Construction workers chalked up another small victory in Nashville.  

June 14, 2019 (Nashville). Ana recovered more than $3,000 from Diversity Commercial Painting after fighting since February. “After insisting so long to that man that he pay me, he did finally pay, but it’s thanks to everyone who stood with me that I won back my wages,” she reflected. After community members joined Ana in a delegation at contractor Marcos Vazquez’s office, and in the face of an approaching action, he paid.

Ana painted both commercial and residential properties under subcontractor Diversity Commercial Painting and said she was never paid. Ana, like Valentin who won back unpaid wages last week, was employed as a painter for construction projects around Nashville. But, as they see it, greedy bosses and subcontractors denied them the pay they were owed. Thankfully, that was only the beginning of their stories.

Determined to earn the respect they deserve, they joined Workers’ Dignity to seek solidarity amongst fellow workers. After months of careful planning and attending each others’ actions, both painters pressured their employers into doing the right thing — amounting to over $6,000 in total backpay.

Although today we celebrate with Ana and Valentín, their results aren’t the norm for many of Nashville’s workers. Despite our city’s skyrocketing (and skyscraping) growth, there is a deep moral rot underlying our “prosperity.” Wage theft, due to the greed of shady subcontractors and the neglect of owners, runs rampant and even the most basic labor right — being paid for the work you do — is broken.

It’s time for Nashville’s leaders to put a stop to unethical contracting, and we call on developers and general contractors to take measures to ensure that everyone who works on their sites are fully paid at livable wages and under safe conditions.