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Carpenters Union tells council construction tax fraud hurts workers and city revenues
Summary
Aaron Contreras of the Carpenters Union Local 5 55 told the council that construction tax fraud leads to worker misclassification, lost benefits, undercut bids, and reduced public revenue, and urged stronger enforcement and contracting standards.
Aaron Contreras, speaking for the Carpenters Union Local 5 55, urged Denver City Council to strengthen enforcement against construction-related tax fraud, saying the practice harms workers and reduces public revenue.
"When taxes aren't properly paid, cities lose funding that support essential services, schools, infrastructure, emergency services," Contreras said, and he asked the council to adopt stronger enforcement mechanisms and contracting standards so taxpayer-funded projects go to contractors who comply with tax and labor laws.
Contreras said misclassified workers lose protections such as overtime pay and workers' compensation and that companies evading taxes can undercut law-abiding firms by submitting artificially low bids. He framed the issue as both a worker-protection and public-revenue concern and asked the council to consider transparency, accountability, and proper worker classification when awarding contracts.
The transcript records these public comments only; no follow-up action or staff response appears in the session.
