AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ manual laborers are facing harsh financial and safety concerns, according to a new study released Tuesday.
The Workers Defense Project and the University of Illinois Chicago surveyed more than 350 workers in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas at job sites valued at $500,000 or more. Researchers detail a pattern of hardships within the $126 billion industry in the report titled, “Behind the Texas Miracle: The Unstable Foundation of the Texas Construction Industry.”
The report was released at the WDP office in Austin in a room with a banner that read in both English and Spanish: “The people united will never be divided.”
“These wages are so low that for many, many workers in the construction industry,” said UIC professor Nik Theodore, “they simply cannot adequately meet their basic needs.”
“Employers that break the rules, it’s making them more competitive when bidding for construction projects,” Theodore said.
“These employers generally do not provide benefits, or workers compensation insurance, or unemployment insurance and they do not pay time-and-a-half for overtime hours,” he added. “All of which further lowers their labor costs.”
Researchers found minimum wage, overtime and health insurance are not guaranteed.
Among some of the report’s other findings:
- In Austin, pay is reportedly 83% below the cost of living.
- One in five workers reported wage theft.
- One in four workers reported not making enough to pay for groceries.
- Around one in five workers reported not making enough to pay for rent or mortgage payments and medical care.
- One in four surveyed say they are not paid for overtime work.
- 67% said their employer doesn’t pay into the workers’ compensation system or were unsure.
- 60% said their company doesn’t offer health insurance.
- 24% reported receiving paid sick time.
- More than one in five workers said they are paid “off the books.”
- Employees are often misclassified as independent contractors to avoid employment taxes and employee benefits keep labor costs low.
“Construction contractors that misclassify their employees are able to submit much lower bids and therefore unfairly compete against those employers that play by the rules,” Theodore said. “In order to compete businesses that correctly classify their employees must look for other ways to cut costs — and they usually do this by keeping wages low.”
On top of the financial concerns, there are also safety ones. In 2023, Texas experienced more work-related fatalities than any other state, according the report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 564 deaths across all industries in Texas in 2023 — 126 were construction-related, the report cited.
“There are literally bills in the legislature right now that are just waiting for them to take action,” said David Chincanchan, a policy director for the Workers Defense Project. “To provide workers with heat safety protections, to provide workers with workers’ compensation insurance. And, you know, to really kind of catch up with a lot of other states. Because, we’re really, really far behind.”
The report found a lack of Occupational Health and Safety Administration-certified safety training and dangerous heat conditions. Last year, Austin experienced 142 days above 91 degrees.
Advocates want lawmakers to stiffen penalties for wage theft, make it easer to file claims and require workers’ compensation insurance, OSHA safety training and heat and water breaks.
