School Board Asked to Help in Wage Theft Case

The Nashville Scene has a story on Armanda Arzate and his pursuit of unpaid wages for work his company performed at Nashville’s McMurray Middle School:

On Tuesday night, a cement worker and several advocates asked the Metro Board of Public Education to help secure unpaid wages for work he and his crew did on a Nashville school. Armando Arzate of RSA Concrete said he and his cousin are owed $43,000 for their work on McMurray Middle School.

Arzate is being assisted in his case by local worker advocacy group Workers’ Dignity. Here’s more on the issue from a press release from the organization:

Between August 2018 and May 2019, Armando Arzate and fellow workers at RSA Concrete put long hours of skilled labor into McMurray Middle School’s renovation, pouring concrete for new sidewalks, ramps, and other projects. Metro Nashville Public Schools contracted with Orion Building Corporation, their frequent construction partner, to oversee the project. Orion then subcontracted with Joe Haas Construction Company for cement work, and Joe Haas Construction hired Armando and his team at RSA Concrete. Despite having finished the job in May of 2019, Armando and his team are still seeking $43,000 they say they are owed for their work. Armando and the other workers, with the support of community members, MNPS parents, and Vanderbilt Divinity School students, have repeatedly requested that Joe Haas Construction and Orion Building Corporation do the morally right thing. 

It is not yet clear whether MNPS will intervene on behalf of the workers owed money.

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