This Goalie’s Goal: A Level Playing Field for Local 12 Continued from page 1 time and participated in captain’s practices with the hockey team. “I was kind of like Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School,” he says. “The kids called me ‘Grandpa.’ I hated that!” He continued at UMass Amherst to get a Master’s of Science degree in labor relations. “I was raised in a union family,” Coutinho says to help explain his midlife career change. Growing up in New Bedford, his mother worked in the mills and was a member and steward in the Garment Worker’s Union. While in Amherst, Coutinho became a research assistant. Around the time he graduated, one of his professors told him that Local 12 was looking to hire someone with his background, so he interviewed for the position. Knowing little about the construction industry, Coutinho sat down with Local 12’s business manager at the time, Harvey Fleitman. “The non-union shops are cheating,” the Local 12 leader said to him. “We don’t know what to do. But we want you to figure it out.” Nobody had done the work prior to Coutinho, and there was no job description. The mission
was clear, but there were few details readily available. Still, the prospect of starting something from scratch and helping to make a difference appealed to Coutinho. In 1996, he began working full time at the union. He dove into prevailing wage and bid laws. He discovered that some contractors were flagrantly cheating their crews. For example, some would pay a laborer’s rate to a plumber to do plumbing work. Others would pay the state minimum wage until they touched a pipe. There were laws specifically preventing actions such as these, but disreputable non-union shops would disregard them. Coutinho says he began to meet with wronged workers, convinced them to come forward, and helped them to gather documentation. He also started getting more involved with public records after he realized that everything on a public job is a matter of public record. Among the data he collected were bid documents, signed contracts, project meeting minutes, and clerk of the works records. “Other area construction unions had never heard of this before,” Coutinho says. Like a detective or a lawyer building a case, he methodically gathered evidence.
AMONG THE TRADES AT THE TOPPING-OFF CEREMONY for Millennium Tower Boston was Local 12. Located at the former Filene’s site, the 686-foot structure will be the tallest building in Downtown Crossing. To mark the occasion, owner Millennium Partners and general contractor Suffolk Construction presented a meal for more than 500 workers. GBPCA contractor J.C. Cannistraro is handling the plumbing for the massive project. The building’s 442 condos, which went on sale in late October, have nearly all been sold.
When he felt he had enough proof of criminal activity, Coutinho would submit the info to the attorney general to initiate investigations and start probable cause actions. “Right away we were able to nail some non-union contractors with things like misuse of apprentices and not reporting true and accurate payroll records.” As a watchdog — or maybe bulldog is a more apt description — Coutinho has been able to get shady contractors to pay a considerable amount of back wages. He says that after dogging lawbreakers for 20 years, he has helped put about $1.5 million back into the pockets of workers. In one case alone, which involved a military housing project at Hanscom Air Force Base, a plumbing contractor had to pay back over $200,000 in back wages. He’s been able to succeed against some big guns. Coutinho says that he’s been at hearings with a team of lawyers representing the other side. “The lawyers are probably billing a total of $1500 per hour, and it’s just me sitting across the table with an agent and a contractor,” he says with a laugh. “More often than not, we prevail.” The irony is that Local 12, collectively with the union contractors, pay Coutinho’s salary, but he frequently ends up helping non-union plumbers recoup back wages owed to them. It is a byproduct — a collateral benefit — of the overall mission to level the playing field. The research analyst notes that sometimes as a result of his actions, plumbers have received checks in the mail and didn’t know why. “We’re here to help all plumbers,” says Harry Brett, Local 12’s business manager. “Paul has really come to the rescue of people who have been terribly cheated.” 20 years in, Coutinho says that Local 12 is well on its way to re-
Paul Coutinho
alizing the mission of a truly level playing field. “By this point, the major contractors know I’m looking,” he says. “They wouldn’t dare do anything wrong. Most are above board and wouldn’t cheat again.” “Paul has been a positive influence in making sure that public construction is administered the way the state envisions it,” Brett adds. “He’s well respected by everyone at Local 12 as well as others in the construction industry and municipal and state agencies all the way up to the attorney general’s office.” Retirement is on the horizon, and Coutinho looks forward to, among other things, traveling with his wife, visiting their kids and grandchildren, and catching some hockey games. Until then, he’ll continue to keep contractors honest. He’ll also keep on assisting other building trades unions so they can conduct their own research. And he looks forward to training his successor at Local 12 to carry on the important work he started.
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