AREA STANDARDS

The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) has been conducting a survey of the Florida crane industry since May 2009 and has determined that Beyel Brothers Inc. does not meet our wage and benefit area standards.

An important side note – all of the “Beyel employees” we have surveyed are or were actually employees of Frank Crum Staffing and/or Howard Leasing. Crum and Howard are “professional employer organizations” (PEO), which “lease” employees to Beyel. Although they are technically employees of the PEOs, Beyel Brothers sponsors the 401k and healthcare plans for these employees.

Hourly wages paid to operators, mechanics, drivers and oilers vary substantially at Beyel Brothers. In general, hourly wages for operators at Beyel are $1 to $2 below average union rates statewide. However, total compensation for Beyel operators, which includes health and retirement benefits, falls far below Florida local contract standards.

Beyel’s health plan has high deductibles and co-pays, while the company’s 401k has low participation and a low employer match. Effective March 1, 2009, Beyel’s health plan has weekly deductions ranging from $29.08 for an individual and $262.92 for family HMO coverage, with deductibles of $2,000 for an individual and $4,000 for a family. Based on the 401k plan’s most recent filings, Beyel contributes only one dollar to the plan for every four the employee paid, and participation was well under 50%.

We estimate that a Beyel operator effectively earns as much as $10 per hour less (in total wages and benefits) than a union operator in Florida.

The payment of substandard wages and benefits diminishes Florida construction workers’ ability to provide for their families, places these workers one health care catastrophe away from bankruptcy, and means they will be less secure in their retirement. Combined with high current unemployment, substandard wages and benefits undercut the living standards of the entire community.

The IUOE is not seeking to represent the employees of Beyel Brothers or any of its affiliates featured on this site.