WASHINGTON—Building trades and government workers unions’ lobbying paid off as the GOP-run House defeated two anti-worker amendments offered by right-wing Republicans on April 30.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Sierra Construction Co. Inc. has agreed to pay $87,239 in back wages to 39 employees who worked on The Prescott apartment building, a federally financed construction project in Portland. U.S. Department of Labor investigators found that Sierra and two of its subcontractors failed to pay the prevailing wages required by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Sierra, the general contractor, violated the DBRA by improperly classifying workers in lower-paying positions that did not reflect all duties performed by the employees. For example, on the project carpenters and laborers spent significant time working as ironworkers, but were not paid the proper rate, which can be $7 to $15 more per hour than they were typically paid. Sierra also failed to include information listing the required DBRA wage rates in contracts with two subcontractors, who then failed to pay their employees the required prevailing wages.

Construction companies have pledged to hire 100,000 veterans over the next five years as part of an initiative to encourage non-government support for former troops, according to an announcement made at the U.S. Department of Labor's National Symposium: Veterans' Employment in Construction on Monday, Feb. 10.

The following comes directly from a recent U.S. Department of Labor press release: