An Arizona trade union is calling for new leadership at the state agency charged with protecting worker safety.
Members of the Carpenters Union of Arizona are asking for the resignation of the head of the state Industrial Commission. More than 100 carpenters attended a commission meeting in downtown Phoenix on Thursday to call for ICA Chairman Dale Schultz to step down.
Matthew Capalby is the government affairs director for Carpenters Local 1912. He says the ICA dismissed concerns about how it handles fines for workplace safety violations. “The industrial commission is well known for looking out for the interests of business rather than enforcing the rules that they’re supposed to administer," Capalby said.
Capalby says the ICA has consistently reclassified and reduced significant penalties against construction companies that were facing citations, undermining workplace safety.
In a statement, ICA spokesman Trevor Laky said the state Legislature gives the commission full authority to adjust penalties. Laky said the ICA has “worked extensively to be a collaborative partner promoting and ensuring the importance of workplace safety in the state of Arizona.”
The carpenters union also is alleges the ICA has ignored fraud and wage-theft cases and announced it is hiring a former federal agent to privately investigate.
