Will you join us in calling for fair treatment for Nashville construction workers?

Last Tuesday, about 50 construction workers, Metro Council members, and concerned Nashvillians gathered at City Hall to demand luxury developers take responsibility for the workers who work on their projects. “Time worked, time paid!” the crowd chanted at the press conference targeted at Skanska, the billion-dollar company and general contractor for many Nashville developments.

The call-to-action followed a complaint involving nearly 100 workers who completed construction of the JW Marriott in May 2018. The luxury hotel now has an average of $85,000 in revenue per night, but workers who built it say they still have not received their fair wages. In December 2018, workers led a delegation to Skanska offices to ask the company to meet with those affected by the alleged wage theft. Instead of the meeting workers were promised, Skanska filed a lawsuit against them one week later!

Now, still missing two weeks of earned wages and facing a lawsuit for their efforts, workers are calling on supporters to urge Skanska to do the right thing: drop the suit, negotiate a settlement for work completed at the JW Marriott for which they were the general contractor, and implement high road standards for all of their Nashville-area work sites to ensure no more workers have to experience the same mistreatment.

The press conference last week featured testimony from two workers who spoke about the injustice of their missing paycheck and the subsequent lawsuit, which they viewed as retaliatory.

Nashville Metro Council Members Stand with Workers

Metro council members Anthony Davis and Colby Sledge echoed the workers’ demands. “Workers deserve to be paid for the work that they do–plain and simple, full stop. We’re asking for Skanska to do the right thing, come to the table, and create a solution that workers deserve,” said Councilmember Sledge. The council members also emphasized Metro’s responsibility to ensure our city is built fairly, and stressed the need for elected officials to hold private actors to the high safety and fair wage standards our city deserves.

One of the construction workers, Nelson, told the crowd, “I’m part of a group of about 100 workers who helped build the JW Marriott. Many of us are owed for two weeks of unpaid work and unpaid overtime pay. How much longer do we have to wait?” His coworker, Cesar, told the media and crowd of some 50 supporters, “Last week, we [workers] met with Skanska VP Dennis [Georgatos] and he promised he would help find a resolution. Instead, Skanska continues with their counter-claim on workers’ mechanic’s lien. We ask that Skanska do the right thing.”

The fight isn’t over! Workers continue to struggle without the pay they say they’re owed, and are now also facing litigation by a multinational corporation. In addition, Skanska continues building projects throughout Nashville. 

Will you join us on Friday February 22 at 4PM at Skanska’s newest development at 5th and Broadway to tell them wage theft isn’t welcome in Nashville?