university of nebraska

Watch now: Union says unfair labor practices happening at UNL construction sites | Education

Watch now: Union says unfair labor practices happening at UNL construction sites | Education

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The United Brotherhood of Carpenters picketed a worksite at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Friday to draw attention to what it says are unfair labor practices involving contractors working on those projects.

Blowing whistles and marching on the sidewalk at 14th and Vine streets, near an ongoing renovation of Mabel Lee Hall, members of the carpenters’ union said Friday’s action was part of an area campaign.

“Right now, as we speak, there are labor brokers on the project with a number of workers who are being paid in cash,” said Felicia Hilton, the political director of the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters.

Hilton, who spoke at the NU Board of Regents’ meeting earlier Friday, was joined by about two dozen union members, each wearing a neon vest that read “Standing up to Tax Fraud.”







Santos Hernandez carries signs to a North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters picket line at 14th and Vine streets Friday.




According to Hilton, the union is seeking to draw attention to construction companies — including those working on the Mabel Lee Hall project, the Barkley Memorial Center on East Campus, and the athletic training complex near Memorial Stadium — that pay laborers under the table.

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Workers hired by labor brokers do not receive benefits such as health insurance or workers’ compensation if they are injured on the job, which Hilton told the board can create an added cost to taxpayers.

The companies that hire workers off-the-books, or classify them as independent contractors, also do not deduct payroll taxes, Hilton said, while the workers themselves do not pay state or federal income taxes on their earnings.

Ultimately, not paying health insurance, workers’ compensation, or deducting taxes allows companies to submit lower bids than competitors, Hilton said.

The union said labor brokers are more often involved with sub-contractors on larger projects, but it did not specifically name any companies in protesting unfair practices Friday.


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“Our issue is that there are legitimate businesses, union and non-union, who cannot compete for this work, who cannot submit a bid for this work because they don’t practice this model,” Hilton said.

That’s particularly troubling as NU seeks to address an $800 million backlog of deferred maintenance projects through 2062, she said. NU received $400 million in bond financing from a 2021 sale to begin renovating and replacing its aging infrastructure across its four campuses.

“We think it’s a horrible business model, and we think the university should not support a model like this,” she added.

Chris Kabourek, NU’s vice president for business and finance, said the university requires companies to follow all applicable state and federal labor laws when they are awarded projects.

A committee comprised of university and non-university staff responsible for reviewing proposals submitted for projects also asks about a company’s ability to do the work, Kabourek said, which includes following the law.

A call to a spokesperson for Hausmann Construction, which is the general contractor working on several of the UNL projects, was not answered Friday. 

Hilton said the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters has a questionnaire it says will help vet contractors and sub-contractors who meet best practices.

Kabourek said NU will arrange a meeting between its facilities staff and the carpenters’ union to hear its concerns and see if they can address the issues raised at Friday’s meeting.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or [email protected].

On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS

UNMC survey of perceived health effects related to AltEn continuing | National News

UNMC survey of perceived health effects related to AltEn continuing | National News

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Researchers from the University of Nebraska and Creighton University are continuing to assess individuals’ perceptions living in proximity to the AltEn ethanol plant near Mead.

A survey designed by the University of Nebraska Medical Center to measure the perceived health risks related to AltEn has been put online to help reach a greater number of people living in Saunders County.

Smaller funding package for AltEn research study advances

Dr. Eleanor Rogan, the interim chair of the Department of Health Promotion in UNMC’s College of Public Health, said the questionnaire is modeled on the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response created by the Centers for Disease Control.

“This is a common way to get some insight into what kinds of health problems people are experiencing, to narrow down the search for adverse health effects that may actually be caused by the exposure, or an event,” Rogan said.

It’s also “much faster and less expensive than actually medically examining everyone for everything,” she added.

The 40-question survey, which takes about 15 minutes to complete, asks for basic household information, the level of awareness and feelings residents may have about AltEn, as well as physical and mental health conditions they have experienced since the plant started operating in 2015.

Residents who respond to the survey will also be asked to identify when any symptoms may have started, and if they believe their health conditions could be connected to the biofuel plant’s activities.

AltEn used seeds coated in pesticides to manufacture ethanol, leaving behind toxic solid and liquid waste products. The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy ordered the plant to shut down in February 2021 for numerous violations of state environmental regulations.

More than 215 people of the 1,000 who received the survey by mail earlier this year have returned it, Rogan said, and more than 150 people have signed up to provide a blood or urine sample to be analyzed for any of the chemicals found in high concentrations at AltEn.

The samples will be taken at the Saunders County Medical Center in Wahoo and analyzed at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory in Omaha.

The survey will remain active through the end of May, Rogan said. UNMC plans to analyze the data and make the aggregated, non-identifiable information public at a later date.

Individuals whose blood or urine samples show the presence of toxic compounds will be provided specific advice for contacting a physician, Rogan added.

No funding for AltEn study in state budget packages; researchers say work could end prematurely

If an ongoing funding source can be secured, individuals will also be asked to participate in a medical registry which will track any health issues they develop for years to come.

The massive project to study AltEn’s affect on air quality, surface and groundwater, and the health of humans, wildlife and pollinators was first proposed a year ago.

At that time, UNMC pegged the cost of the study at $1 million per year for 10 years. Earlier this year, the cost of the study was reduced to $7.8 million.

Private donors helped get the project moving forward last year as the research team sought other funding to keep it going, and Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue introduced a bill (LB1048) this year appropriating $10 million in federal funds to put toward the research.

The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee did not include Blood’s bill in any of the budget packages it forwarded to the floor for debate.

But last week, lawmakers advanced another bill (LB1068) with an amendment from Blood attached appropriating $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to continue the study over the next year.

LB1068, introduced by Sen. John Stinner of Gering, will need to pass two more rounds of consideration in the final seven days of the 60-day session before it can be sent to Gov. Pete Ricketts’ desk for his signature.

Meanwhile, Rogan said a town hall in Mead is being planned to communicate next steps in the research study, which includes ongoing sampling of soil, surface and groundwater, and air to study their movement in the environment.

The perceived health risk survey can be found at www.unmc.edu/env-pollution.

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