The Solution
Build a Better Austin recommends a series of best practices that can be implemented by the City of Austin to improve working conditions and ensure continued economic prosperity in an industry so important to Austin, Texas, and the country.

Policymakers:
Ensure Safe Working Conditions: The City of Austin must do more to decrease the unnecessarily high number of deaths in Austin’s construction industry. With regular safety trainings and proper safety equipment, injuries and death on the job can be prevented. By working with contractors on workforce development the City can ensure safe working conditions. The City can ensure that all workers have access to workers compensation coverage, rest breaks, and drinking water at work.

Ensure Honest Pay for Honest Work: The City of Austin should ensure strict enforcement against employers who don’t pay their workers or violate prevailing wage laws. Additionally, they should reward good contractors who play by the rules and invest in local communities by paying living wages, providing medical insurance, paid sick days, pension and vacation benefits to their workers.

Green Jobs, Good Jobs: As the City of Austin pushes for increased investment in green building, it is also vital to ensure that the green economy is creating good jobs. Good jobs pay living wages, provide good benefits, and ensure safe working environments. City officials must ensure that green jobs are sustainable for the environment, workers, and their families that depend on them.

The City of Austin has the unique opportunity to ensure safe, fair, and equitable working conditions for construction workers. The City can pass innovative policies to improve working conditions, reward good business practices, and strictly enforce workplace laws.