Florida Carpenters Regional Council

We can't be any more proud of our female members of the Florida Council. They are outstanding and dedicated and show great job site talent every day. Thank you, sisters!

The U.S. Department of Labor says fewer workers are dying from hazards at job sites where OSHA has focused its enforcement and education resources. Preliminary agency data show a decrease in fatalities the agency is mandated to investigate, including significant reductions in fatal injuries from trench collapses and falls, two of the leading causes of death among construction industry workers. In fiscal year 2024, federal OSHA investigated 826 worker deaths, an 11 percent reduction from 928 in the previous year. Excluding COVID-related deaths, this is the lowest number of worker fatalities OSHA has been mandated to investigate since FY 2017. Read the whole article: https://lnkd.in/evERbDsW

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that?an employer violates the National Labor Relations Act by requiring employees under threat of discipline or discharge to attend meetings in which the employer expresses its views on unionization. The Board explained that?such meetings—commonly known as captive-audience meetings—violate the Act because they have a reasonable tendency to interfere with and coerce employees in the exercise of their rights. However, the Board made clear that an employer may lawfully hold meetings with workers to express its views on unionization so long as workers are provided reasonable advance notice of the subject of any such meeting, that attendance is voluntary with no adverse consequences for failure to attend, and that no attendance records of the meeting will be kept. Read the full news release, here:?https://lnkd.in/eM_rq2kU

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces two indictments charging Eduardo Anibal Escobar (44), Carlos Alberto Rodriguez (45), Adelmy Tejada (56), Rene Mauricio Escobar (53), and Juana Nelida Escobar (45), all residents of Orlando, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit tax fraud. Each wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and each tax fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. The United States intends to seek forfeiture of a total of at least $19 million as well as five residential properties located in Orlando, which are proceeds of the alleged wire fraud offenses. According to the indictment, the defendants established companies that purported to supply labor for construction contractors. Florida law requires any business that engages in construction work to secure and maintain workers’ compensation insurance. The defendants applied for workers’ compensation insurance policies to cover a few employees and a minimal payroll. The defendants then entered into agreements with construction work crews, falsely representing that the workers were the companies’ employees. During the period of the alleged conspiracy, the defendants deposited more than 46,000 payroll checks totaling more than $292 million, of which the defendants kept at least $19 million in fees. No one—neither the contractors nor the work crews nor the defendants or their companies—remitted payroll taxes, such as Social Security and Medicare taxes and federal income tax, to the IRS. According to the IRS, the unpaid taxes on the payroll total at least $52 million. Read the entire news release: https://lnkd.in/etUD5v2a

You’ve heard much about Project 2025 and how Donald Trump will use it to eliminate unions. But don’t take ANYONE's word for it! Here are the page numbers for each attack. Look it up and see for yourself how Trump plans to destroy unions: Decertify labor unions (page 167) Repeal Davis-Bacon (page 604) End Project Labor Agreements (page 604) National Right-to-Work law and let states BAN labor unions (page 637) Terminate underfunded multi-employer pension plans (page 610) Make it easier to misclassify workers as independent contractors, enabling Tax Fraud and Wage Theft (page 591) Make it harder for workers to claim overtime (page 591) Make it hard to hold joint employers (contractors) accountable for overtime, wages, or benefits (page 591)

The Republican Study Committee’s budget proposal for 2025 includes a federal income tax on employer-sponsored health insurance. This means that a union member's health insurance would be taxable income, which either raises that member's taxes OR it reduces his/her benefits. For more information about this proposal: https://lnkd.in/d9t-3PD2

Thanks to the group "Florida Rising," it's now easier to vote early! Click on the link below, then select the county where you're registered to vote. You'll see early voting locations, and their operating hours, that are closest to you. Click here: https://lnkd.in/ePEH6n6E

the UBC has set up an Election Center, where you can get a?list of candidates?in your area?who stand with us on carpenter core issues. You can also check your registration, pledge to vote, and print the list of Union Carpenter-Friendly candidates to review.?https://lnkd.in/eA53vfq8