Union carpenters urge action against construction tax fraud; call for task forces and enforcement

Moses Lake — Speakers from the carpenters’ union urged officials to pursue stronger enforcement against construction-industry tax fraud and worker misclassification, arguing that cash-pay jobs and labor brokers undermine honest contractors and deprive local services of revenue.

Jose Moreno and Tony Edwards, representing union carpenters and the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, said cash payments and misclassification deny workers unemployment, Social Security credits and workers' compensation, and remove taxable income from the community. "So that means they're not paying their taxes...that means down the road, they're not gonna be able to get unemployment, social security, workman's compensation, disability," Moreno said.

Edwards said the council should back stronger enforcement and encouraged coalition-building: "Estimates suggest that the construction industry loses tens of billions in tax revenue each year...We must strengthen enforcement measures to identify and penalize tax fraud in the construction sector. Increased audits and collaboration with industry stakeholders such as ourselves can help ensure compliance," he said.

Council member Skog (questioning from his experience as an employer) asked how the union pursues cases; Edwards described task forces and local evidence collection, then turning matters to federal wage-and-hour investigators and the state Department of Labor & Industries. "What we do every day...we're talking to the workers, we're collecting evidence and then we turn it over to the federal wage and hour division as well as state L and I," Edwards said.

The council did not take formal action on the issue at this meeting. Speakers asked for closer collaboration between municipal officials, state regulators and unions to detect and penalize fraudulent contracting practices.