Jose's Story

Jose Padilla has been building homes for the last twelve years in Las Vegas Nevada. He has worked for the largest builders including Pulte Homes, KB Home, DR Horton and Lennar. Padilla has covered 3,300 miles on the tour to Build America so America Works because he wants to make a difference for fellow workers and homeowners.

“This tour is about homeowners and workers fighting together to make a change in the residential construction industry. I want Pulte Homes to recognize our work. Pulte Homes should take care of its workers because we are the foundation of their business.”

Roberto's Story

Roberto Franco Baltierra has been with the tour to Tell Pulte to Build America so America works since it kicked off in Los Angeles two weeks ago. Baltierra built homes for Pulte in Tucson, Arizona. He was fired after speaking out about joining with LIUNA for a better life and asking to be paid for the wages he believed were due him.

In Austin - Sandy's Story

Homeowners and workers continue to join the tour as it moves across the country highlighting the role large corporate homebuilders played in the housing crash. Sandy D’Angelo who joined the tour in Austin, Texas on Monday said, “This is the first time I have ever been involved in a rally but I came to tell my story - I bought a Lennar home that was overpriced and lost my financial security.”

Sandy spoke at the community forum in Austin. Her story is below:

Homeowners and Workers Travel Across U.S. to Tell Largest Homebuilding Corporation: “Stop Foreclosing on the American Dream”

Homeowners and workers will travel 3,300 miles, stopping in 10 cities across the U.S., to tell Pulte Homes – the largest corporate homebuilder in America – to stop foreclosing on the American Dream.

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BMHC Workers – Building for Pulte Homes, Other Homebuilding Corporations – Win $241K in Wage Fraud Suit

Los Angeles, CA (October 8, 2009) – Residential construction workers in California, Nevada and Arizona will receive $241,301 in unpaid wages after settling a lawsuit against SelectBuild, a subsidiary of BMHC Corp., once the nation’s largest residential construction contractor which supplied labor corporate homebuilding giants such as Pulte Homes.

The lawsuit alleged SelectBuild systematically failed to pay workers for hours they worked, did not pay overtime rates and kept workers off-the-clock while traveling between jobsites and waiting for materials to arrive.

Federal Court Denies Attempt by Pulte Homes Inc. to Silence Working People Who Spoke Up for Construction Workers Dismissed by the Homebuilder

Washington, DC (September 24, 2009) – A U.S. District Court today denied Pulte Homes’ request for an injunction to stop LIUNA members from supporting construction workers for the nation’s largest homebuilder, who were fired by Pulte after wearing LIUNA orange t-shirts and asking to be paid for the hours they worked.

Pulte filed requests for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction after nearly 20,000 LIUNA members across North America fought back on behalf of the fired workers by calling and writing Pulte offices.

Corporate Homebuilders Destroying the American Dream

Corporate homebuilders KB Home, Pulte and Lennar continued to build, buy more land and offer risky mortgages even as the housing market became increasingly unstable and homebuyers were increasingly in over their head.

Were you told that you would be able to refinance, but now can't because your home's value has gone down? Do you think your home was overpriced when you bought it? Did you feel pressured to use the homebuilder's mortgage company? Were you given an adjustable rate, interest only loan? Does your house have construction problems?

News and Reports

For media inquiries, contact Dawn Page at dpage@liuna.org.

Protesting Pulte’s practices The Oakland Press

Workers and Homebuyers Pummel Pulte Labor Notes

Nationwide Campaign Against Pulte Ends In Michigan NPR

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