Ex-Prisoners Exploited By New York “Body Shops”
An exploited workforce of ex-prisoners provides nonunion labor brokers with big profits at the cost of safety and training.
Landwebs
Nonunion labor brokers, known as “body shops,” in the New York City construction industry have targeted workers who have recently been released from prison and are under parole supervision or other court surveillance programs, in a move that many say ensures low wages and poses a serious safety risk for employees, reports The Guardian. Labor brokers hire and pay workers to perform work for third-party companies, profiting by taking a cut of the wages paid by the company and competing in a race to drive down labor costs through wage suppression and cutting corners on training and safety.
Body shop employers exploit work requirements that can send a former prisoner back to jail on a parole violation, to pay parolees’ low wages under unsafe working conditions. In 2020, there were an estimated 9,173 re-entry construction workers in New York City, and construction work accounted for about 24 percent of all jobs for recently released prisoners. Typical wages for these workers is just above the city’s minimum wage, with no benefits, while union members in the New York City construction industry start at more than $28 an hour plus benefits. Critics argue the practice creates a lower-tier workforce within the construction industry, where predominantly Black and brown workers are paid significantly lower wages with no benefits, while employers receive tax credits for hiring them. Workers and unions are advocating for the New York City council to pass the body shop bill, which would provide a regulatory framework to increase transparency and oversight of subcontractors in the construction industry that rely on formerly incarcerated workers.
