Report Claims Pulte Contractors Abusive
The 17-page report was compiled by religious leaders from Chicago- based Interfaith Worker Justice who discovered a "disturbing pattern of injustice and abuse" among contractors used to build homes for Pulte. They visited Pulte developments and talked to workers about a number of problems, including unsafe working conditions, nonpayment of overtime, lack of affordable health care and benefits, and wages so low they had to work 60 to 70 hours a week to make ends meet. "When I worked for Hutchins Drywall, I had a boss who was corrupt and did not have any feelings or respect for the workers," Rangel said. "When I went to get my check at the end of the week, I had to give a kickback of $150 to the foreman. When I went to the office to complain, they started threatening that I would lose my job."

Report Claims Pulte Contractors Abusive
Source: Las Vegas Review - Journal
Publication date: May 15, 2008
By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Poor working conditions prevail for employees of Pulte Homes subcontractors in Las Vegas and Phoenix, according to a report delivered Wednesday by a group of clergymen.

The 17-page report was compiled by religious leaders from Chicago- based Interfaith Worker Justice who discovered a "disturbing pattern of injustice and abuse" among contractors used to build homes for Pulte.

They visited Pulte developments and talked to workers about a number of problems, including unsafe working conditions, nonpayment of overtime, lack of affordable health care and benefits, and wages so low they had to work 60 to 70 hours a week to make ends meet.

The report was delivered to Pulte's headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., as well as division offices in Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The Rev. Paul Hansen of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Las Vegas said about 20 people entered Pulte's local office near the Las Vegas Beltway and Durango Drive to deliver the report, only to be told the area president was out of town and there was nobody who could speak for the company.

"They dropped something off," said Jackie Petroulakis, spokeswoman for Pulte's Phoenix-based Southwest division. "Let's set the record straight. This is an attack on our company by unions trying to organize some of our subcontractors in Arizona and Nevada. We believe they're a front for the AFL-CIO.

"They're not concerned about quality. They're not concerned about Pulte and Del Webb homeowners or interested buyers. They're only concerned about collecting dues from an industry they walked away from years ago."

The Interfaith Worker Justice report recommends that Pulte develop and enforce an "ethical contracting policy."

Pulte's contractors in Las Vegas and Phoenix should increase wages, provide more affordable health insurance, pay overtime to workers as required by law, improve workplace safety practices and respect workers' rights to organize unions, the report said.

Victor Hugo Rangel, a striking worker at Hutchins Drywall in Henderson, was quoted in the report, which said he was fired after falling from a ladder and hurting his shoulder.

"When I worked for Hutchins Drywall, I had a boss who was corrupt and did not have any feelings or respect for the workers," Rangel said. "When I went to get my check at the end of the week, I had to give a kickback of $150 to the foreman. When I went to the office to complain, they started threatening that I would lose my job."

Hansen said he went to a Pulte development in the southeast area of Las Vegas, but he was unable to locate the specific worker to talk about working conditions.

However, activists who had been employed by these contractors told stories that had a "consistent thread of cutting corners," Hansen said, from changing timecards so as not to pay overtime to being asked to work without safety masks.

"If people complained, they were told, 'There's plenty of people available where you came from,' " he said.

Petroulakis said Pulte has repeatedly asked for specific information about the claims but received nothing to date.

The company has built more than 500,000 homes since 1956 and has consistently been ranked among the top builders in customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 702- 383-0491.