In March 2008, union construction workers picketed against non-union and out-of-state subcontractors hired during construction of the Scheels All-Sports store. At issue were wages, benefits and local jobs, said Russ James, a painters' union organizer.
SPARKS — In response to a union complaint, the city of Sparks is looking into hiring a consultant to ensure that prevailing wage is paid to construction workers at the Legends at Sparks Marina movie theater.
In December, a local trades council alleged that subcontractors had cheated workers on the Legends project out of receiving fair and prevailing wages. Now that the next large phase of the project has begun, the consulting firm, HDR Engineering Inc., would keep an eye on prevailing wage issues, if the item is approved at today’s Sparks City Council meeting.
“The first thing (that we want) is that they locate all the workers who were on the project and correct their pay,” Paul McKenzie, the council’s executive secretary treasurer, said after the December complaint was delivered to the state labor commissioner. “The other thing is … this project is going to continue on and we would hope that the city would take into consideration the complaints and properly enforce prevailing wage on all future projects.”
Today, the Sparks City Council will consider paying HDR Engineering to do a prevailing wage report and review investigation on the Legends project, specifically the proposed movie theater. The company would be paid $45,240 to do the report. According to staff reports, the city is hoping to recover that money from anticipated sales tax generated by Legends businesses.
The consulting contract would address McKenzie’s desire to enforce prevailing wage on future projects.
State law requires that all projects using public financing ensure workers are paid the “prevailing wage,” or the wage determined to be fair for skilled tradesmen, taking into account the area’s cost of living.
If the contract is approved, HDR will review the certified payroll documents provided by the city of Sparks, perform field verifications, correspond with subcontractors and exchange information with both the contractors and the Nevada Labor Commission.
The contract would not be the first that the city has entered into with HDR. According to city reports as well as city spokesman Adam Mayberry, the contract is an extension of a prior contract with HDR to monitor prevailing wage issues at Legends.
The Legends at Sparks Marina, developed by Kansas City developer RED, is working on installing a 13-theater movie house with an IMAX screen.
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