Union contractors speak out about alleged Sundt Construction wage theft and safety violations
By Barley Lewis-McCabe and Jess Carey
Bright yellow hazard jackets served as a neon beacon in the mist as the rain started to pour early Monday morning. Large red and black banners read, “Don’t let this project become a CRIME SCENE!” A giant caricature of the grim reaper, fashioned out of PVC, towered over the quad, complete with an accusatory pointed finger and imposing black robes.
Starting on April 7, four contractors from the NorCal Carpenters Union stood in the Student Activities Center quad in what they described as a public service, or free speech action. They stayed there late into the afternoon, handing out fliers that read, “TELL SUNDT CONSTRUCTION THAT WAGE THEFT IS A CRIME, AND A BAD BUSINESS MODEL.” The protestors explained that they’d be there spreading information all week.
Steve Harris, one of the demonstrating workers, said they want to bring awareness to the issues with Sundt Construction.
“We just want to let everyone know that there’s a labor dispute,” Harris said. “On some of their jobs back in the past, they [didn’t pay] prevailing wage, [there was] misclassification of workers, stuff like that.”
Sundt has subcontracted with three organizations that, along with Sundt, have been issued civil wage and penalty violations by the Department of Interior in the past over failure to pay prevailing wage. Monetz Glass in CSU East Bay was ordered to pay $232,964.05 in prevailing wage in April 2017. Green Growth industries at San Jose State was ordered to pay $2,182 in withheld training funds in March 2017, and Citadel Premium Design in UC Merced had to pay $5,612.71 in withheld prevailing wage, but there is no evidence of failure to pay prevailing wage on any Cal Poly Humboldt campus construction projects.
Sundt’s Role on Campus
Sundt Construction is an Arizona-based construction company with projects nationwide. They have worked with several other California State Universities on large projects, including a commons building for Sacramento State and dorms at Cal State, Fullerton. They are the general contractor managing the Hinarr Hu Moulik housing project in Arcata, as well as the Jenkins Hall Renovation project, the location of the new Ceramics and Sculpture labs. Sundt also won the contract for the new Housing Dining and Health Building, which is set to begin construction in 2027 in the footprint of the old Ceramics Building.
Sundt’s Local Legal Issues
On Feb. 18, a document was shared with University Contracts and Procurement Manager Addie Dunaway from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local 751. It detailed why they feel Sundt isn’t capable of safely carrying out the contract. This document stated that Sundt has been cited by OSHA in 14 recorded violations of safety and health regulations nationwide, resulting in $48,777 in fines. A portion of these cases are from projects outside of California.
The local 751 document says that during a worksite inspection on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus, union representatives claim to have found unsafe working conditions.
“We found workers leaning A frame ladders up against the wall and working on them without them properly opening up like they are intended to work from. We found rebar exposed, nails sticking out of 2×4 where someone could step on it.”
An excerpt of the same letter, sent to Cal Poly Humboldt administration from local 751, further discussed this incident.
“When I tried talking to workers, they would walk away with the superintendent coming up yelling, telling us we can’t be on site,” the letter read. “As we were leaving the site, we found that the police were called and we stayed to talk to the officer. After sharing our interaction with the officer, she couldn’t find anything we had done wrong and let us go.”
In Aug. 2024, a charge was filed against Sundt with the National Labor Relations Bureau by Local Carpenters Union 751, alleging that Sundt engaged in coercive actions and denial of access to Jenkins Hall Renovation, which they argue violated the National Labor Relations Act section 7.
“Within the past six months, the [Sundt] has violated the [National Labor Relations] Act by discriminatorily and in retaliation for protected concerted activity, interfering with the exercise of protected rights by preventing and restricting Union representatives from accessing a jobsite at Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata California,” the charge read. “Clark Pacific was present, surveilling Union representatives, eavesdropping on conversations between Union representatives and their members, preventing union representatives from speaking to members and calling the police on Carpenter representatives seeking access to the jobsite. By these and other acts, the above-named employer interfered with, restrained and coerced employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed by Section 7 of the Act.”
In regard to the charges, Mike Fisher wrote in an email, “The Union was denied access because they had no related business and didn’t arrange for permission to be there. When they refused to leave, UPD was called. The union’s second claim of ‘surveillance’ was due to UPD being dispatched.”
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act outlines workers’ right to self-organize, communicate with union representatives and protects said workers from managerial interference, such as wrongful surveillance or unfair removal from job sites.
Lumberjack reporters reached out to the Sundt company for comments on the charge, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Thoughts from the admin
The contract for #PLY102, Science A Renovations, will be awarded on May 6. The project consists of renovations to Science A’s laboratories and chemistry equipment, and the winner of the bid will have a role in designing and building the project. The CSU has a pre-qualification process for prospective bidders that Cal Poly Humboldt VP of Facilities Mike Fisher said is in place to ensure high standards.
“Contractors must adhere to a set of laws and policies before they can be considered for bid awards,” Fisher said.
These policies result in a shortlist of qualified companies being the only parties whose bids are considered for a project. For the Science A renovations, Sundt and Swinerton were companies included on the shortlist.
Fisher commented on the Sundt company and their role in campus projects.
“To date, there have been no claims or complaints from subcontractors, and both projects [Hinarr Hu Moulik and Jenkins Hall] have maintained an exceptional safety record. The references used by Local Union 751 against Sundt are for other projects outside of our area and across different states,” Fisher said. “Sundt has provided exceptional service and demonstrated outstanding safety practices on our projects at Cal Poly Humboldt.”
Thoughts from the union
Chris Palomo, a NorCal Carpenters Union organizer, commented on other companies up for bidding on the Science Renovations Project that the union would be more comfortable with ethically.
“In contrast to Sundt, Swinerton has agreements with local hiring halls, which provide work opportunities to local journeymen and apprentices, pays area standard wages and benefits and, to our knowledge, has no known history of labor violations,” Palomo said.
Barley Lewis-McCabe is a freshman reporter and Jess Carey is a senior reporter and science editor for The Lumberjack. They both like to cover unique stories that impact the local community.