PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Alvaro Gonzales Duran, Labor Organizer from Local 79
1:59:23
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166 sec
Alvaro Gonzales Duran, a labor organizer from Local 79, shares his personal journey from struggling in non-union construction work to becoming a union member with better wages and benefits. He advocates for a $40 per hour minimum wage and benefit compensation package for construction workers on city-subsidized affordable housing projects.
- Highlights the stark contrast between his previous low-wage job without health insurance and his current union position
- Emphasizes the importance of essential benefits like healthcare and retirement contributions for construction workers
- Urges the city council to pass "construction justice" legislation to improve wages and working conditions for construction workers
Alvaro Gonzales Duran
1:59:23
Okay.
1:59:25
Okay.
1:59:25
Good afternoon.
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My name is Albert Gonzales Durant.
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I'm a proud local 79 member and labor organizer.
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Before I joined in apprenticeship program, I worked on nonunion construction for residential contractors who benefited from city sub cities.
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I made a near minimum wage with our health insurance from my employer.
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One day, my appendix exploded, and I had to go to the hospital for emergency surgery.
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Because I didn't have health insurance, I ended up with almost $30,000 in hospital debt.
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I was already struggling financially, spending over half of my paycheck on housing and transportation.
2:00:01
Many nights after work, I was sitting in the car and crying because I didn't know how I was alive with such low wages.
2:00:08
It wasn't until I received a $40 per hour wage to build housing that I finally had some breathing room.
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I had health care, and I started saving up.
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After a year, my wife and I bought our first house together, and then I got married.
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I am proud of the life I have built, but there are too many people in my community who must accept dead end jobs because there are no other options.
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Most just take advantage of workers, parole or immigration status.
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Keeping them trapped in poverty wage jobs.
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These jobs are often called low skill, not because of the skill needed, but because of what who does the work.
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It's unjust that some construction workers earn triple or quadruple what other construction workers are paid.
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A $40 per hour minimum wage and benefit compensation package would ensure that the lowest paid construction workers who build city subsidized affordable housing are lifted out of poverty and can become part of the middle class.
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We also can't forget the importance of essential benefits for workers like me.
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New York construction workers are in short at three times the rate of other workers, yet we perform some of the most dangerous jobs.
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Our bodies break down physically most of us can work until we're sixty years old.
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We need retirement with dignity when workers don't have health care or retirement contributions from their company.
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They are likely to rely more on taxpayer funded resources and programs from government.
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Over the past decade, the city council has passed legislation to raise wages for fast food workers, retail workers, taxi drivers, and app based delivery workers.
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In 2019, the city council set a new wage tender which is now above $40 an hour for building service workers on City Finance affordable housing projects.
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It is time to do the same for construction workers.
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We need and deserve a minimum compensation package of $40 per hour That's why I urge you to pass construction justice.
2:02:09
Thank you.
