at the building. It carried just a $300 fine plus $95 in court costs.
Additionally, a building trades’ union campaign to highlight labor law and safety violations brought state lawmakers and public officials to the construction site of the Cedar Rapids’ $49 million Banjo Block development.
The group’s visit to the construction site prompted reports to state officials of possible underage labor and safety hazards at the project, by TWG Development out of Indianapolis, which received $23.5 million in tax incentives, including $17 million from the State of Iowa and $6.5 million from the City of Cedar Rapids.
Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Iowa OSHA) offered to fine the company $3,233 as part of an informal settlement to resolve a list of “serious and other-than-serious” safety violations at the construction site. Among the numerous safety violations cited included the use of dangerous electrical cords that exposed employees to potential electrical shock hazards.
Iowa OSHA has a track record of lax enforcement and infrequent on-site inspections following reports of unsafe conditions. In November of 2020, a group of labor unions, civil rights organizations, and faith-based organizations filed a complaint against Iowa OSHA requesting that the federal government investigate numerous deficiencies, including failure to respond to complaints. The complaint also pointed to the fact that Iowa OSHA has too few inspectors to perform on-site inspections, alleging that having only three inspectors in the entire state who can perform on-site inspections is an “abdication of its duty to ensure employers are providing safe conditions.”
The proposed fines here in the Banjo Block case amount to a mere 0.01 percent of the $23.5 million in tax dollars that TWG received. A small fine does nothing to deter developers and contractors who make a big profit by cheating and cutting corners.
Workers, building trades unions, and contractors have been asking elected officials for years to do more to ensure that only responsible contractors work on construction projects (especially those receiving tax incentives), and that more be done to ensure that workers on these projects are properly trained and not misclassified, underage, victims of wage theft, or exposed to unsafe conditions. The same coalition has also been asking Iowa OSHA to hire more inspectors and do more on-site inspections in response to complaints.
Unfortunately, the Republican-controlled state legislature has banned cities and counties from passing employment related ordinances; banned prequalification from being used by local governments to screen out irresponsible bidders; refused to properly fund Iowa OSHA; attacked unions and collective bargaining; and even passed legislation to allow contractors hide a bad track record during the bidding process.
It is ironic that Governor Reynolds, who has turned away federal assistance on numerous occasions, wrote a letter to President Biden asking for millions of dollars in federal assistance in connection with the Davenport building collapse. The letter states that an “effective response is beyond the capability of the State and the affected local governments.”
Iowa should put some of its budget surplus to work by hiring more Iowa OSHA inspectors, and increasing enforcement and penalties for labor law and safety violations. The state legislature should repeal laws that decimate local control and fully fund resources to combat misclassification, wage theft, and illegal child labor. Cities and counties should work with workers and communities to prevent future tragedies and ensure that our tax dollars are not given to employers that are cheating, putting workers in harm’s way, and evading the rule of law.
If Iowa would listen to workers and unions, an effective response is possible.
