Jamal Butler (Local 79) on labor exploitation on office-to-residential conversions

Good morning, Chair.

My name is Jamal Butler, and I'm from Staten Island.

I work for a concrete...

Contract on affordable housing project and residential conversion.

When I was working there, I struggled to pay for my health insurance.

I was making $25 an hour, but at the end of the month, I still had to pay something like $4.85 out of my own pocket to get my own health insurance.

I needed this health coverage because I had one of the most dangerous jobs.

I was grinding concrete cement, and all the dust used to go straight in my face.

I used to look like somebody beat me with a bag of flour.

Someone told me, watch out, silica will creep up on you.

So I bought my own respirator and my own health insurance.

But then I had no money left at the end of the month.

There were times I wouldn't even get paid on time, or my check would bounce.

I needed a side hustle or a second job to make ends meet.

My coworkers and I worked ourselves to the bone.

We got so tired it created safety problems and falling objects almost took my life multiple times.

Too many construction workers are getting exploited, especially on job sites receiving taxpayer money or public benefits.

These contractors...

Should pay us enough to live decently and afford health care, not run us into the ground and leave us with no savings.

No one can tell me that we don't deserve to make $40 per hour, especially working on office to residential conversions.

Need these protections because they can be very complex and dangerous projects.

Paying construction workers fairly and hiring from local communities.

And establishing the Construction Justice Act will improve job site safety and productivity.

Thank you.