Construction Organizing
At Worker Justice Wisconsin, we partner with workers from all construction trades to address issues that are rampant in the industry. A significant problem that we focus on is misclassification, where companies bring on workers as independent contractors, rather than employees, in order to steal wages, evade taxes, and other responsibilities that traditional employers have. Many workers who are subject to misclassification are immigrants. We educate and organize workers to fight back against these injustices.
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The Construction industry in Madison has employed immigrant, Latinx workers for years. This community has changed Madison’s skyline, building our schools, community centers, offices and homes. But immigrant, Latinx workers...
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Do you work in construction?
We support workers across the industry with some of its most common issues. In our experience, workers who are either not represented by a union, are immigrants, or are working as a subcontractor are particularly at risk of unjust treatment in construction.
Non-union workers
Non-union workers in the construction industry typically face more dangerous working conditions and lower pay.
Immigrant workers
Employers frequently target immigrant workers for wage theft and other exploitative practices, taking advantage of their lack of familiarity with local systems and laws.
Subcontractors
Many subcontractors are unknowingly misclassified, working as independent contractors when they should be hired as employees.
Want to take action?
Change is possible in this industry, but only if workers organize and demand it. We are here to support the efforts of local construction workers to make their workplaces safer and fairer for everyone.
Learn your rights
We offer trainings on workers’ rights, unions, and misclassification.
Keep yourself safe on the job
In partnership with OSHA and with input from the community, we’re developing safety trainings for local construction workers.
Resolve your workplace issues
Whether it’s wage theft or misclassification, we support workers in navigating issues they face on the job.
Organize within your industry
We’re working to bring construction workers together to improve working conditions in the industry.
Other ways of getting involved.
Join the Rapid Response Network
By joining the Rapid Response Network, you will receive alerts from WJW about direct actions such as protesting wage theft. The aim is to apply community pressure to employers who have violated their workers’ rights and to show solidarity with workers.
Register for a Group Grievance Session
If you believe that your employer has violated your rights as an employee, register for our biweekly Group Grievance Session. This is an opportunity to be in community with other workers and share your experiences, as well as learn about U.S. and Wisconsin employment law. If we suspect that there has been a violation, we will help you file a complaint with the relevant state agency.
Become a volunteer
If you’re looking to support the work that we do, reach out to us! Volunteers can help with the Group Grievance Session, door knocking for our wage theft campaign, and help give trainings throughout the community.
