“The Board of Examiners of Sheet Metal Workers is comprised of experienced professionals in the field who bring to the board a strong mix of backgrounds, knowledge and industry insight,” said George K. Weber, director of the Division of Professional Licensure.

The Task Force is charged with coordinating agency actions to identify and stamp out fraudulent employment activities, protect workers rights and ensure a safe working environment.

Today, when even small projects go before local boards, union activists are on hand to voice support.  “We have had literally hundreds of members go to hundreds of meetings,’’ said Robert Rizzi, president of the Quincy and South Shore Building Trades Council.

At the same time, unions are faulting what they call a giveaway to an industry that hasn't done enough to ensure construction jobs funded in part with tax dollars also come with good wages and benefits.  Frank Callahan of the Mass. Building Trades Council said “We’ve delivered quality projects for these guys on time and on budget and some of them have decided to slam the door on people who have delivered for them.”

The proposals, based on ones from Revere and Quincy, also would require that a contractor provide workers with prevailing wages, health insurance and pensions.  See Article in the June 15 edition of the Republican.

The vote at Carney was 299 to 78, with about 79 percent of the 377 workers who cast ballots opting to join the union.  Union officials yesterday said there are organizing campaigns underway at every other hospital in Boston and predicted more votes later this year.

Local labor activists ask their regional Chamber of Commerce to disassociate itself from the U.S. Chamber's stance against the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Boston Globe's largest union last night narrowly rejected $10 million in wage and benefit cuts, and about an hour later the paper's owner declared an impasse in negotiations and imposed a 23 percent pay cut on the union's members, effective next week.

Guild says Times must do better.

“Companies are using this independent contractor sham to avoid paying (overtime), unemployment taxes, payroll taxes, Social Security taxes and workers compensation.”  Massachusetts last year became the first state to mandate triple damages to successful plaintiffs in wage-and-hour cases.