This story on the front page of the Sunday Tribune has created a buzz online. If you want to read the sometimes crazy comments by readers, go to http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/jan/03/payroll-dispute-riles-company/. It's clear that some people in Columbia are so anti-union that facts don't matter to them and others don't have a clue what unions are really about...or both! On the other hand, there are comments by people who understand the importance of prevailing wage laws.
JANESE HEAVIN
Sunday, January 3, 2010
A Fulton-based company is suing the University of Missouri for denying it the chance to bid on future construction projects.
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STATE ANNUALLY SETS PREVAILING WAGES PER JOB DESCRIPTION
State and federal laws require the payment of prevailing wages to employees working on public projects. In Missouri, prevailing wages are based on wages paid in each county and the city of St. Louis for 26 different occupational titles, such as carpenter or iron worker. The state sets the rates each March.
The Cole County rates, for instance, range between $17 and $33, depending on job title. Employers can voluntarily pay more than prevailing wages.
In a petition filed Oct. 30 in Boone County Circuit Court, The Shepherd’s Co. argues the university has unlawfully denied its constitutional right and is asking a judge to restore the company as an eligible bidder.
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The university’s facilities planning and development office in October sent a letter to Shepherd’s Co., saying it had been placed in a rejection list. “Should your firm be the low bidder on any University of Missouri construction project, a recommendation will be made to reject your bid,” Director David Sheahen wrote. “Should your firm bid as a subcontractor or supplier on a university construction project, appropriate action will be taken to prohibit your firm’s participation.”
The letter claimed the company “balked at requests to release records related to prevailing wage compliance.”
But Jabbock Schlacks, who oversees the construction partnership, said the company complies with prevailing wage laws when required to do so and denied that the company rejected university requests for proof.
“We have nothing to hide,” Schlacks said. “We believe we’ve always been in compliance.”
Shepherd’s Co. is a partnership made up of more than 60 owners, all of whom attend Shepherdsfield Church. The church has been in existence for more than 20 years in the Fulton area and is a communal society whose members relinquish personal property to the group. The company offices are located on property deeded to New Christian Life Fellowship, which adjoins the church property.
Payroll documents from a September job at the university show each of the owner-employees of Shepherd’s Co. were paid separately. Rates of pay were $40 an hour for the week of Sept. 11, with standard pay between $35 and $45 in earlier weeks at the same job.
Curtis Chick Jr. with Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 36 said local labor unions are concerned about the company. He said they began looking into Shepherd’s Co. after the group was awarded the university contract for work at the Bradford Technology and Transfer Center.
“Sixty-four owners — give me a break,” he said, referring to the company’s partnership setup. “That’s a game. I want to make sure they don’t keep taking work away from the contractors and people I represent.”
The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Division of Labor Standards appears to be looking into Shepherd’s Co., although spokeswoman Amy Susan said she could neither confirm nor deny an investigation exists. The division’s director, Carla Buschjost, formerly worked with Chick at Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 36.
The labor division has requested thousands of payroll documents from the company. Shepherd’s owners originally fought the request in Cole County Circuit Court, citing demands on time and resources, Schlacks said. “That’s a tremendous amount of work for a small company,” he said, adding that the state division wants some 35,000 documents that span three to four years.
Circuit Judge Richard Callahan subsequently ordered the company to release documents.
In the meantime, the labor division sent a letter about Shepherd’s Co. to Columbia Public Schools, which was ready to award the company a contract for work at the Columbia Area Career Center.
“We were prepared to award them a contract but received a letter from the Division of Labor Standards saying there were allegations the company didn’t pay prevailing wage,” said Greg Cooper, who works in the district’s business office. “This particular job requires that of a contractor. That was supposed to be factored into the bid. We thought it would be best to pull the bid and in January consider the next low bidder. We thought it was best to wait until the issues were resolved.”
Shepherd’s representatives were adamant that the allegations are unfounded.
“Shepherd’s Co. complies with prevailing wage laws in every public contract,” the company’s Jefferson City-based attorney, Mark Comley, said.
The city of Columbia last week sent Shepherd’s Co. payroll documents to the state labor division, said Marilyn Starke, the city’s purchasing agent. She said she’ll let the division determine whether the employee-owner wages are up to par. The company is currently working on a project at the city’s Grissum Building.
“We’re not pulling them off the project at this time,” Starke said. “They do good work, high-quality work.”
Reach Janese Heavin at 573-815-1705 or e-mail jheavin@columbiatribune.com.
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